Egeman Güven, Turkey and Pinar Karsiyaka

Headlining the hometown hopes this summer is a returnee from last year's gold-medal winning team, Egeman Güven. It was not the first taste of gold for the 2.09m center who 12 months earlier also picked up gold at the U16 European Championship, seeing him standing atop the podium on every occasion he has appeared in a European Youth Championship. However, unlike at U16 level in 2012, Güven's input was somewhat lessened last year as he bided most of his time on the bench learning from his contemporariesEmircan Kosut and Kerem Kanter. He then continued his education off the bench for Eurocup competitorsPinar Karsiyaka. Earlier this year he finally got back into a starting role, averaging 14.3 points on 61% field shooting, playing for Turkey at the esteemed Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany.

Domantas Sabonis, Lithuania and Unicaja Malaga

There was always going to be a certain amount of pressure and expectation that comes with being the son of one of the greatest all-time basketball players. So far, Sabonis has slammed home the expectations with confidence, successfully transiting into senior basketball this past season with Euroleague Top 16 competitors Unicaja Malaga. Averaging a shy under 10 minutes a night, Sabonis looked confident in the forward position, having previously made his mark at youth level as a center, memorably on home soil at the U16 European Championship 2012 when he picked up a record-tying 27 rebounds in one game. However, despite his strong individual efforts, averaging double-doubles in both his European youth appearances, he has been yet to experience success on a team level, something he will be looking to rectify this summer in order to further improve his upward trending stock.

Federico Mussini, Italy and Reggio Emilia

Whilst his club were occupied with winning theEuroChallenge Final Four on home soil back in April, the up-and-coming Italian point guard had different fish to fry, taking on the role of general in leading Italy to a surprising victory at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany with an MVP performance. He led the Italians in scoring (20.3 points a game) and had a strong 3.4-1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio while shooting 52% from long range, cementing his spot as one of the premier European backcourt players in his generation. The 1.91m playmaker did not appear in European Youth competition last summer, but in his previous appearance at the U16 European Championship back in 2012, he spearheaded an Italian run into the semi-finals, earning himself a spot on the All-Tournament Team in the process. Now, given his current form, there is every reason to believe Italy will once again be in the mix come the business end of the tournament.

Lovro Mazalin, Croatia and Cibona Zagreb

If you score 44 points in a game at a European Youth championship, people are going to turn their heads and take notice. That is exactly what the 2.04m swingman Mazalin achieved last year at theU16 European Championship, when he accumulated more than half his team's points in their83-73 victory over Turkey. Mazalin came well prepared to that championship in Ukraine, having already averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds against contemporaries up to two years older than him as Croatia achieved a second placing at the U18 European Championship in Latvia earlier in the summer. He will be setting even loftier goals this year in his second of a potential three trips to the U18 European Championship, returning to youth basketball following a senior season with Croatian powerhouse Cedevita, a club with whom he picked up Eurocup experience, including three starts, and a domestic championship.