Shooting Stars in Prague

Basketball fans, take notice. The FIBA U19 World Championship will be taking place in Prague from June 27–July 7, featuring the most talented under-19-year-olds playing for their home countries. A selection of sixteen teams that have fought to qualify for this tournament will battle it out for bragging rights as the top junior team on the planet.

These teams include the United States, Canada, Argentina, Spain, Brazil, Australia, Lithuania, Russia, China, Korea, Ivory Coast, Serbia, Croatia, Iran, Senegal, and the Czech Republic. Each region of the globe is represented, with perennial powerhouses such as the US, Serbia, and Argentina leading the pack, and tough upstart basketball programs such as Canada and Brazil not far behind.

The tournament is organized by the Federal International Basketball Association (FIBA), which promotes the fact that it is a proving ground for players who may one day achieve NBA fame.

“In its 10 outings to date, the FIBA U19 World Championship has been a star-studded competition, featuring some of the biggest names in international basketball,” says Stanislav Křiváček, the organizer of this first-ever Czech edition of the tournament. FIBA players who have gone on to play in the pros include the likes of Pau Gasol, Andrei Kirilenko, Vince Carter, Andrew Bogut, Nicolas Batum, Vlade Divac, Arvydas Sabonis, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Wang Zhizhi.

This year’s tournament promises to highlight a dynamic group of young talent, as well.

Canada features its own big-man dynamo in Trey Lyles. The 2.08 m (6’10”) power forward is one of the highest-rated big men for his age group and is being pursued by some of the top NCAA programs in the US, including University of Kentucky and University of Louisville. 

Despite some quality players such as Lyle and a #6 world ranking, it will be a tough battle from the start for the Canadian squad which is competing in what promises to be the most difficult preliminary group of the tournament, with #5 ranked Croatia and #7 ranked Spain both looking to grab the top two positions and move on to the next round.

The biggest underdog of the tournament is without question the team representing Ivory Coast, ranked #57 in the world. The young Ivorians earned their way into the tournament with a second place finish in last year’s Afrobasket tournament, but as the smallest and least experienced team competing in Prague, it’s going to be a challenge for head coach Olivier Tea, especially when they go up against the #1-ranked team in the world in their opening match on June 27, the US. It will be a hardwood version of David vs. Goliath, with Ivory Coast aiming for what would be the greatest upset in tournament history.

While the US’s first game against Ivory Coast might not be the most competitive of the preliminary round, there are several others worth watching that promise to deliver some exciting action. Here, a select few in the opening days that are worth checking out:

Will you attend the games?