NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - There was so much to admire at the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 in Belarus, including some standout individuals.

Here are the 10 players who impressed me most in Minsk:

Iliana Rupert - France

Rupert came into this tournament with a big reputation having been FIBA U16 Women's  European Championship 2017 MVP and having penned a deal with French Champions, Bourges Basket, to play in EuroLeague Women during 2018-19.  Having seen her at U16 last year, I knew she would be good in Minsk, but she excelled and at times, it looked like she was a senior level pro who was playing against kids. That was simply because of her size, her movement, strength and of course, well matured skills. Above anything else, she showed what a defensive powerhouse she can be and you had to tip your hat at 14 blocks. The only thing that let her down was going 0 of 9 from long range ,which impacted on her shooting percentage. 

Shyla Heal - Australia

This was a tournament when I feel a future Opals star announced herself on the global stage. The leadership, the smarts, the efficiency, the skills and the character were outstanding from Heal. The playmaker also made some exciting plays and having struggled in the Semi-Final against France, showed her qualities with 14 points in the last quarter of the Third Place Game with Hungary. Fittingly, she also made the clutch shot to seal the deal. It was a thrill for me to do a special 'long read' on her and I think on this evidence, Heal will realize her Olympic ambitions.

Reka Dombai - Hungary

While Hungary may have been pipped in their pursuit of a podium step as they had to settle for fourth place, it can't detract from the superb play and maturity shown by Dombai. To merely look at, you would think that Dombai might be built for play in the paint, but I lost count of the times she had the ball at the top of the key or outside of the perimeter and blasted her way past her opposing defender to the hoop. Exciting, strong and with a nice shooting range, she does-it-all and is another player I expect to see excel at senior level. 

Azzi Fudd - USA

While a lot of people will be focusing on Haley Jones who made the All-Star Five or Paige Bueckers who was a contender, I want to shine a spotlight on Fudd. Considering she is almost a 2003 and by far the youngest player on the roster of the champions, she did an awesome job and highlighted why there is so much excitement at her skills and what she could eventually evolve into. She is on the right track and helped by her basketball family circles, she certainly knows the game. Meanwhile she finished in Minsk as the most deadly three-point shooter in the competition at more than 56 percent, but I was also impressed with her decision-making, less than 1 turnover per outing, plus almost 4 boards and 2 assists per game. 

Aminata Brahima Sangare - Mali

Two years ago, Mali made history as they won not only two, but three games at this event for the first time in their history. Much of that success was due to the powerful Salimatou Kourouma and while this time around, the wins didn;t flow as readily for Mali, they were still impressive and look to have unearthed another star. With Aisettou Coulibaly missing and all eyes on Sika Kone , it was Sangare who  also made people sit up and take notice with some fantastic numbers and plenty of slick moves in the paint  as she amassed a stellar tournament double-double of more than 12 points and 13 boards per game. She has bags of potential and if Mali can get Coulibaly, Kone, Kourouma and now Sangare injected into the seniors, the future could look incredibly bright!

Raquel Carrera - Spain

I admit that at times I was getting a little frustrated with Carrera, who I feel could convert more of the opportunities she gets around the bucket. However, I think I am rather harsh in my critique of her game, since I believe a lot in her and think she has a strong chance to make it to the senior Spanish team, who do not have huge depth in their frontcourt options. Overall though, Carrera makes my 10 as she showed her importance to the Spanish team at both ends of the floor. Yes, she could have shot the ball even better than she did, but you have to love 2.7 steals per game, the blocks and rebounds. Still much to learn, but already a favorite of mine.

Sika Kone  - Mali

As mentioned earlier when talking about her colleague Aminata Brahima Sangare, there was a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Kone heading into this tournament. Therefore it is testament to her skills and application that she finished the campaign as the most efficient player in the entire  tournament. That was helped by her shooting 50 percent from the field and is testament to her smart shot selection and not trying to do too much. She also weighed in with 10.9 boards per game to seal a superb tournament double-double.

Jordan Horston - USA

It was never going to be easy to select an MVP from the range of USA players who were all in the mix throughout the competition. but on balance, I think the final decision was correct - and deserved. Horston was super across the board in terms of her productivity with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while it was uppermost in my mind that it is always much more difficult to impress in a team that has so many talents. I thought it was her sense of timing that was most impressive. She was able to take control in key situations, put her foot to the gas and drive USA to the top step of the podium in style. 

Aliyah Boston - USA

Having been crowned MVP last year in Argentina at the FIBA Americas U16 Women's Championship, Boston almost did the double by taking the honor at her first global tournament. While she was ultimately edged out by her team-mate Jordan Horston, I thought Boston played just so smart. She was ruthless - so much so that her accuracy and clinical effort from two-point range of more than 65 percent told the story. Throw in almost no turnovers, 7 boards and a few blocked shots, she was the USA's absolute rock. Had she been given more minutes, then she probably would have done even more. But the newly crowned champions were so far head and shoulders above everyone that they only had to play her 17 minutes per game. Than in itself, is completely mind-blowing. 

Florencia Chagas - Argentina

When you flick through the statistical categories and come to efficiency, you will see that Chagas doesn't feature very prominently. I normally pay most attention to this category, but if there is one player you just have to ignore when it comes to efficiency, it is Argentina's centerpiece. That is because the do-it-all star is top of a category that doesn't feature in the statistics - entertainment. Few players in the history of the FIBA Women's Youth Game have ever stuffed the highlights reel so much. There was also that triple-double and to emphasize the that you should not scrutinize Chagas too closely, it was a quadruple-double taking into account turnovers. But I would't have it any other way and she is a senior regular and possible global star in the making. Love her game. A 100 percent baller!

The Honorable Mentions

I am cheating a little bit here, since I am also going to have to just throw in a load of honorable mentions and give props to Kendra Chery (FRA), Paige Bueckers (USA), Haley Jones (USA), Lily Scanlon (AUS), Sofia Acevedo (ARG) and Giulia Natali (ITA) to name but a few.

Paul Nilsen

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.