FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers a chance to make debuts with senior national team for youngsters

REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - The next two and a half weeks will determine the final 11 teams for FIBA EuroBasket 2017. The EuroBasketbal 2017 Qualifiers will also serve as a chance for some talented youngsters to make their debuts with their country's senior national teams.

The exhibition and warm-up games are over - let the qualifying begin… not to mention the FIBA senior national team careers of the likes of Dzanan Musa, Dino Radoncic and Tryggvi Hlinason.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's new look to the future
It really shouldn't be a surprise that we begin with Bosnia and Herzegovina, who led at half-time against Russia in a Group C game but tallied only 19 second half points in losing by 29 points, 83-54, in Perm.

After the disappointing 1-4 campaign at EuroBasket 2015, Damir Mulaomerovic took over the reins as BIH head coach. Mulaomerovic put a new face on the team, calling back just five players from the 2015 squad and setting his sights on the future.

Mulaomerovic nominated seven players 22 years or younger for the EuroBasket 2017 qualifiers for an average age of 23 years, including the 30-year-old veteran Milan Milosevic. Mulaomerovic also was able get 22-year-old star Jusuf Nurkic back into the national team after the big man had a dispute and did not play last summer.

Mulaomerovic included two teenagers in his 12-man roster with 18-year-old Amar Gegic and 1999-born Dzanan Musa. The 17-year-old Musa joined the senior national team after being named to the All-Star Five at the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championship. And Mulaomerovic clearly has no problem giving Musa plenty of time as he collected 9 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal in nearly 25 minutes versus Russia - the fourth-most minutes in the game behind just Nemanja Gordic, Nurkic and Milosevic.

Radoncic era officially begins
This is the third summer Musa has played in Bosnia and Herzegovina gear, but 2016 marks the international debut of Montenegro's Dino Radoncic - another gem from the 1999 generation. The Real Madrid shooting guard made a strong FIBA debut in Montenegro's 97-65 victory over Slovak Republic with 3 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 16 minutes.

Radoncic is an interesting story for more than just his age. The son of a former Yugoslavian international handball player, he was born in Germany and could have chosen to play for Serbian or even Spain. But Radoncic decided on Montenegro and he has already made his debut at the tender age of 17 - though his game is well beyond that of a 17-year-old.

Montenegro also have another teenager on their qualifiers team in 19-year-old Petar Popovic, who was turns 20 on September 13. The point guard, who finished last season with Serbian club Mega Leks Belgrade, has already booked a major accomplishment this summer, helping Montenegro to win the title at the FIBA U20 European Championship Division B 2016 and promotion. Against Slovak Republic, Popovic had 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 10 minutes.

Iceland's big man for the future?
Also at that U20 European Championship Division B tournament was Tryggvi Hlinason, a 2.15m (7-foot-1) center who will turn 19 in late October. Hlinason collected 7.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in helping Iceland win promotion to the Division A for the first time in history. Hlinason, who hails from Akureyri, some 400 kilometers from Reykjavik, was rewarded with a spot on Iceland’s senior team for the qualifiers. Hlinason even got a chance to play in Iceland's 88-72 blowout of Switzerland in Reykjavik, playing 1:13 minutes without registering any stats. But long term Hlinason, who played this past season with second division Thor AK, could be a big man of the future for Iceland.

Celis Taflaj is just 18 years old and has played two U20 European Championship Division B tournaments and now debuted with Albania's senior team.

Another 18-year-old who played in the first day of qualifiers was Albania's Celis Taflaj, who had 1 point and 1 rebound against Georgia. The small forward played last season in the Italian third division and he will make the jump one flight this season and play for Serie A2 side Berme Viola Basket Reggio Calabria. Taflaj has played the past two summers for Albania at the U20 European Championship Division B.

Hakanson leads group of 20-year-olds
Twenty-year-olds playing for the senior national team is not really out of the ordinary but there are a couple of 20-year-olds in the qualifying worth mentioning.

Sweden did not play on the opening day of action since they are in the three-team Group C. But it's hard to imagine that Ludde Hakanson is still only 20 years old, considering this will be his third go-around with the senior team. Hakanson started his senior career as a 17-year-old at EuroBasket 2013 and he also played in the EuroBasket 2015 qualifiers.

While Hakanson could not get Sweden qualified for EuroBasket 2015, Yannick Franke did appear at the tournament last summer, playing one game for Netherlands - with 3 points against Croatia. The 20-year-old small forward collected 4 points and 3 rebounds in 12 minutes in the Netherlands' EuroBasket 2017 qualifying loss at home against Austria.

This is the second qualifying session for MKD's Andrej Magdevski, who tried to get the country to EuroBasket 2015 and also played this and last summer at the U20 European Championship Division B. In MKD's 89-75 win over Luxembourg, Magdevski collected 9 points, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.  

Georgia's 20-year-old guard Luka Zakradze collected 0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block in 10 minutes against Albania. And Belarus' two 20-years olds - Maksim Salash and Roman Rubinshteyn - did not play versus Estonia.

David Hein

FIBA

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