The FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland features plenty of the best youth players across the globe. Many of the best prospects in any given year play for the USA, but the field always includes players with real NBA upside who originate from other countries.
This year’s tournament has offered impressive performance from several non-USA prospects with legitimate NBA upside. Let’s break down five players who have helped their long-term draft stock with their FIBA tournament performances before the semi-finals.
(Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson have a cases as the best non-USA prospects in the tournament. Read about them in this piece.)
Dash Daniels, G, Australia
Daniels entered the tournament as a highly regarded prospect, ranking in the top-1o in mainstream mock drafts. He overlaps quite a bit with his brother (Hawks guard Dyson Daniels), causing most of his damage on the defensive end. His 1.5 steals per 40 minutes undersells his defensive impact, where Daniels stonewalls attackers on the ball and constantly breaks up passes and swipes away loose handles for deflections.
He’s struggled as an on-ball offensive option, averaging 9.8 points on a frigid 39.9% true shooting. A weak handle and minimal explosiveness make scoring on the ball a struggle for Daniels, especially considering his shaky outside jumper. Flashes of excellent mid-range touch and generally positive movement skills bode well for his long-term development.
Dash Daniels does seem to have the feel as an offensive connector, but is still building out his offensive skillset to unlock it, which is normal considering he doesn’t turn 18 until December pic.twitter.com/Bf9eA19Cxj
— Sheed on the Hawks (@SheedinATL) July 2, 2025
It’s important to acknowledge that Daniels won’t turn 18 until December and is significantly younger than most of his peers. Even with some offensive struggles, Daniels’s excellent defense, touch flashes and solid passing feel (3.2 assists per game, 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio) point towards his favor.
Felipe Minzer, F, Argentina
At 6’6, Minzer creates shots for himself and his teammates like few players of his size. He hasn’t scored consistently well in this tournament, averaging a pedestrian 11.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game on 52.7% true shooting. Minzer scored 26 points against Slovenia but posted five or fewer points in two different games.
His rare ball control, flexibility and burst make Minzer a dangerous slasher who can pull threes off the dribble (47.4% on 3.8 threes per game) to counterbalance his forays to the rim. Minzer’s solid live-dribble playmaking only adds to his intrigue as a long-term offensive prospect.
argentina wing felipe minzer hasn’t consistently produced at this tournament, but his peaks are as high as any non-usa prospect
awesome handle, movement skills and shooting at 6’6 while leading the tournament in steals (3.2) pic.twitter.com/PatYqC55ni
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) July 4, 2025
Though Minzer couldn’t imprint himself on games consistently, his offensive peaks match almost any other prospect in the tournament. Even without consistent offensive success, Minzer added value on defense, leading the tournament in steals per game (3.2). Great hands and movement skills aid Minzer on defense as they do on offense.
Roman Siulepa, F, Australia
Siulepa boasts one of the more impressive frames of any prospect in the tournament, including the American prospects. The 6’5 wing leans on his rugby background on the hardwood, overpowering most defenders on his way to the rim. He’s a ruthless slasher, posting an excellent 48.8 free-throw rate in the tournament. Siulepa ranks sixth in the tournament in scoring (18.4 points per game on 45% true shooting) and seventh in rebounding (8.8 boards per game).
His physical dominance is offset by underdeveloped touch and inconsistent ball skills at this stage. While Siulepa lives at the line, he only converted 56.1% of his foul shots in five games and made one of his seven 3-point attempts. He’ll occasionally flash some handling creation, but most of Siulepa’s offense comes from bully ball.
While Siulepa must significantly improve his touch and ball control, his physical prowess gives him a potential NBA future. Dominant slashing and defensive versatility can help Siulepa establish his on-court identity while his other skills continue progressing.
Lucas Morillo, F, Dominican Republic
Like Dash Daniels, Morillo is 17 years old playing in the U19 age group. Unlike Daniels, that hasn’t caused much friction offensively — despite his age, Morillo’s 20.4 points per game (53.5% true shooting) ranks second in the tournament. He’s a crafty, creative creator, winning with advanced skill and touch for a 6’7 wing.
Even without overwhelming explosiveness and power, Morillo finds his spots on the floor thhrough is handle and command of pacing. He creates in the intermediate by all manner of step-throughs and changes of speed and directions to find his own shots. Solid passing vision (3.8 assists per game, 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio) helps boost Morillo’s downhill value.
He’ll need to stabilize his outside shot (26.3% on 3.8 threes per game) to more easily slide off the ball and his lack of strength and length could limit his defensive upside. Morillo’s excellent hands and reaction time on defense (1.8 steals per game) will help him find a home on that end of the floor.
Sinan Huan, C, China
Huan’s ridiculous shot blocking numbers immediately pop off the screen. In five tournament games, Huan blocked an absurd five shots per game (7.9 blocks per 40 minutes). He’s more than doubled second-place Noa Kouakou-Heugue’s block averages (2.2 blocks per game), shutting off the basket like few players in this field.
His incredible timing, length and shot blocking instincts at 7’1 make Huan a nightmare to shoot over. With Huan on the floor, opposing offenses noticeably drop their rim frequency. Some don’t even attempt to score at the basket when he mans the paint. He does overextend for blocks and foul occasionally, but Huan is one of the best rim protection prospects in the world.
sinan huan is leading the fiba u19 world cup in blocks by a mile, averaging an insane 5 blocks per game, more than double 2nd place
his size, length and timing are all so impressive for a seven-footer with solid enough mobility pic.twitter.com/J3fKdK9L9e
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) July 4, 2025
He’s fairly raw offensively, struggling to add much value outside of basic post-ups and rebounding. Huan’s 11.6 points and 5.2 rebounds on 57.8% true shooting aren’t particularly notable box score numbers. However, the value of high-end rim protection and defensive dominance makes Huan an intriguing long-term NBA prospect at the very least.
