REGENSBURG (David Hein’s Eye on the Future) - The wait is finally over - the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championship is tipping off in Zaragoza and everything is in line for a great tournament. The biggest question is can anybody finally beat the United States?

All 16 teams have the dream of lifting the trophy to the heavens on July 3 and listening to “We are the Champions” with confetti raining down on them. 

For more than a few of the teams in Zaragoza, that would mean pulling off some mammoth upsets along the way. But the goal for every team is to reach the podium and be marked on the front page of the competition’s history. 

The United States must be considered the favorites starting the competition. Coach Don Showalter has shown the amazing ability to form a strong unit out of a group of young, uber-talented players who are mostly stars for their high schools - and that in an astoundingly short period of time. 

Despite the limited prep time, Showalter has guided his teams to three straight U17 Worlds titles - all of them in undefeated fashion. In fact, Showalter’s teams also went undefeated in four FIBA Americas U16 Championships, including the current group.

So, the question remains … can anybody beat the United States?

The Canadians had to wait a long time to find out if RJ Barrett would actually play but head coach David DeAveiro will have his best player on hand. 

Barrett, who just turned 16 years old on June 14, arrived at Canada’s base in Zaragoza on Tuesday night after spending about two weeks with the Canadian senior national team. The U17 team was to face Australia on Thursday in a crucial battle on Thursday. 

When asked what it was like getting back with his teammates, Barrett said: “It was great. When I walked in, everybody was jumping on me. It was really fun to see them again. It was great to reunite that team.”

Teaming Barrett with the likes of Simi Shittu, Andrew Nembhard and Ignas Brazdeikis gives DeAveiro a group that could compete with their fellow North Americans. 

The Canadians can match closely the Americans’ athleticism while the top prepared and drilled team might be Australia - USA’s opponents in the last two finals.

Head coach Mark Watkins has had his team together for seven weeks and put them through more than a dozen games before their start in Zaragoza. The Aussies are not the most athletic side but they do execute on both sides of the ball.

Those are probably the three top contenders which is followed by a group of teams that could hoist the trophy if almost everything goes right. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina are the U16 European champions but are without one of their main pillars Njegos Sikiras. That means the Balkan nation will have to rely even more on captain Dzanan Musa in their debut at the global spectacle. 

Turkey are also making their first-ever appearance at the U17 Worlds. They looked fantastic last summer at the U16 Euros before getting nicked by hosts Lithuania in the Semi-Finals. But Fatih Elbas team has failed to really play well together in the build-up to Zaragoza. If the likes of Onuralp Bitim and Ahmet Can Duran are really playing well, then the Turks could give any team a challenge.

Lithuania play tremendously well as a team and shoot the lights out from outside but they lack a bit of size and athleticism to contend with the North American pair. 

China have a nice group of talent in various spots on their team but the question remains if they can finally turn the corner and win a Quarter-Final game - after losing at that stage the past three events. 

What about France? What about Korea or Finland? 

Finland are ready to make their U17 Worlds debut. 

Sure, all of them have their strong points. But the French need a lot of chips to fall in the right places around the likes of Jaylen Hoard. Korea are supremely well prepared and execute fantastically but they are much too reliant on the three-pointer and undersized to really prove dangerous to a top team.

And Finland are a well-run team but they lack big game experience in general as debutants. Of course they are in Zaragoza and top European nations like Serbia, Croatia, Italy and Germany are not. So you cannot underestimate them at all. 

Mali are the only of the other quartet that could perhaps do something surprising - mainly because of their great length. So, sorry Argentina, Dominican Republic and Chinese Taipei, but it’s hard to see that trio not playing for 12th to 16th places. 

David Hein

FIBA

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