REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - "Time flies" - you hear it all the time. Personally, I don't hold much for that saying considering so much happens all the time. So, as 2015 comes to a close, it only seems fair to take some time to look back at the top stories in youth basketball in the past 12 months.

10. Star-less Serbia win U20 European title
Serbia proved that there's no "I" in "team" as five players averaged between 9.5 and 13.4 points in helping the storied nation to the 2015 U20 European Championship crown - their first U20 European Championship title since the three-peat from 2006-2008. Marko Guduric won the MVP title as the leader of a team void of stars. 

9. Porzingis mania in NBA
New York Knicks fans were crying when Kristaps Porzingis was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. But the 20-year-old Latvian won over the tough hearts of Knicks fans and has turned Madison Square Garden into his own playground. His popularity is bordering on the absurd. 

8. Murray and Simmons shine for World Team at Nike Hoop Summit
Canadian star talent Jamal Murray put on a great show at the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit as he poured in 30 points and dished out 5 assists in a thrilling 103-101 victory for the World Select Team. The international team clinched its third win in the last four editions of the annual game as Australian star Ben Simmons flashed his amazing versatility with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.

7. Korea upset China; Canada nearly upset USA at U16 championships
This summer saw one huge upset at the U16 continental level and another potentially even bigger shock. China came into the 2015 FIBA Asia U16 Championship with three straight titles and 26 straight victories. Five more followed to start the 2015 event until they lost for the first time against the Philippines in the second group stage. Korea then beat China in the Semi-Finals en route to their maiden FIBA Asia U16 title. Canada looked poised to come up with an even bigger upset in the 2015 FIBA Americas U16 Championship. After finishing third in the first three editions, the Canadians finally broke through to the final and built up a 23-3 lead against the United States, who had never lost in their previous three title runs. The United States rushed back to win 77-60 and keep their perfect U16 record.

6. Greek 1997 generation finally gets title
The strong 1997-born Greek generation of Vasilis Charalampopoulos, Georgios Papagiannis and Dionysis Skoulidas saved it until the end but finally got the job done. After playing together every summer since 2012, the trio finally picked up their first piece of hardware and it was the big prize as they won the title at the 2015 U18 European Championship in front of their home fans in Volos. The group had previously lost in the Semi-Finals of the 2014 U18 European Championship and the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship and lost in the Third Place Game in both events as well. 

5. Real Madrid win first Adidas Next Generation Tournament title, get first Euroleague/ANGT double since 2006
The 16-year-old Luka Doncic collected 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as he led Real Madrid to a 73-70 victory in a thrilling final of the 2015 Adidas Next Generation Tournament over reigning champions Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade. It was Madrid’s first ANGT title and the professional Real Madrid team won the Euroleague title for the first double since CSKA Moscow in 2006.

4. Bender Gate
The world was ready to see Dragan Bender again. The 17-year-old Croatian sensation had just about gone undercover for the 2014-15 season playing in the second division in Israel as a Maccabi Tel Aviv player. He was supposed to be a lock for the All-Star Five at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship, where he was to help Croatia challenge the mighty United States for the title. But... then came Bender Gate. A dispute between the Adidas-sponsored Bender and the Jordan Brand-sponsored Croatian Basketball Federation ended in the superstar talent refusing to play at the U19 Worlds - for fear of a breach of contract if he wore Jordans or Nikes. The big business of shoes had hit FIBA.

3. Youngster Qi Zhou takes game to senior level
Qi Zhou may be only 19 years old but China’s next big prospect showed he's ready for the big time as he was named to the All-Star Five of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship by leading China to the title. Qi averaged 9.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in just 18.5 minutes per game and was a force in every game. 

2. Musa and Co. cap off magical summer for Bosnia and Herzegovina basketball 
The magical summer for Bosnia and Herzegovina youth hoops started with the 2015 U18 European Championship, where Edin Atic was named to the All-Star Five in guiding the Balkan team to the U18 European Semi-Finals for the first time in history. At the same time that Atic and Co. were playing in Volos, Dzanan Musa was helping the U16 team to a historic victory at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Tbilisi. That was just the precursor to another historic event. Musa collected MVP honours in leading the Bosnians to the 2015 U16 European Championship crown - the country’s first continental title and arguably the biggest sporting results in the country’s history. It also earned Bosnia and Herzegovina a spot in the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championship - the country's first-ever appearance on the global stage. 

1. USA need OT to out-last Croatia in game for the ages U19 final
Croatia was the last obstacle for the United States to complete an undefeated repeat of the title at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship. The Croatians were undermanned with players missing due to injuries and off-the-court issues (see Bender Gate). But Croatia played up to the United States level and were able to control the tempo. Croatia had the Americans on the ropes with Luka Bozic missing a potential game-winning free throw with 3 seconds left to send the game to overtime. There were big plays by star players throughout the game and in the end the USA’s depth prevailed in overtime 79-71 in a final for the ages. 

So, those were my top 10 moments in youth basketball in 2015. Remember, time doesn't fly if you take your time and enjoy all the great action around you.

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.