ANGT Belgrade players to watch | Adidas Next Generation Tournament

The Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament series continues on Friday, February 10, with the fourth and final qualifying tournament at FMP Basket City Hall in Belgrade, Serbia. With eight clubs from five countries and players hailing from dozens of nations, it will be a true international basketball celebration. Here's a primer on some of the top talents to keep an eye on at the ANGT Belgrade qualifier.

Savo Drezgic, Partizan

Drezgic will be playing in his second ANGT after averaging 4.2 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.0 steals at the last season's ANGT Belgrade. He collected 13.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assist, and 2.0 steals for Serbia at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022. The 1.90-meter playmaker is tallying 21.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals this season in the Serbian U19 League. Drezgic, who has played with Partizan since his childhood, made his senior team debut a month ago in the national cup, scoring his first 2 points. The 2006-born guard is a great ball-handler who really can change the pace with his dribble and has a smooth shooting stroke. Drezgic is a smart player and very mature for his age. He still must improve on his reactions on defense and closing out on opponents.

Nikola Topic, Zvezda

Topic is appearing in his third ANGT season after averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists at the ANGT Belgrade last year. The point guard played just one game at the ANGT Finals and was injured after scoring 7 points with 2 assists. Topic played one game for Serbia at the FIBA U16 European Challenger 2021. Topic is contributing 3.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in 9 minutes per game in the Adriatic League this season and has appeared in two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games, picking up 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 9 minutes. He is collecting 19.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals in the Serbian League. He is a point guard with a good sense of spacing at both ends of the floor and finding teammates. He also can attack the rim and penetrate to the basket. Topic is aggressive on defense and has a good feel for stealing the ball.

Asim Djulovic, Mega

Djulovic returns for his second season after he put together 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals at the ANGT Belgrade and contributed 7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds at the ANGT Finals in helping Mega win its first ANGT title. He played for Serbia at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 and had 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals. The 2.05-meter guard is averaging 15.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals in the Serbian U19 League as well as 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds for OKK Belgrade in the Serbian League. Djulovic is a great offensive player who excels at attacking the basket in transition and creating points off the dribble. He is also an excellent off-the-dribble and spot-up shooter. Djulovic still needs to improve on his defense.

Pietro Iannuzzi, Reyer

Iannuzzi is participating in the ANGT for the first time. The 2006-born forward represented Italy at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 and averaged 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds. He is scoring 13.1 points with 4.3 rebounds in the Italian U19 League. Iannuzzi is a talented guard with good physical size and athletic skills, equipped with a very fluid and reliable three-point shot off the dribble and running off screens. He is a very good one-on-one player who can finish at the rim and in traffic or with the pull-up. Iannuzzi still can improve in the pick-and-roll and on-ball defense.

Sergio De Larrea, Valencia

De Larrea will be competing in his third season in the competition, getting a spot on the All-Tournament Team at ANGT Belgrade for averaging 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals last season after picking up 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the ANGT Valencia in 2020-21. Last summer, the 1.98-meter playmaker contributed 6.3 points 1.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists in helping Spain take second place at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022. This season, De Larrea has collected 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the Spanish second division and also made his EuroLeague debut with 3 minutes over two games. The point guard has great vision and is a great passer. He can drive to the basket or shoot from mid-range. De Larrea still must improve his defense though.

Nolan Traore, PFBB

Traore will be playing in his first qualifying tournament after making his competition debut at last season's ANGT Finals, where he picked up 1.0 points, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals. The 2006-born guard helped France take third place at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 with 13.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.4 steals. This season Traore is averaging 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals in the French third division. The 1.90-meter point guard plays well in the pick-and-roll and can drive and kick. He is able to create for himself as he is good in one-on-one situations and is an efficient three-point shooter. Traore applies ball pressure throughout the court on defense and is very smart in his collective role defending the ball.

Melih Tunca, Efes

Tunca is making his ANGT debut. The playmaker is averaging 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 2.6 steals in the Turkish U19 League this season. He took a big jump from last season when he contributed 5.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists. The 1.93-meter guard has great court vision and he is also a good pick-and-roll player. Tunca also is a fine shooter and passer.

David Mirkovic, NGT Belgrade

Mirkovic will be making his ANGT debut with the select team. Last summer, the 2.05-meter power forward averaged a double-double at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 for Montenegro with 22.1 points and 10.3 rebounds to go with 3.0 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.0 blocks. This season Mirkovic is averaging 4.7 points and 4.0 rebounds for SC Derby in the Montenegro League as well as 18.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals in the Montenegro second division. Mirkovic can score in many different ways: low post, mid-range and shooting three-pointers. He also has a very good basketball IQ.