By Davide Bortoluzzi

 

The victory on Fiba U20 European championships this summer in Tallin has shown that Italian youth basketball movement is in a better situation than expected, with a bunch of prospects able to find minutes and responsibilities on the court in first division. The frontrunner is Alessandro Gentile, who’s fighting for a spot in next 2014 NBA draft, but there are several player which probably will be part of Italian senior national teams in the following years.

Alessandro Gentile (1992, SG, 6-7,  Olimpia AJ Milano)
Alessandro Gentile was coming off a great  Eurobasket in which he was the MVP of the Italian National team, showing the capability to play in a system able to valorize his talent, limiting his excesses.  But during the first three months of this season he hasn’t performed in the same encouraging way: in the first game of the Italian League he was ejected for arguing with a referee, and his stats are quite disappointing, especially his 3 point shot, where he is just hitting 12% in the Italian league. The biggest problem is without a doubt his shot selection, in a team that terribly lacks playmaking, his choices are often forced, with shots in the traffic and in conditions of limited balance. In Euroleague action, his shot selection has been better, with more consistent shot percentages, but his overall effectiveness is not as expected. As an auto-eligible prospect he definitely needs to improve his stats in the following months to rise his likelihood to be drafted, since he’s averaging just 8 points 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

Matteo Imbrò (1994, 6-2, PG, Virtus Granarolo Bologna)
He has been one  of the best performers during last Italian u19 Italian championships, and integral part of Italian U20 team, European champion in charge. Anyhow he’s playing less minutes on the court than last year (13 minutes of average) with 2.4 points and 1.1 assists. His physical skills combined with his ability to create from the dribble for him and teammates are quite remarkable, even if he should improve his playmaking and decision making. He’s really effective in pick and roll situations, showing a terrific confidence from 3 point range (46% from that range) with a good mechanics and range. He’s definitely mature and confident but he needs to play more minutes on a stable basis.

Awudu Abass (1993, 6-7, SF, Vitasnella Cantù)
Abass was one of the best 5 players of last U20 European Championship, when his athleticism and defensive attitude helped Italy to clinch the gold medal. He has a good body and solid muscular definition, and he’s definitely a good rebounder for the role. On the offensive side he’s effective when served in movement, but he still lacks the ability to create his own shot from the dribble, while in catch and shoot situations his mechanics has been improving through this year. He’s playing almost 10 minutes of average, with 1.5 points and 3.2 rebounds.

Amedeo Tessitori (1994, PF, 6-9, Banco di Sardegna Sassari)
He has been one of the biggest hopes of Italian hoops during youth years, but since then his development seems to have significantly slowed, also from the physical standpoint. As a frontcourt player he’s really mobile and skilled, but he still lacks a reliable post game, since he prefers to hit front to the basket or with put backs after offensive rebounds. He’s playing in a really ambitious team, and this won’t allow him to play with consistency,  with an average 2 points and 2 rebounds in the games played.

Simone Fontecchio (1995, SF,  6-7, Virtus Granarolo Bologna)
He’s without any doubt the best 1995 in Italy, and one of the bests in Europe, even if he’s less experienced on the big European showcase than some of other big names of his class. Solid and athletic wing with good frame and feet speed, he’s really effective with his first step for his height, with the ability to beat from the dribble his peers. He has a complete offensive skillset, both inside and outside dimension, usually playing with great intensity and effort on both sides of the floor. He has good shooting range also from outside 3 point line, especially in catch and shoot situations. He has a good defensive attitude, with good instincts and a remarkable intimidation (blocks), but he tends to suffer against quicker and smaller opponents, he needs to improve his lateral speed. He’s averaging 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in almost 10 minutes of average on the court.

There’s also another group of players which is finding minutes and a proper spotlight playing in Italian second division, with a strong likelihood to reach the first league just next year. Among those, the following are probably the best performers and the ones with the biggest upside.

Michele Ruzzier (1993, PG, 6-2, Pall. Trieste)
He was the starting point guard of the Italian U20 national team this summer, when he led the team with poise and maturity. This season he’s playing an important role in a very young team, which has been the surprise of this first part of 2013/2014 season of Italian second division. He has great passing skills and creativity, and he’s really effective in pick and roll situations, both attacking the basket or with a pull-up jumper from mid-range. He needs to work on the defensive side, especially on 1 vs defense where he tends to struggle against quicker point guards due to poor lateral speed, plus he needs to add consistency to his three point shot (28.6% thus far this season). He’s currently averaging 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

Francesco Candussi (1994, PF, 6-11, Pall. Trieste)
He’s a Reyer Venezia player currently on loan to Trieste where he can play the minutes on the court at senior level necessary to his development. His combination of height and mobility is intriguing, and with his good ball handling he’s able to beat the defender  from the dribble quite effectively. His hands are soft and he’s able to his with a good range, also behind the three points line. His back to the basket moves are developing, plus he’s really effective in pick and roll situations when he rolls after the screen. His biggest shortcoming, which is limiting his potential as a pro is the lack of toughness. He tremendously suffers the opponents that bounce him when taking position in the post. He’s averaging 5.1 and 2.5 rebounds, with a season high of 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Marco Laganà (1993, SG, 6-7, Pall. Biella)
Marco Laganà was also part of Italian U20 National team, being of the best performers of the group. This season he’s having several minutes and opportunities on the court with Biella, which has recently fallen down in Italian second division. Standing 6-7 he’s a big combo guard with long arms and a good mobility compared to the height. He’s really effective in exploiting screens to attack the basket where he’s able to conclude in a good variety of solutions, especially in the painted area, plus with his wingspan he’s a reliable defender on the passing lanes . He has to improve his three point shot, especially when he has to create from the dribble (22% so far this year), and he struggles on the defensive side in 1vs1 situations due to his poor lateral speed. He’s averaging 11.9 points 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists this season.

 

Twitter of the author: @theref140386

 

Photo: FIBA Europe / Castoria-Marchi