REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - The fourth and final Nike International Junior Tournament (NIJT) qualifier tips off this weekend in Belgrade, where the last team will book their automatic spot for the NIJT Finals at the Euroleague Final Four in May.

Already through to the May 15-18 tournament in Milan are: Cajasol Seville, who won the Citta di Roma tourney shortly after Christmas; Real Madrid, winners of the Ciutat de L’Hospitalet event at the beginning of the new year; and Zalgiris Kaunas, who captured the crown in Kaunas in early February.

There will be four more teams added to the eight-team field with Euroleague to hand out four wild cards.

Just like in the build-up to the Kaunas event, Eye on the Future reached out to the eight clubs playing in Belgrade to find out which youngsters they think are the players to watch. And here’s what to watch this weekend.

The leader from Cedevita Zagreb will be Lovro Mazalin. The 16-year-old swingman could soon become the latest Croatian youngster to be known by just his first name alongside Bojan (Bogdanovic), Dario (Saric) and Mario (Hezonja).

Mazalin already has experience with the Croatian youth national team ranks, playing a big role in Croatia finishing second at the 2013 U18 European Championship. He later starred for Croatia's U16 team, though they ended the tournament in sixth place and failed to qualify for the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship.

Lovro can score at will - he went for 44 points against Turkey at the U16 tournament - but he also gets teammates involved, rebounds well and plays solid defense while possessing a good understanding of the game. The left-handed point forward is widely considered one of the top players of the 1997 class.

Right near the top of the 1998 class is 15-year-old Milos Glisic with Partizan NIS Belgrade. The center was born in Banja Luka, Bosnia, but helped Serbia to a third-place finish at the U16 European Championship in 2012 and then took a step up on the podium last summer with a second-place showing at the 2013 U16 Euros, qualifying for the U17 Worlds this summer.

Glisic, who won't turn 16 until April, will actually be playing at his second NIJT tournament. He still has room to grow and fill out his body, which is a bit lanky and lacks elite athleticism.

For his age, Glisic possesses a great feel for the game and gets excellent positions. His mechanics are solid and he will need to improve his ball-handling and footwork if he wants to play the wing. But he is still so young.

The French academy INSEP is known for producing top level talent and the latest from the ever-growing line of emerging stars is Stephane Gombauld. The forward played at the U16 European Championship the last two summers, helping France last summer qualify for the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship.

Gombauld will also be playing his second NIJT. It's still unclear what position the 16-year-old will play. He has good instincts on the offensive glass and possesses a good first step. His ball-handling is not solid enough yet to play on the wing and his body still could use some strength.

Gombauld is still young and raw, but he has long arms which makes him an ever-present threat on defense.

The player to watch for Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade is Vojislav Stojanovic, who played for Serbia at the 2013 U16 European Championship and helped them reach the Final which they lost to Spain but they still managed to book a spot in the U17 Worlds.

The shooting guard is ultra aggressive and plays with a high level of intensity. The 16-year-old has good size for his position, making him a tremendous rebounder from the backcourt. His ball-handling is good enough to move over to the point for stretches. His shooting lacks consistency while his size, length and strength allows him to make plays on defense.

Zemun's Slobodan Jovanovic is another player from Serbia's bronze and silver winning U16 teams from the 2012 and 2013 U16 European Championships. The shooting guard is a strong all-around player who shoots well and will not make mistakes with the ball in his hands. His technique is fantastic but he could use some more strength.

Radovan Djokovic from Mega Vizura Belgrade is a 2.00m point guard who is very creative and has good court vision. His three-point shooting is solid and he is very dangerous when penetrating to the basket. Djokovic has quick hands on defense and was named the MVP of the Serbian U17 championship last season.

One of the players to watch from Buducnost VOLI Podgorica is Milos Popovic. The center was just 15 years old last summer playing at the U16 European Championship for Montenegro. Once the team was into the relegation round, Popovic was given more playing time and he responded with 19.2 points 9.0 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.2 assists in the final five games, including 34 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals in the last game against Sweden. Popovic is extremely effective in the post but also has range out to the three-point line. He also draws a lot of fouls in the low post.

The roster for Canarias Basketball Academy looks like a United Nations team and one of the leaders will be Nobert Janicek of the Slovak Republic. The center is not especially athletic or physically impressive but he is extremely effective close to the basket. He can go with either hand around the rim, uses his body well on offense and positioning for rebounds. He has a face-up game and even a bit of range on his jumper.

It's quite likely that a number of these players - and more from the tournament - will be in Dubai this summer at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship...

David Hein

FIBA

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