In the latest edition of ‘P.I. Pulse’, Pro Insight’s Jason Filippi compiles his scouting notes after spending multiple days evaluating the top prospects playing in ANGT Podgorica:
Once again, like in the past couple seasons, I will be following closely all of the Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT) games. 2024’s first ANGT leg provided the opportunity to get updated evaluations on aspiring college and pro players and write up detailed reports for the Pro Insight database. I’ve included a distilled version of those reports below for the purposes of this article. For more detailed scouting reports — and intel — on these players, as well as reports on some of the other younger prospects I cover all over Europe, subscribe to our database, here. With any questions or comments, shoot us an email: info@prospectiveinsight.com.
With that, here are my scouting takeaways after spending some time evaluating the top prospects from ANGT Podgorica:
Egor Demin (Russia) | 6-8 Guard | 2006 | Real Madrid
Demin continues his rise and has established himself as one of the top NBA prospects from the international 2006-born group. Blessed with great size for his position, he has established himself as the primary ball-handler for the top youth team in Europe. A truly versatile player who can literally play positions 1-2-3-4 on both sides of the court. Demin is a good system player who you can just plug in and play at any position or in any role based on necessity. He’s a good slasher who can get to the rim well using his size to protect the ball and finish in traffic. He can drive-and-dish well and throws some nice lob passes to his big men. He shows good court vision, overall, too. When playing off the ball, he does an effective job scoring off cuts to the basket. He can post up smaller wings and does a commendable job at exploiting favorable mismatches. He is more of a catch-and-shoot guy from three-point range at this stage. Demin is versatile on the defensive end, too, where he can guard multiple positions. However, for the first time I can remember, he did struggle a bit with a couple smaller, quicker ball-handlers, here, which is something to monitor moving forward. All in all, a very intriguing prospect.
Ismaila Diagne (Senegal) | 7-1 Big | 2006 | Real Madrid
Diagne continues to show improvements in his game and has become a very consistent and reliable performer night in and night out. He has great size/length and has improved his footwork a lot over the past two years — these days, he runs better and is much more mobile than in the past. His game is simple, but effective — and there is something to that. Diagne is more of an old-school center who gets most of his points at the rim off guard penetration and as a result of his efforts on the offensive glass (he scores often on tip-ins). He’s a good finisher off lobs. He plays mostly inside and doesn’t show much shooting range at this point, but he will attempt an occasional shot from the elbows if teams dare to leave him wide open. Defensively, Diagne is an anchor, offering a physical presence and rim protection. He can block shots, sure, but more importantly he alters a lot of shot attempts, making opponents think twice. His success rate when defending the pick-and-roll or when switching onto smaller players will likely be scrutinized a lot moving forward, but his mobility has improved a ton over the years, for what it’s worth. He boxes out and rebounds his area well. Diagne projects as a good Euroleague-level player.
Amon Doerries (Germany) | 6-11 Big | 2006 | Alba Berlin
Doerries was a bit inconsistent over the course of the tournament, but I really like his potential. He has good size/length and is quite mobile for his position. His body is starting to fill out nicely, too, and he looks much stronger than he did at this same time last year. He’s a left-handed, versatile big man with a varied offensive repertoire — he can play both in the high and low post and is comfortable posting up or facing up. Doerries is comfortable putting the ball on the deck and attacking an iso matchup, but he doesn’t always finish well vs. contact. In the low post, he shows a nice up-and-under move and can score on jump hooks with either hand over either shoulder. He’s a good pick-and-roll player who can pop out for three-point shots, too. He’s also a good passer from both the high and low post. He rebounds his area well, too. Where Doerries needs work is on the defensive end. He has the size to defend in the low post and moves his feet well enough to defend away from the basket, but he doesn’t show much physicality. He’s not much of a shot-blocker, even at this level. Doerries would be a great college prospect for the 2025 class.
Hugo Gonzalez (Spain) | 6-6 Wing | 2006 | Real Madrid
Gonzalez led the way once again as the top player (tournament MVP) on the top youth team in Europe. He’s a very consistent performer who can impact the game in many ways. A mature, polished player with an alpha male type of persona. He has just average size/length for a wing, but he has a strong build and is a good athlete/leaper. He can seemingly do at least a little bit of everything. Gonzalez is a good one-on-one player who really attacks the rim and can score with contact. He has been looking to shoot it more and more from three-point range as of late, but his jumper is notably streaky. I think his biggest strength may be his ability to act as a secondary ball-handler, as he creates a lot for others and is a good interior passer. He spearheads Real Madrid’s transition offense and is an athletic finisher on fast breaks. He creates mismatches in his ability to post-up smaller wings, he’s aggressive on both sides of the floor, and he brings a lot of physicality, playing bigger than his listed height. He’s also a noteworthy rebounder for his position. Gonzalez is a solid perimeter defender and plays with quick hands, deflecting a lot of passes. He can also help pressure the ball full-court. Projecting forward, his floor could be in the realm of a 3-and-D guy at the pro level, but Gonzalez could easily end up being much more than that.
Jack Kayil (Germany) | 6-3 Guard | 2006 | Next Generation Team
Kayil was kind of a mixed bag in this tournament – on one hand, he still makes a lot of mistakes, but he also does a lot of nice things, including solid defense and creating for others. He has nice size/length in the backcourt and may have grown another inch since I last saw him. He’s a decent athlete/leaper with some shiftiness and he can play both on and off the ball, but is at his best with the ball in his hands. Kayil is an effective slasher who can get to the rim at a respectable rate. He’s a good pick-and-roll player who can drive-and-kick well, too. He can score with pull-up jumpers but his range shooting, however, is very erratic. He showed a nice step-back move in Podgorica. He still needs to be more assertive, but his confidence seemed to grow over the course of the tournament – he made some clutch plays in his team’s second and third games. Kayil has good defensive ability – he can defend both guard spots and does a nice job at pressuring the ball. He defends with quick hands and he can be very disruptive, earning a lot of steals. I think his game will translate well to higher levels of competition. Kayil would make a great college prospect in my opinion, but any team recruiting him needs to get a commitment ASAP, because he will be facing pressure from Vechta to turn pro, next season.
Ivan Kharchenkov (Germany) | 6-6 Guard | 2006 | Bayern Munich
Kharchenkov was one of the top backcourt players in the tournament and definitely made up for having missed last year’s event due to injury. He brings size to the backcourt and is a decent vertical athlete with a strong frame. He is above all wired to score, but he can create for others too and did a nice job acting as a secondary ball handler throughout the event. Kharchenkov is a ‘triple threat’ who can dribble, pass and shoot. He’s a skilled one-on-one player who looks to score aggressively (can score with contact, draws a lot of fouls and gets to free throw line). That said, he tends to force a lot of shots and would benefit by improving his shot selection. He has a pretty trusty pull-up jumper and his shooting range extends out to 3. He elevates well and can make contested shots. Demeanor-wise, he’s an assertive, confident alpha. He’s a good open court player, both as a handler and as a finisher. He has strong legs and can defend his position well enough for the pro level. In Podgorica, he did a nice job guarding bigger players and showed that he can help pressure the ball, as well. I really like this kid and think he is going to be a high-level Euroleague player, if not more.
Eleftherios Liotopoulos (Greece) | 6-4 Guard | 2006 | Next Generation Team
Liotopoulos is a very improved player. To be blunt, I was not impressed when I saw him last year at ANGT, but he played very well this time around. He has good size and a strong build and is just an average athlete, overall. Liotopoulos is a combo guard who was solid both as a primary ball-handler and as a scorer throughout the event. He typically looks to distribute the ball and get everyone involved before starting to look to score more later in the game. His assertiveness now stands out and his game is becoming quite polished. He’s a good slasher who uses more strength (and smarts) than quickness to get to the rim, where he’s a crafty finisher who can score with contact. He gets to the free throw line a lot, too. His three-point shot can be streaky, but he hit some big shots down the stretch in multiple games. He can score via his mid-range pull-up jumper but is more of just a catch-and-shoot guy from long range. He’s a talented pick-and-roll player who is overall pretty careful with the ball. He can defend both guard spots but is clearly better against size than speed and this will be a question mark for him at the pro level. I see a bright future for him in Euroleague.
David Mirkovic (Montenegro) | 6-9 Big | 2006 | SC Derby Podgorica
Mirkovic was probably the top player in the tournament from a statistical standpoint (he led the event in scoring and rebounding) and was one of the most polished prospects in attendance. His game has continued to evolve as he has added to his offensive repertoire and increased his shooting range out to three-point line. He’s always been a great low-post scorer with advanced footwork, though he is playing more in the high post now, showing some nice potential as a stretch big. Mirkovic is versatile and skilled with good hands and an advanced feel for the game. He can post-up, face-up and shoot it, or put the ball on the deck. He looks to score aggressively and gets to the free throw line often. Mirkovic has just average physical tools — his frame is solid, but he lacks ideal length and he’s just an average athlete — but he compensates with his smarts. He routinely creates separation to score inside, but he will need to prove that he can do the same at the pro level. Mirkovic is not quite as versatile on the defensive end — he can defend the low post well, but he’s not as comfortable guarding in space and doesn’t offer much in the rim protection department. He has upside as a plus-rebounder on both sides of the floor, he boxes out well and has a nose for the ball. Mirkovic is already a very accomplished player who could be a difference-maker at the college level.
Mark Morano (Slovenia) | 6-6 Guard | 2007 | Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Morano was very inconsistent in Podgorica and didn’t play as well as he did last summer at Euro U16s, but I like his game and still thought he was one of the prospects with the most upside in this tournament. He brings size and length to the perimeter and is a good athlete for a Euro guard. He is quite strong for his age, as well. The combo guard played mostly off the ball as a scorer in this event (he had played more as a point guard last summer with the Slovenian U16 National Team). Morano is a bucket-getter — a good iso player who can score both via the drive or with his jumper. He seems to especially like to drive baseline. As a shooter, he gets good elevation and has a high-arcing shot that is hard for opponents to block. His three-point shot is very inconsistent and he is more of a volume shooter at the moment. He has some off-the-dribble shooting ability, too. When the match-up presents itself, he can post-up smaller guards. He’s a good open court player, both as a passer and as a finisher (can go the length of the court to score it). He showcased moments as both a creative and flashy passer, throughout the event. He has some definite defensive potential thanks to his strong legs and he can defend both guard spots well enough for the pro level. Morano is a solid prospect for both college and Euroleague teams.
Panagiotis Pagonis (Greece) | 6-9 Forward | 2006 | Next Generation Team
Pagonis was one of the surprise players of the tournament. This was actually my first time seeing him and I walked away very intrigued by his game. He has decent size with a long body/frame and is quite mobile. He can face-up and put the ball on the floor or shoot it from out to 3. He’s an effective high post player. He does a nice job at helping spread the floor. He’s also a good pick-and-roll player who can set a screen and pop, too. Pagonis is a skilled finisher at the rim off basket cuts. He did a nice job putting the ball on the deck to score one-on-one against slower frontcourt opponents. He runs the court hard to finish plays in transition and rebounds his area well. He would benefit by playing with more physicality on the defensive end. He has the mobility to defend smaller players if and when he’s forced to switch. I think his game will translate well to higher levels. Pagonis is an underrated prospect who could be very effective at the college level as a stretch big.
Honorable Mentions
Ian Lazarevski (Slovenia) | 6-8 Wing | 2007 | Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Derin Can Ustun (Turkey) | 6-4 Guard | 2007 | Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Soren Bracq (France) | 6-4 Guard | 2007 | Cholet
Erwan Ntsantso-Djoni (France) | 6-6 Guard | 2007 | Cholet
Romain Valakou (France) | 6-4 Guard | 2006 | Cholet
Ivan Volf (Croatia) | 6-7 Wing | 2006 | Bayern Munich
Andrija Susic (Serbia) | 6-3 Guard | 2008 | Bayern Munich
Hannes Steinbach (Germany) | 6-9 Big | 2006 | Next Generation Team
Maruan Cicic (Montenegro) | 6-11 Big | 2006 | SC Derby Podgorica
Stefano Saccoccia (Italy) | 6-0 Guard | 2006 | Reyer Venezia
