NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - Having covered the guards to look at out for at the forthcoming FIBA U17 Women's World Championship in my last column, now it's the turn of the forwards.

Yueru Li (China)
Now being touted as one of the big hopes of Chinese basketball off the back of her stellar efforts at the 2015 FIBA Asia U16 Women's Championship in Medan, you can't blame people for getting excited with her potential. Her averages of 22.1 points and 16.1 rebounds per game were awesome, but can she do it against higher quality opposition? Well, I can't wait to find out and see her game up-close!

Veronika Sipova (Czech Republic)
The 1.81m forward was unfortunate not to be named MVP at the 2015 U16 European Women's Championship as normally that honour is bestowed on someone from the winning team. And, the forward did more than anybody to take the Czechs to a historic first title at the event, leading the way in points and boards. She does such a great job of drawing fouls too, finding herself on the foul line some 46 times in Matosinhos.

Eziyoda Magbegor (Australia)
With supreme athleticism and leaping ability, it was inevitable that Magbegor would prove unstoppable at the 2015 FIBA Oceania U16 Women's Championship with averages of more than 18 points and 11 rebounds per game. I watched her in Chekhov last year against players much older than her at the FIBA U19 Women's World Championship and she has massive potential. I am looking forward to seeing how she has progressed in the last 12 months and if she can be more dominant at the global level in her own age category.

Valeria Trucco (Italy)
Perhaps the most interesting choice on my list, she is often viewed as the third player of her country's impressive three-punch, frontcourt option. Yet behind her team-mates Lorela Cubaj who made the All-Tournament Team in Matosinhos and the hugely impressive Sara Madera, Trucco was hugely efficient. A team best 54.9 percent from the field, great on the boards and takes extreme care of the basketball whenever it is in her hands.

Ene Blessing Adams (Nigeria)
While Adams may have suffered in terms of her finishing around the bucket at the 2016 FIBA Africa U16 Women's Championship, this part of her game will develop with experience. What I am excited about is seeing the forward go to work on the glass. She is a rebound waiting to happen and was breath-taking in that respect in Antananarivo last year.

Alyssa Jerome (Canada)
What is there not to love about the versatile Canadian who was MVP of the 2015 FIBA Americas U16 Women's Championship? She will once again be a key component in the challenge of Canada and big things are predicted for her. She is a do-it-all player, has shooting range and passing vision, as well as her ability to score and crash the glass. A very exciting prospect that will be high on many people's watch-list!

Beatriz Jordao (Portugal)
A defensive powerhouse for her team, I loved watching Jordao last year in Matosinhos. While her team-mate Ana Ramos took MVP, it was arguably the center who was really the darling of the excited and highly supportive locals. She can block shots for fun and is a much needed physical presence in the low post. She could be the top scorer and rebounder for her nation in Zaragoza.

Obalunanma Ugwu (Brazil)
A real powerhouse player whose outstanding tournament double-double last year in Puebla at the FIBA Americas U16 Women’s Championship perhaps didn’t get the recognition it deserved, I can’t wait to see her play in the flesh. She is phenomenal on the boards and her 12 points and 11 rebounds per game last year showed why she will spearhead Brazil’s quest for success in the paint.

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