REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - With the calendar having now moved to 2018, this is an excellent time to look ahead to the next 12 months of what's to be expected in the next year of youth hoops. 

For those wanting to look back to 2017 before glancing into the future, here are the top dozen stories in youth hoops from last year. 

While the likes of Luka Doncic and RJ Barrett dominated youth ball last year, they very well could be the leaders this year as well - actually for many years given that Doncic will only turn 19 in late February and Barrett won't turn 18 years until mid-June. 

Barrett has a couple of chances to grab major headlines this year. First off, he and Montverde Academy have an excellent opportunity of winning the 2017-18 US high school national title. Barrett then will have a tough choice shortly thereafter with the FIBA U18 Americas Championship 2018, scheduled for June 11-17. Barrett has already committed to Duke and could decide to head to Durham ahead of time to start preparing for his one-and-done season in college. There is also the Canadian senior national team and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers on June 29 against Dominican Republic and July 2 versus Virgin Islands - both games being at home in Canada. Barrett already was working with Canada's senior team before the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2016 ahead of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2016. 

For Barrett, the U18 Americas would also be a step back after winning the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup last summer. But … the U18 Americas will be taking place in Canada - in St. Catherines, located about an hour from Toronto near the Niagara Falls. Barrett of course would be a huge drawing card for Canada Basketball, who have stepped up to the plate and are hosting the tournament. Barrett's presence would also give Canada a better chance of finally beating the United States, to whom they have lost in the last two U18 Americas Finals and three Semi-Finals in 2006, 2008 and 2010. 

The FIBA U18 Americas Championship is also a qualifier for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019. And with Barrett expected to be a high pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, it would also seem at least possible that he won't play in St. Catherines.

Doncic's name is more closely connected with the NBA Draft - and that's because he is a contender to taken with the No. 1 overall pick for all of his accomplishments already - including being an All-Star Five selection as a FIBA EuroBasket 2017 champion - and that at 18 years of age. 

There is a lot of competition for the top stop in the draft as Marvin Bagley Jr. of Duke is being considered as is Bahamas big man Deandre Ayton of Arizona. Michael Porter Jr. and Trae Young are among those hoping to make a push in the final stretch running up to June 21 and the Draft.

They all will be first fighting for the NCAA title in March Madness - to see who takes the throne from 2017 champions North Carolina.

One name being mocked in the first round of the NBA Draft is Anfernee Simons, who deserves special mention since he is playing in high school this season but is already 19 years old and eligible to go to the NBA directly from high school. It's unclear if he will go for the Draft or pick a college. 

Simons is one of the remaining big names in high school basketball not to have chosen a college program. And it will make headlines when the choices are made by human mixtape Zion Williamson and Romeo Langford.

At the end of 2017 we saw the Ball family decide to have LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball sign professional contracts with small Lithuanian club Prienai Vytautas. And while that set off a tidal wave on social media, 2018 has already seen their arrival in Lithuania - and the "insanity" that ensued, as one Lithuanian journalist said. Stay tuned for plenty of madness in the Ball-Lithuania saga.

Coming up in July is the fifth biennial FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in Argentina. The question in Rosario and Santa Fe is if the United States can be beaten. The Americans have not lost in the previous four U17 World Cups and USA head coach Don Showalter does not expect a loss this time around either.

The five continental U18 championships will also be played out - looking for the 16 teams for the field at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019. 

Asia's tournament will be hotly contested - especially since it will be the first with Oceania's two powers Australia and New Zealand. In addition, Australia will be out for blood after they failed to qualify for the 2017 U19 World Cup - the first time missing the tournament. It will be the same case for China, who missed the U19 World Cup for just the third time in 13 editions.

The FIBA U18 African Championship should be fascinating as well as Egypt have won three of the last five titles and lost to Angola in 2016 - Angola winning their first Africa U18 crown since 1988. Tunisia are also there - having reaching the Semi-Finals in 2016 after losing in the Final in 2014.

But can Mali finally break through and return to the Final for the first time since 2006 and maybe win their first U18 title. They finished in third place in 2010, 2014 and 2016 with a fourth placed showing in 2012. On top of that, the team will be buoyed by the country having won their first-ever men's crown last summer by claiming the FIBA U16 African Championship.

Moving to Europe for the three Division A tournaments. The FIBA U18 European Championship will serve as the qualifier for the U19 World Cup. Serbia will be defending champions and it's been very hard to pick a winner of this tournament recently. Between 2010 and 2017, seven nations won the eight titles - with Turkey going back-to-back in 2013 and 2014. Five other countries have reached at least the Semi-Finals since then as well. A number of teams will be looking to get back to the U19 World Cup after missing Cairo 2017, including Croatia, Greece, Russia, Serbia and Turkey.

The FIBA U20 European Championship will have another chance to see history. France's 1998-born team will be going for the generational three-peat after winning the European U16 title in 2014 and the U18 crown in 2016. A number of countries have been close but failed to repeat the feat that Lithuania did in 2008, 2010 and 2012 with Jonas Valanciunas' generation - though the Toronto Raptors big man did not play at the U20 tournament. And Lithuania also won the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2011.

Spain were close with titles in 2009 and 2011 and then third place at the U20 in 2013. Croatia claimed the 2010 and 2012 titles and then were fourth in 2014. And Turkey took third place at the U20 in 2016 after winning the U16 in 2012 and U18 in 2014.

With the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018, France have the chance to become the first team since Croatia in 2010 and 2011 to repeat the crown.

Whatever happens, 2018 will be another thrilling year in youth hoops and it will be great following it over the next 12 months.

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.

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