Top 15 biggest names to play U17 World Cup: Places 11-15

MIES (Switzerland) - The FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup has seen some amazing players over the course of five tournaments since 2010. Who are the top stars to have played in this event? We look at the Top 15 biggest names and how they performed at the event.

Here is the first installment with places 11-15 plus Honorable mentions.

Honorable mention:

Mario Hezonja - Croatia - 2012; Jaylen Hoard - France - 2016; Theo Maledon - France - 2018; Evan Mobley - USA - 2018; Dzanan Musa - Bosnia and Herzegovina - 2016

15 - Oumar Ballo - Mali - 2018

Ballo played like a man among boys in Argentina as he led the competition in rebounding (16.9 rpg) and was second in scoring (20.6 ppg) - topped off by a 32-point, 32-rebound monster game in the classification round. Ballo’s performance earned him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. The Mali big man’s biggest moment on the international stage came a summer later when he helped the African country reach the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019 Final - the continent’s greatest global result. He spent the 2021-22 season with the University of Arizona in NCAA basketball in the United States.

14 - Guo Ailun - China - 2010

Guo was an absolute star for China in Hamburg, leading all scorers with 22.4 points per game and ranking third in assists with 5.5 an outing. Guo, who also grabbed 4.9 rebounds, helped China finish seventh in the competition, defeating Serbia, Argentina, Egypt and Germany. The guard has become one of the leaders of Chinese senior national teams, playing at two FIBA Basketball World Cups and two Olympics. He also has helped his home down Liaoning Flying Leopards to two Chinese domestic league titles, including in 2021-22.

13 - Killian Hayes - France - 2018

Hayes played a massive role in France grabbing a historic second place in Argentina - the first podium finish for the country at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup. Hayes averaged 16.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.4 blocks in the tournament, earning him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. His two biggest games were in the Quarter-Finals - 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists against Turkey - and Semi-Finals - 20 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists versus Puerto Rico. Hayes completed his second NBA season with Detroit, improving his numbers just about across the board.

12 - Alperen Sengun - Turkey - 2018

Sengun was a year younger than the rest of the competition but still helped Turkey to a fifth-place finish in Argentina. The center was the team’s second-leading scorer with 15.9 points per game and top rebounder with 12.3 boards a contest, ranking third overall in the competition. Sengun added 2.0 assists and 0.9 blocks while stepping up his game in the Knockout Phase, where he averaged 20.3 points and 13.8 rebounds with four double-doubles in the final four games. Sengun collected 9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists as an NBA rookie in 2021-22 with Houston and already has become a leader with the Turkish senior national team, averaging 11.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament last summer.

11 - Collin Sexton - USA - 2016

Sexton took home Most Valuable Player honors in guiding United States to the title in Zaragoza. The guard led the Americans in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (4.2 apg) while also picking up 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals, including 16 points and 8 assists in the victory over Turkey in the Final. Sexton had his biggest season in the NBA in 2020-21 with a career high 24.3 points as well as 4.4 assists to go along with 3.1 rebounds. His 2021-22 season ended in early November with a knee injury which required surgery.

Next week do not miss the rest of this exciting ranking with the top 10 names to ever play at the U17 World Cup!

 FIBA