In basketball Germany has always been an afterthought when listing the strong basketball nations. Though the Beko BBL (the German Bundesliga of basketball) wants to turn into the best local championship of Europe by 2020, as outlined by Joan Rallo, it is a very steep slope to navigate. Intrinsic changes made by the Beko BBL, the implementation of the NBBL (U19) and the JBBL (U16), as well as local changes and programs started by Bundesliga teams, should aide in this ambitious endeavor,  Watching the U18 and U16 European Championships, the rise of talent on the court is fairly apparent.

During the European Championships both, the u18 and the u16 team, flashed a potential of achieving higher grounds than German basketball is used to. In the end it was not enough to upset the basketball powers, as the u18 merely secured the 8th place and the u16 got the 7th place. However, the Euros displayed Germany has a few  prospects  one needs to keep an eye on going forward.

U16 European Championship in Kaunas
While the U16 has not been able to perform as impressively as the '98 generation on a statistic basis, the cream of the '99 crop is equally intriguing, as Isaac Bonga, Philipp Herkenhoff and Nelson Weidemann are a talent-ladden ensemble. This group of players is not as physically ready as the previous generation, which quickly showed, as they were unable to sustain the physicality teams such as Spain or Turkey confronted them with. Absent was the ability to finish with contact due to the lack of strength and not having faced this kind of physical play on a regular basis before this tournament. In the end, this is what led to lopsided losses against Spain and Turkey, as well as Bosnia in the semi-final. However, after an underwhelming start in a close win against an English team that ended up in relegation after getting blown out in their last game to a rather weak Greek team, they managed to improve and found ways to cope towards the end of the tournament, displaying a learning curve. 

Players to watch in the future:

Isaac Bonga 6'6 165 ('99, G/F, Koblenz)
Bonga came into to this tournament widely known, and though he struggled at times, warranted, if not added to the intrigue so many teams and scouts have towards him. Currently listed at 6'6, Bonga looks as though he is more of a solid 6'7 or even 6'8 now. In addition to good height, he has great length, paired with good athleticism, which should only improve once he's able to add some muscle to his skinny frame. As of now, strength seems to be his main weakness, as he struggles to finish against stronger players.

Bonga's skill level is pretty special. He displays exceptional ballhandling and footwork for his size, giving him a shiftiness that allows him to get to the spots he wants to. Though he struggles finishing as of now, his ability to get to the basket whenever he wants often leave defenders at his mercy because he is such a good and willing passer with great vision. Bonga often finds teammates streaking to the basket, or for dump offs as the defense collapses towards him. His ability to pass the ball should only be accentuated over time, as he gains strength and ability to finish, allowing him to become even more of a scoring threat. Similarly, his passing ability and decision making allows him to be a force in transition with or without the ball.

While still out of control at times, he sometimes penetrates in to nomansland leading to turnovers. This, however, is something time and experience should be able to clean up for him since he does display a good overall basketball IQ.

Defensively Bonga can struggle due to lack of strength and good footwork. While he possesses great length and lateral speed, he often opens up a side allowing his opponent to gain an angle on him. However, he is often able to recover. Off the ball he is great in passing lanes, deflecting and intercepting passes due to his length. His main focus should be cleaning up technique and footwork and gaining strength in order to hold his ground.

Hendrik Drescher 6'8 220 ('00, PF/C, TuSLi Berlin)
Drescher was the most physically mature player on the German National team, although born on March 20th, 2000, he was also the youngest player on the team. He delivered a very solid performance in Kaunas despite being a year younger than most of his counterparts. A big bodied post player with a wide frame , Drescher is an undersized five man standing at 6'8. 

Defensively Drescher heavily relies on his basketball IQ, as he has a good understanding for help rotations, as well as positioning. He struggled against quick, crafty players, as he does not possess great foot speed and athleticism. However, he did not seem to be a liability in pick and roll situations by good positioning and knowing when to close off angles.

Though at times he also struggled finishing against physically imposing opponents, Drescher has a knack for being at the right spot at the right time, often allowing him to get easy baskets around the rim. At having to create his own offense, he is not yet proficient. He does not seem to possess a great array of moves. 

Interestingly, he displayed a smooth shooting stroke, albeit not taking a lot of jump shots. It is important to note he played a role for this team, so it is imperative to gauge his development over the next year, as he has will compete at the u16 level next summer again.

Philipp Herkenhoff 6'9 191 ('99, PF, Vechta)
Revered as one of the top German talents, Herkenhoff stands at 6'9 with good length, and great mobility. Having played every position from Point Guard to Center for his Artland Dragons side in the JBBL last season, he can be described as a Point Forward similar to Isaiah Hartenstein, who's footsteps he has been following in the Artland Dragons program. Though possessing somewhat different attributes, he too likes to use his mobility when attacking from the outside. At this point he is more efficient operating with his face to the basket, though he also displayed craftiness in back to the basket situations. As of now, however, he creates the most damage in transition situations, whether he pushes the ball and leads the break off of defensive rebounds or runs the lanes. His decision making is superb, which bodes well for him in the point forward role he has been playing thus far.

Possessing good lateral foot speed for his size, he does well in pick and roll situations cutting off driving angles, as well as staying in front of his opponent in one on one situations. However, at this point his skinny frame poses a problem for him, as more physically mature players punish him in the post and by being physical with him on drives both on the offensive and defensive end. 

Herkenhoff recently moved from the Artland Dragons youth program to SC RASTA Vechta.

Nelson Weidemann 6'2 160 ('99, PG, Nürnberg)
Somewhat operating in the shadows of both Bonga and Herkenhoff, Weidemann was the motor of this talented group of German players. Standing at 6'2 with great length and athleticism, he has the physical attributes to dominate from the Point Guard position. However, still learning to get a feel for the position and its responsibilties, Weidemann seems in the process of learning to control the speed of the game, all while attempting to find a balance between scoring and passing. At this point he has decent instincts, however his decision making needs to sharpen in order to succeed at the Guard position, as it can be erratic at times.

Though he possesses superb ballhandling ability, paired with good athleticism and speed that allows him to get to the basket at will, Weidemann settles for jump shots far too often. Similar to his teammates he struggled at the rim, mainly due to poor use of angles and lack of strength. 

At this point in his development his shooting stroke is his major weapon. Displaying smooth mechanics and good three point shooting percentages throughout the year (45% in the JBBL and 38% in Kaunas), he shows great promise in becoming an elite shooter. However, at this point he struggles with consistency due to footwork and shot selection. While his overall shooting mechanics do not need work, he needs to gain better awareness of shot selection and in terms of shooting practice his footwork needs to get refined.

Defensively, Weidemann displayed great promise. His length and lateral quickness allows him to keep his opponents in front of him, while hounding them all over the court. At this point, Weidemann has to put muscle on his slender frame in order to  sustain the physicality he will be subjected to by his opponents on both ends of the floor.

Weidemann recently moved from ALBA BERLIN to the youth program of rent4office Nürnberg.
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