By Aris Barkas-Utkan Sahin / info@eurohoops.net
You can call them predictions, you can also call them educated guess, but with 24 teams entering the tournament, you would agree that they are not all equals.
The expansion of the Eurobasket format proved that there’s still a gap between the already established teams around Europe and the up and comers. The good news is that in recent years many nations which were not traditional powerhouses have entered the race and even more are expected to do this in the near future.
However, many injuries and the needs of NBA players kept many of them out of the tournament can make things a little more unpredicted than usual and here’s how Eurohoops assess the landscape, as the tip off is upon us.
Photos courtesy of FIBA
24 – Romania – Group C
Preparation period performance: 1/10
Staff Potential: 1/10
Despite being one of the four co-hosts, Romania is not ready for the tournament. The fact that naturalized Giordan Watson will be missing is also one more blow. They even lost to Estonia and Portugal during their training camp and those teams didn’t even qualify for the tournament. It’s going to be a struggle for them.
23 – Ukraine – Group B
Preparation period performance: 1/10
Staff Potential: 3/10
Four years ago Ukraine with coach Fratello on the bench and Pooh Jeter on the court was one of the surprise teams of Eurobasket 2013. Since then, everything went wrong. They lost the right to host Eurobasket 2015, the best players of the country turned their back to the national team and they don’t have a real chance in Group B.
22 – Iceland – Group A
Preparatory semester performance: 3/10
Staff Potential: 2/10
Everyone likes an underdog and in their second straight Eurobasket, that’s the role of Iceland. Their success is playing in the tournament and getting a win will be a bonus. They will gain some attention due to the presence of NBA prospect Tryggvi Hlinason but that’s not enough for them in order to do something memorable.
21 – Great Britain – Group D
Preparatory stage performance: 4/10
Staff Potential: 2/10
They managed to beat Israel, Hungary, and Ukraine during their preparation games, but against the established opponents, couldn’t do much. While they are a solid team, they lack the talent and a leader in order to take the next step. Players like Gabe Olaseni and Dan Clark are established in Europe but as role players.
20. Czech Republic – Group C
Preparatory stage performance: 2/10
Staff Potential: 4/10
After an amazing Eurobasket 2015 tournament and their presence in the quarterfinals, the Czech Republic was expected to make a step forward. This can’t happen without Jan Vesely, Blake Schilb and Ondrej Balvin who decided not to play this year. All of them could have a key role in the team. Tomas Satoransky must fight alone. He will without any doubt, however, he also needs help.
19 – Hungary – Group C
Preparatory stage performance: 3/10
Staff Potential: 4/10
It’s their first time in the tournament since 1999. They returned in style, without losing not even one game in the qualification round with Adam Hanga and David Vojvoda leading the charge. With Hanga losing most of the training camp due to the negotiations about his transfer to Barcelona, Hungary couldn’t do much damage. This may change during the official tournament.
18 – Belgium – Group D
Preparatory stage performance: 3/10
Staff Potential: 5/10
Despite missing naturalized guard Matt Lojeski, Belgium has quite the experience and the continuity to make an impression. After all, they beat Spain, Germany, and Italy during the preparation games. It’s difficult to predict if they can make it to the final round without “Lojo” leading the way, but they can’t be underestimated.
17 – Finland – Group A
Preparatory stage performance: 2/10
Staff Potential: 6/10
In theory, Finland has all the tools to advance. There’s Petteri Koponen as always, a veteran group who knows each other, Chicago Bulls‘ rookie Lauri Markkanen and the home crowd to boost them. Still, with Koponen coming from injury, Finland lost all but one of their preparation games and they have to improve vastly in a very short time in order to make a splash. In any case, it will be a surprise not to see them in Istanbul for the final round.
16- Montenegro – Group C
Preparatory stage performance: 2/10
Staff Potential: 6/10
Having the quarter of Nikola Vucevic, Bojan Dubljevic, Marko Todorovic, and naturalized point guard Tyrese Rice can be the recipe for success. This didn’t happen, however, during the prep games. Montenegro beat only Belgium and Ukraine, they had trouble scoring the ball and didn’t produce the way they were expected to. In theory they are much, much better.
15 – Germany – Group B
Preparatory stage performance: 3/10
Staff Potential: 5/10
This new version of Germany with Dennis Schroder being the star, Boston’s Daniel Theis also present and youngster Isaiah Hartenstein on board, can do many things. The question is if they are ready. Without Paul Zipser and Tibor Pleiss, Germany is missing depth and quality and so far, it’s all about Schroder. If he can be not only a scorer but also a floor general, then they will change level.
14 – Poland – Group A
Preparatory stage performance: 6/10
Staff Potential: 5/10
This is their first tournament in the post-Marcin Gortat era, Maciej Lampe is also missing, but Poland has a solid team, which is well coached and has depth. Add to the Mateusz Ponitka and Adam Waczynski, rookie center Przemyslaw Karnowski and you have a solid unit. This was proven during the prep games and now their obvious goal is to keep Finland out of the top four of Group A.