Diego Flaccadori (ITA)
25/06/2015
David Hein's Eye on the Future
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Chances aplenty at FIBA U19 Worlds

REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - Always look on the bright side of life. Monty Python reminded us that in the Life of Brian. And we might need that reminder for the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship

Even the optimist Python would need a shoulder to cry on if he took a look at the list of the players who will miss the basketball spectacle which tips off this weekend in Crete.

Please allow me to spread a bit of depressing information before I try to show why there is plenty of reason to look forward to the 12th U19 World Championship.

Many of the players absent would be candidates for the All-Tournament Team and some of them would combine to make their respective countries even contender for the title. 

The NBA Draft takes place on Thursday and a quartet of players expected to be selected - Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones, Myles Turner and Stanley Johnson - could be lining up for the United States. Australia might even be considered the favourite if they had all of their weapons, including Ben Simmons, Isaac Humphries, Jonah Bolden, Thon and Matur Maker and Harry Froling

While those are the two worst-hit teams, nearly every country has been hit by the injury bug or has had players withdraw from the U19 Worlds.

China will be missing star big man Qi Zhou as well as Zou Yuchen, while Canada will not have the services of Jamal Murray.

The end of the Italian club season saw Federico Mussini go down with an ankle injury while Croatian guard Lovro Mazalin injured his finger in a warm-up game last week. 

Two other injured players will be last minute decisions. Serbian Stefan Lazarevic broke his arm in late May and is awaiting final clearance after returning to practice, and Greece power forward Vasilis Charalampopoulos sprained ankle five days before the start of the tournament and would be a huge loss. 

So, enough of the bad news - channel your inner Monty Python.

For every player who is out, an opportunity arises for another player to step up and showcase themself. And with so many big stars not in Greece, that means major chances to break out. 

Mussini's absence means there are some 16-18 points to be spread out for Italy. Diego Flaccadori will probably pick up some of the production but expect Andrea La Torre to be extra motivated to play well after struggling at the recent Adidas Next Generation Tournament.

China have a huge hole in the middle without Qi and Zou. And the underclass big men Hu Jinqiu  and Fu Hao will be asked to repeat their strong performance from the 2014 U17 World Championship, where they combined for 33.6 points and 19.9 rebounds per game. 

Mazalin's absence means that Croatia will miss the chance to play a giant line-up with the 2.04m at the point. Instead, the strong Croatians will rely on Goran Filipovic to lead the attack.

As much as international basketball fans were looking forward to seeing Murray star for Canada, they now get a chance to see more of Justin Jackson, who broke out on the world scene as a 15-year-old at the 2012 U17 World Championship. Canada head coach Roy Rana will also need that much more from Dillon Brooks and Jalen Poyser.

Australia are missing so much possible talent that nearly every player on the team will play a bigger role than originally planned - or at least hoped. 

Of course Dejan Vasiljevic and Thomas Wilson will pick up much of the slack but players like Kyle Clark, Jack White and Jack McVeigh will be crucial now.

No nation in the world could compensate as easily for a high number of missing players like the United States. Five players will be making their international debut in Crete including Louisville big man Chinanu Onuaku

But Jalen Brunson's role will be increased from last summer's FIBA Americas U18 Championship. 

And a couple of stars from the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship will get a chance to shine as underclass players. Though Josh Jackson, Harry Giles and Caleb Swanigan will not play like they are a year younger than the rest of the competition.

Sure, fans can bemoan the players who will not be in Crete. But instead let's enjoy the future stars gracing the Greek courts. Let's all look on the bright side of life.

David Hein 

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.

David Hein

David Hein

Walk into the media tribune of any major basketball event and there's a good chance you will come across David Hein. Having covered dozens of FIBA events, including numerous women's and youth events, there are few players Dave doesn't know about, and few players who don't know him. His sporting curiosity means he is always looking to unearth something new and a little bit special. David Hein's Eye on the Future is a weekly column digging out the freshest basketball talent worldwide and assessing what the basketball landscape will look like a couple of years down the line.