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It’s time to catch up on the progress of some of Europe’s leading 2001 and 2002  prospects.

Iliana Rupert, France (IG: iliana.12 + T: @Iliana_rups) (2001, C, CFBB)

Iliana Rupert is on course for a fast ascension to the professional elite level. The highly versatile forward is having a spectacular season coming off her 2017 U16 European champion campaign happily doubled by an unanimous MVP award. In a competitive and demanding LF2 league which counts numerous former LFB players and experienced foreign players she’s averaging a very solid 26.5mpg 12.3ppg 7.2reb on 48.5% FG2 & 31% FG3 (18/58). Alongside teammates Chéry-Fauthoux she helped CFBB win 4 games since the beginning of the season, while the average in most past seasons didn’t exceed 1 or 2 and even sometimes none.  Her ability to knock down the three will make her a real hard task to guard for anyone. She’s the perfect modern stretch 4/5 player. Not only is she gifted on the court but so is she studying-wise. She’s graduating one year early from high school, a feat that forces her to forego her last season of CFBB. Worth mentioning she took part in the latest edition of NBA/WNBA/FIBA joint-event Basketball Without Borders Global Camp where she was voted to the All-Camp Team. She will carry a huge chunk of France’s ambition to make a podium push at the upcoming U17 World Championship. To make her profile look even better she just signed her first professional contract joining French & ELW powerhouse Tango Bourges Basket as soon as next fall. I wouldn’t be surprised, given her precocity, if she manages to make an impact immediately.

Kendra Chery, France (IG: cheryy971) (2001, SF/PF, CFBB)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc7uI42Fg6b/

Another French player on our watchlist is Kendra Chéry whose above-average athletism will cause great challenges in the future for her opponents at the SF/PF position. She’s not recording the same kind of numbers as fellow teammate Rupert but her potential is remarkable. She is among the most used player for CFBB this season averaging a consequent 28.5mpg leaving her with plenty occasion to make adjustments in her game where is needed, this includes for sure her shooting percentage where lies plenty of improvement space. Fear her strong 1st step, amazing vertical jump highlighted by her ability to dunk (we’ll detail this fact very soon in another article) and great shooting form (though not translated in numbers yet, FT included). Coming next for her are the U17 World Championship and a final season at CFBB next season. Until now, this season she gives her team a 7.6ppg 5.5rpg on 39% FG2, 23% FG3, 53% FT input.

Marine Fauthoux, France (IG: marine.fauthoux) (2001, PG, CFBB)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdpd4v-n4tX/

Closing the trio of French prospect on this list is PG Marine Fauthoux whose learning curve is as promising as for her 2 other teammates. Captain of her NT, her leadership capacity is just one remarkable aspect to her game. Her fearlessness, her instinct-driven and flashy type of play are two others.  Beautiful dribbling skills, ability to be clutch, excellent shooting form will most probably turn her into a key player for France in coming years. Expect Fauthoux to play a major role at this year’s U17 World Championship. In LF2 this season her court-production comes in the shape of a 26mpg-9.4ppg-3apg-3.7topg on 42% FG2, 26% FG3. While she definitely must cut down her number of TO as her ratio assist/turnover is negative with almost 4topg, but time is on her side to clean that aspect of her game.

Emily Bessoir, Germany (IG: embessoir) (2001, C, Jahn Muenchen)

Emily Bessoir has been impressive at the last 2 editions of FIBA U16 European Championship, finishing last summer in the All-Tournament Team. While Germany didn’t qualify for the U17 World Championship in Bourges finishing at the frustrating 1st non qualifying spot (6th), Emily has since been making great splashes in Germany’s second divison. At 17 only she already is the leader of her team which, ranked 3rd in its group, battling for the top spot as the season comes close to the end. On a personal level she is just 0.1 rebound shy of averaging a fantastic double-double, presently posting 15.6ppg-9.9rpg a game in almost 32 minutes court-time. She’s showing great consistency with 14 double-digits outings in 18 games, of which 10 are between 16 and 24 points! Her season best to date is a 21pts-13reb-5st-35eff effort. Great defender, beautiful shot blocker (2.3blocks per game) and with a nice range (30.7% FG3) makes her a super asset for any team. Challenge her perimeter attempts and she will use her mobility to get to the hoop. Did I mention she also participated in this year’s Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Los Angeles and made the All-Camp Team too? I guess I just did!

Reka Dombai, Hungary  (2002, SG/SF, Vasas Akademia)

Reka Dombai is impressing in her first senior season in the highly competitive Hungarian League, home to many ELW/ECW clubs. At just 15 she already can take pride in posting a serious 22,1mpg-9ppg-3rpg-2apg-2spg statline. While not necessarily flashy, her strong fundamentals and super-poised style are efficient. The perfect player to rely on. It will be very interesting to see how all of the minutes she gets playing with players sometimes twice her age will translate come the U17 World Championship to which Hungary qualified as U16 European Championship runner-ups. If her achievements at U18 level with her club is anything to go by, it should be very impactful. She recently won the U18 national title and claimed the MVP award along the way (remember she is only 15) finishing the title game with an efficiency of 32! Her NT and club teammate SF Aliz Varga is another player worth following in this Hungarian generation.

Ilaria Panzera, Italy (IG: panzera.ilaria) (2002, G, GEAS Sesto San Giovanni)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd-EQ8lgTCP/

Ilaria Panzera might be Italy’s next big thing. While one year younger than the rest of the troop she propelled Italy to the semi-finals in Bourges last summer and finished in the All-Tournament Team. The recent plan for her from the Federation is to slide her from the SF spot to a more sustainable PG/G/Combo Guard position due to her height. One thing is for sure, while she might lack a few inches to fit on the wing, talent is something she has in excess. She certainly will be one of the players to follow closely in Minsk next summer at the U17 Worlds. She will come strong of a full season playing at the senior level in Italy’s second division. The league’s leaders Sesto San Giovanni is her side and she contributes to their strong season with a fine 19.6mpg-6.9ppg-3rpg-1.5apg-1.2topg on 50% FG2 & 32% FG3 (15/47), making her a reliable scoring force and secure ball-handler.

Raquel Carrera, Spain (IG: celtabaloncestofemenino + @raquel_cq) (2001, C, Celta Vigo)

Raquel Carrera will arrive at this summer’s U17 World Championship (Spain having grabbed the last qualifying spot finishing at a disappointing for Spanish standards 5th place) strong of a conclusive first full season at senior level in Spain’s 2nd tier LF2 where plays for the league’s leader Celta Vigo. The 29.6mpg she’s averaging speak highly of the trust she’s getting from her coach. She makes the most out of it with a return of 10.8pts-6.5reb on 50% FG2 a game. Out of 23 games so far, she didn’t reach double digits in scoring only 6 times making her a very consistent player to turn to. Good frame, dissuasive defender and prone to finding an open teammate whenever possible, she is one of Spain’s main post prospects in the medium to the long term.

Helena Pueyo, Spain (2001, SG/SF, Segle XXI)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba6nn4_jvDo/?taken-by=helenapueyomelchor

Fellow Spanish teammate Helena Pueyo appears to me like the most talented backcourt option of this list. A great all-round strong versatile player that can equally play physical or grace the game with subtle moves, whether passing, driving, rebounding, or nailing jumpers. High IQ and great fundamentals allow Pueyo to be a difference maker on any given night/afternoon. Her season in Spain’s LF2 for Segle XXI has been erratic, seeing her alternating great performances with games to forget ;  still her overall season contribution remains very decent for a 16 year old playing against adults as her 30.2mpg-9.7ppg-4.4rpg-2.6apg-1.8spg-2topg 44% FG2 40%FG3-88%FT testify. So looking forward to seeing her display her skills in Minsk.

Nika Muhl, Croatia (T: @wababasketball + @MuhlNika) (2001, PG, Tresnjevka 2009)

Nika Muhl could very much be called the Sabrina Ionescu of the Balkans. Her production at club level whether with the seniors in Croatian Top division (28.1mpg-9.5ppg-7.2rpg-5.5apg-4.2spg-3topg) or Adriatic League- WABA (32.2mpg-11.7ppg-5.8rpg-4.5apg-2.5spg-5topg), or at U17 level are simply amazing for this not even yet 17 year old player. As an example, very recently during Croatia’s U17 F4 where she received the MVP accolades on top of the title, she posted in the two successive games a quadruple-double and a triple-double. Towards the middle of the season, in Croatian senior league, where her side fights for the top spots, she recorded back-to-back triple-doubles as well, starting with a 13pts-17reb-10ass-6st-37eff performance followed by 21pts-14reb-10ass-8st-36eff the week after. Her last outing in WABA shows she’s not slowing down as her 17pts-9reb-6ass-28eff testify. As you can see she is building herself a reputation of one of the best and most versatile all-round player from her generation. Next chance to see her perform in her age category at the international level will be this summer’s U18 European Championship. Expect to see big numbers in front of her name on the statsheet again.

 

Awak Kuier (2001, C, Helmi)

The 6ft6Finnish center will look back at the 2017-2018 season as being the one where she made her debut in a senior NT vest during the EuroBasket Women 2019 Qualifiers. At just 16 years old she is getting highly beneficial court-time for her development. In 4 games with the seniors she averaged 19.5mpg and was a starter against France on Feb 14th. In that game she finished with an impressive 10reb-5ass-4pts in 31minutes against the likes of Sandrine Gruda, Endene Miyem, Helena Ciak to name just a few, all Olympians and ELW-WNBA regulars or regulars to be. Her court-vision and clinical passing abilitu are well highlighted by her 5 assists in that game. In Finland she made a switch during the season from PeKa to Helmi, a move that saw her influence grow each game. While she was playing roughly 14mpg with her initial team, she now spends 30+mpg with her new team. Her overall stats have benefitted from this move. From 5ppg-4.5rpg with PeKa her contribution rose to 11.6ppg-9.8rpg-2.7apg-3bspg-19.5eff with Helmi. We will for sure hear more about her in coming months-years. A player to follow closely.

 

 

 

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Born to Polish PE teachers/coaches parents, involvement with sport and basketball was never a question. Eastern attention to fundamentals, athleticism, discipline and hard work eventually met Western standards through his development in the French system. Now a former player with a passion for the women’s game going back for more than 25 years, he uses his knowledge to bring insights and perspective on women's basketball internationally - with a strong emphasis on Europe and player development.

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