Dan Bowmaker continues to be the sole scout for the NCAA approved scouting report however working with Blue Star Media we have extended our coverage of youth Tournmantes through they year. Please subscribe as per usual via PayPal on the updated website
A unique calendar of events this year sees the u18 and u16 FIBA European Championships start over the same weekend. I am based in Bourges France for the first few days of the u16 Division A championship before heading over to Sopron Hungary for the u18 Division A tournament. The blue star media team are providing comprehensive coverage this summer as Paul Nilsen and Mike Flynn are also here in Bourges, Paul for the duration of the tournament where as Mike will be heading to Dublin to cover the u18 Division B games. Shortly after these three tournaments I will be heading over to Skopje Macedonia to cover the u16 Division B games.
In total 78 National Teams will be observed during this period, let the games begin!
Check out the tournament websites
Another solid recruiting class have made their commitments.
All of the players listed below featured as part of the full Blue Star Europe report. Players commitments are listed by school.
NCAA Coaches there are still players open! (and announcements coming over next few days of players who are keeping their commitment quiet for now, or waiting on SAT score in May) – NCAA coaches looking to complete their 2016 class contact me asap – The 2017 & 2018 Class is equally talented! If your are not subscribed to the BSE Report and would like information I look forward to talking to you.
Boston College Taylor Ortepp Guard 5’7 from Australia
Boston College Georgina Pineu Power forward 6’1 from Australia
Colorado Eleanor Jones 6’2 Forward from England
Dartmouth Paula Lenart Forward 5’9 from Romania
Detroit Anja Marinkovic SG 5’9″ from Serbia
Drexel Ana Ferariu 5’7 Guard from Romania
Duquesne Nina Aho SG 5’8 from Hungary
Fordham Katarzyna Olczak Post 6′ 5 from Poland
FSU Iho Lopez Power forward 6’2 from Spain
Hofstra Ana Hernández Gil SG/PG 5’9 from Spain
Hofstra Marianne Kalin 6’1 Forward from Finland
Hofstra Sandra Karsten Forward 5’8 from Finland
Illinois Petra Holesinka PG 5’8 from Czech Republic
Iowa State Adriana Camber G/F 5’10 from Sweden
Iowa State Sofija Zivaljevic Guard 5’8 from Montenegro
Loughborough Kadri Uiga Power forward 6′ from Estonia
Loyola Maryland Molly Taylor SG/PG 5’9 from England
Maine Blanca Millán Modia Guard 6′ from Spain
Maine Naira Caceres Martell Small Forward 6’1 from Spain
Maine Laia Sole Forward 6’2 from Spain
Maine Anita Kelava Power Forward 6’2 from Croatia
Maine Fanny Wadling Forward 6’1 from Sweden
Maine Tihana Stojsavljevic Power forward 6’1 from Croatia
Miami Sarah Mortensen Forward 6′ from Denmark
Mineral Area College Dominika Skrocka SG 5’7 from Poland
Oregon Morgan Yaeger SG/PG 5’9 from Australia
Pacific Jenelle Grant Guard 5’10 from England
Portland State Caroline Tindall Wich Power Forward 6’2 from Denmark
San Jose State Anna Thomasdotter Forward 5’9 from Sweden
San Diego State Abigail Lowe 5’10 SG from England
San Diego Ana Ramos 5’6 PG from Portugal
Siena Anna Lundquist 5’9 Guard from Sweden
Sienna Sabrina Piper 5’10 combo guard from France
St Leo Gina Brierley 5’6 Guard from UK
St Marys Jasmine Forcadilla PG 5’6 from Australia
Toledo Mariella Santucci PG 5’8 from Italy
UIC Tyra Carlsten Handberg 6’2 Post from Sweden
UTEP Katarina Zec SG 5’9 from Serbia
USF Dorottya Nagy Forward 6’2 from Hungary
USF Enna Pehadzic Guard 5’8 from Denmark
Virginia Lisa Jablonowski Forward 6’2 from Luxembourg
Wake Forrest Alex Sharp Guard 6’0 from Australia
Washington State Jovana Subasic 6’3 Forward from Serbia
Washington State Johanna Muzet 6′ Guard from France
Weatherford College Lydia Friberg 6’2 Forward from Sweden
Western Wyoming CC Holly Wilkes 6’4 Post from England
Wright State Myrtle Den Heeten 5’8 Guard from Netherlands
NCAA Coaches there are still players open! (and announcements coming over next few days of players who are keeping their commitment quiet for now, or waiting on SAT score in May) – NCAA coaches looking to complete their 2016 class contact me asap – The 2017 & 2018 Class is equally talented! If your are not subscribed to the BSE Report and would like information I look forward to talking to you.
Both late signings, Both recruited by less than 5 schools, and yet both playing at a top 25 School and making major contributions in this their Freshman year.
Eleanna Chritinaki from Greece gave her commitment to the University of Florida after her visit in April last year. Currently averaging 22 minutes game and 9.9 points a game its her 3.9 assists that’s turning heads, most notably 8 and 10 against SEC opponents in her last two games. Read more on Eleanna’s SEC freshman of the week award http://floridagators.com/news/2016/1/12/WBK_0112162432.aspx?path=basketball-women
Kitija Laksa the 6’ guard from Latvia made her decision in late March to attend USF after agonising between Tampa and Maine. Ranked as one of the top guards in the 2015 class she has proven her ability to play at the top level, recently scoring 17 points against Uconn to back up a program record 38 points for a Freshman against SMU that has seen her land the USBWA National Freshman of the week.
http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=210628751
Both of these players highlight the quality that exists on the International recruiting trail, sometimes you have to be patient but when you pick up late signings like these two all NCAA coaches can see the value in international recruiting and the Blue Star Europe Report.
As ever the Baltic Sea Cup is one of my favourite tournaments to attend and is a great way to start the New Year. Its with great pleasure that I introduce Renee Johnson Allen who will be in Tallinn this year watching the games as a scout for Blue Star Europe, so when you see her don’t be shy say hi!
Renee was a former student and player of mine before she followed her own dream of playing Division 1 NCAA Basketball at the University of Drexel in Philadelphia. Renee knows what it’s like to leave your home country to study and play the game at the highest level, she would be more than happy to share her experiences with any players or parents interested. Highlight of her playing career was winning the WNIT National Championship in 2013 where Drexel had just one turnover the entire game to beat UTAH 46-43.
Last years tournament at the u16 age group was the best standard it has been for years, I am excited to observe the progress of those players who have moved up to the u18 teams this winter and of course cant wait to see the next stars of the Baltic Sea Cup challenge for the u16 title.
Best of luck to all players!
Remember Blue Star Europe helps players for free if they are interested in playing college basketball in the USA, check out this link to see some of the players from the Baltic Sea Cup tournament teams that were part of the BSE Report and which University they decided to attend. http://wp.me/p1FCuL-gG
Not sure what all the fuss about NCAA Basketball is the read more here http://wp.me/p1FCuL-oJ
In the small town of Pezinok just outside of Bratislava, Slovakia’s Capital city we have had three days of great games between the Host Nation, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Whilst Slovakia, like Poland have bounced between Division A and B status the Czech Republic and Hungary have been an impressive force at this level. Continue reading
What’s all the fuss about leaving home, friends and family behind to play basketball in a country where they don’t even speak my language?….
TASK: Cross off the list the things you don’t like,
Now if your still interested here are the things that do really make it difficult….
Taking the SAT (probably twice) and the Toefl and filling in forms and doing bits of paper work that all seem weird and confusing, Training at a level of intensity that you have probably never experienced in your life, having very little spare time or sociallife , tough to get all your study work done whilst being physically exhausted, missing home like crazy and crying like a little baby in your first months or your whole freshman year for some people! College Basketball is no joke! its a serious business and whilst many players dream of it very few have a real idea of what its actually like. But think about what you are missing if you don’t give try it. Playing in the NCAA is not for everyone but if you think you maybe interested then you need to have the right people helping you to through the recruiting process that really understand whats going on.
Some pictures and videos that show what playing College Basketball can really be like.
Some colleges consistently get around 5,000 fans a game, the top programs for college attendance get over 8,000
Training can be hard….
You will be tested physically and mentally
But playing in the big games in front of the big crowds for the Championship
A chance to give back and be a part of the community
A chance to travel with your team on tour to Europe
Making friends for life and just having fun
Being part of College Athletics is more than just Basketball
The results can be worth it – Highlights to remember for the rest of your life
If all this makes you think you want to be recruited then you can read in more detail information for players on the website and register for free to be part of the Blue Star Europe report that goes out to hundreds of coaches. There are over 300 Division 1 NCAA universities and there are also Division 2 schools and JUCO and NAIA schools that offer scholarships.
Become part of the report to see which coaches might offer you the opportunity of a lifetime
Chasing the Gold… Tournament review after Day 5
4 teams will enter stage two of the competition with a perfect 4-0 record. But none of them had it easy.
Slovenia were pushed to the final minutes of their game against Ireland, Clare Melia was in fine form for the Irish amassing 25 points. Slovenia finally found a player who could slow her down when Sofric checked into the game with 5 minutes to go. The experience of Friskovec and Kroselj showed down the stretch and Slovenia will benefit from two days rest.
Sweden also didn’t have it all their own way, Denmark nearly proved to be the thorn in their side. The game was tied 51-51 with 3 minutes to go but Lundquist and Uhrstrom came up with big 3 pointers and clutch FT’s to give my pre-tournament favorites a perfect record.
Poland needed the fantastic performance of Makurat to get passed the Greek onslaught, in a very physical game the 2000 born PG was in fine form ending with a Triple double double 13 pts, 12 rebs 11 assists.
Group D was in my opinion the most competitive with only the host nation looking unlikely to secure a single win. Bizarrely on paper they have the best result against Belarus who hold a perfect record. However I was at the game and the coach removed his starters after the first two minutes so the result is not a reflection on the other teams in Group D Lithuania could make noise in the top 8
I think there will be some great games in the coming days, best wishes to all players and coaches I wish I could be there but for me it’s off to Porto for Division A
Having seen a glimpse of some of the post players available to recruit in the US in the 2016 and 2017 class it would be remiss of me not to highlight those playing in Europe that are equal and superior to the US based Prospects.
Before delving into the following prospects and their particular strengths, some general observations.
The post players in Europe have size! Most of the kids here playing in the post are about 6’3 – 6’4, the kids who play as a forward are often at least 6’2 as well However there all have skill!
I would say at least of half of the kids who play inside are equally comfortable taking a 3 pointer, whilst that might not suit your coaching philosophy it’s a clear indication that these players are being developed as basketball players before they are being specialized into post players, they can all pass and dribble on the break, pass out of the post as well as step out and be effective on a high ball screen action. I am normally reserved in my player assessments however on my return from the USJN’s I was inclined to give every post player on my report and extra star! If they had been playing in the US AAU tournaments they would have been turning heads.
So a range of players to look at from finesse to athletes to beast on the block… the smorgasbord is open! This is not a complete list some players prefer to keep their intentions quiet for now …
On the Block
Whilst not limited to scoring with power moves around the basket these kids can bang inside !
The Athletes
With size and agility these players are capable of show stopping blocks and taking rebounds off the rim
Finesse
Like a little more Kevin McHale to your post game … These kids are long and skilled
Subcribers check out full details here – http://wp.me/P1FCuL-9g
As NCAA coaches you find your self fixed inside the gym observing games 9am-9pm for the next few days and then with a sigh of relief you will head back home, to meetings, preseason work outs for the lucky few a summer tour, but in truth the month of August is a wind down for many – Well My fun is just getting started! I will be in DC at the USJN’s to observe games and get some valuable facetime with coaches (especially my current subscribers) but after that i am hitting the scouting trail in earnest! from July 29th- Aug 23rd.
I have already taken in a number of tournaments and gotten a glimpse at some new young talent but nothing beats the European Championships. Both the u18 & u16’s have an A and B division tournament. First stop for me is Bucharest to observe 20 National teams play for promotion from Div B at the u18 Championships, After 5 days of observing games I leave to Celje in Slovenia on the 4th August to observe the 16 Division A teams fight for the European Championship in the final 5 days of the tournament play.
Next up is always the exciting look at the u16’s tournament many of these players will be 2018’s and younger. First I will be in Macedonia for a week, and will watch 5 days of action between 20 National teams of the B division. After this a trip back to Porto where the Division A European Champions will be crowned in front of thousands of fans.
Two years ago I enjoyed talking with coaches at the games, when you see me let me know which players you are looking at and I will give you an indication of the talent back in Europe you may want to consider recruiting. Thinking back to one game in DC where an ncaa coach pointed out their current top target at the PG position, I shook my head and said I promise you, you need to recruit a kid from England called Jay-Ann; she has just finished as the MAC conference freshman of the year. http://mac-sports.com/news/2015/3/10/WBB_0310152140.aspx There is no question that the talent in Europe is quality and in some instances program changing, you just need to know where to look and how to start the recruiting process.
I am in DC for just the first two days and fly back to London on the night of the 23rd. Please don’t hesitate to say hi, or arrange a meeting court side to make sure we don’t miss each other. Maybe you are already recruiting a player from Europe and just want a second opinion. DM me on twitter or email bluestareurope@yahoo.com
See you in DC!
Dan
bluestareurope 