Duke-Bound Boumtje-Boumtje Shines As Team USA Claims Gold 

Several NBA scouts and college coaches made the trip over to Turkey to get eyes on the American prospects and international players coming up that could make the jump to play in college before hitting the NBA. There were seven days of games over a nine-day span, with ample time for evaluation against some tough international competition. Here are the top storylines from the U17 FIBA World Cup. 

Nikola Kusturica is the next big player out of Serbia

Kusturica and Boumtje-Boumtje were teammates last year playing for FC Barcelona. The duo were the best two international prospects in the tournament and Boumtje-Boumtje, who grew up in Florida before moving with his family to Spain three years ago, has already committed to play two seasons at Duke. “He was really my brother when we were playing there (in Barcelona),” Kusturica said. “I’m really sad that we’re not going to be playing together anymore. What makes him a special player is, first of all, he’s huge, and he can do everything on the court.”

Kusturica will be following Boumtje-Boumtje to the states and will also be playing two years of college but he has not made his decision yet. “I’m just focused on the World Cup and then I’ll get together with my family and we’ll decide,” Kusturica said. “I haven’t made a decision yet regardless of the rumors or what everyone is saying.” The 6-foot-7 wing with a  7-foot-plus wingspan will be deciding between Kentucky, UCLA, Michigan, Gonzaga and others. “I’m hoping to show the NBA scouts here what I work for and I’m just focused on winning and doing whatever it takes to help my team win.” 

Kusturica was the leading scorer in the championship game, finishing with 37 points and 9 rebounds.  

Beckham Black backing up his No. 1 point guard status 

Black led Team USA in assists, averaging 8.4 per game, and was the calm floor general that every team needs. He’s a point guard that every player wants to play alongside due to his incredible court vision, two-way skills and the way he can manipulate the defense off ball screens. Black is a top-three player in the class and will be in consideration for the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2027 high school class by the end of next season. 

Black is the younger brother of Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black and is a player NBA scouts have been familiar with for some time. Anthony was a five-star recruit coming out of high school and played one year for Eric Musselman at Arkansas before being the sixth pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-4 point guard will be able to go to any school of his choosing and picked up recent offers from Kansas, Michigan and Duke after the live period at the end of May. “The recruitment process is going well,” Black said. “I’m just trying to build as many relationships as possible with coaches and see where it goes from there.”

Black broke down the conversations he had with all three new programs after talking to the coaching staff. 

“It was coach (Jon) Scheyer that called me and he told me that he believes me and he would want me to come play with JoJo (Boumtje-Boumtje),” Black said. “Michigan’s message to me was that Elliot (Cadeau) is going to be gone soon so they just need someone to come in and fill his shoes right away. Sort of the same thing with Kansas. The conversation was pretty much filling the shoes of the players before you. Obviously DP (Darryn Peterson) last year and Tyran (Stokes) and TK (Taylen Kinney) this year so just seeing what they can do with one-and-done guys.” 

AJ Williams addresses reclass rumors 

Williams is the No. 1-ranked player in the 2028 high school class and was the second leading scorer for Team USA, averaging 18.2 points per game. He initially started the AAU season playing 16U for the Georgia Stars but decided to play up with the 17U CP3 Team after averaging 33 points during session 1 of the EYBL. Williams has great positional size as a 6-foot-8 wing and added 10 pounds of muscle since October. He also scored 50 or more points six times last high school season, and many believe he could reclassify up a grade and still be a top player. 

“To be honest, I don’t really know anything about that right now,” Williams said. “Right now I’m just focused on Team USA and Peach Jam and once August and September comes around, I’ll have an idea of what I want to do.” 

North Carolina, Kansas, Alabama and Florida State are his most recent offers. Head coaches from Auburn, Duke, Mississippi State and Michigan were the first to reach out on June 15 when coaches could contact players in the 2028 class directly for the first time. Mike Malone (North Carolina) and Luke Loucks (Florida State) were in Istanbul to watch Williams in person. When it comes down to choosing a college program, there’s one thing that sticks out to William the most. 

“Really it’s the relationships with the staff. When you have a good relationship, you trust them more and they help you make that next jump because my goal is to be one-and-done and go to the NBA. I’m No. 1 right now and I don’t plan on dropping so just finding a coach that can continue to help me elevate my game.” 

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Boumtje-Boumtje ready to make instant impact at Duke

Duke has to be thrilled about landing Boumtje-Boumtje not only for the upcoming year, but also being able to build around him for 2027-28. The 6-foot-11 center elected to play two years in college before he’s eligible for the 2028 NBA Draft. It’s a unique move that’s only been done by a couple players before him, most notably Jayden Quaintance, who played one year at Arizona State and one year at Kentucky before being a first round pick in last year’s draft. 

“Originally we were looking at going to high school in the states because I needed a year of true American basketball before my freshman year, but with my grades I was able to go to college right away. So we pitched the idea to Duke and a few other schools, and they were happy to take me,” Boumtje-Boumtje said. “I think the development from Jon Scheyer and his staff will be the best option for me and I feel great about my decision.” 

Boumtje-Boumtje led Team USA in points (19.5), rebounds (10.2), blocks (2.5) and offensive efficiency (29.5) and is ready to get to Durham after helping his team win gold. “I’m heading straight to campus after U17s and I can’t wait to get in the gym with the guys,” Boumtje-Boumtje said. “There’s no promises and I’m going to earn everything and if that results in me being a 15 minute-per-game player or a 25 minute-per-game player then I’m going to learn everything I can from that first year and grow from there.” 

Asa Montgomery’s recruitment lighting up

The biggest surprise of the Team USA trials was Montgomery. He’s the leading scorer of the EYCL (the division below Nike’s EYBL) and consistently made the right play in every drill and scrimmage. That carried over to the World Cup, where Montgomery averaged 10.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and only 0.3 turnovers in 18.6 minutes. 

“I came into trials with something to prove, and now everything’s clicking and I just want to show how hard I’ve worked and that I belong with this group of players,” Montgomery said. 

Since the live period, Montgomery has received offers from Houston, Providence, Alabama, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Coaches from all five programs were in Istanbul to watch Montgomery play in person. 

“I’m really just focused on improving my ranking and getting better,” Montgomery said. “After the summer I’ll schedule my visits for the fall and there’s definitely some schools I want to get to. I just  have to see if it lines up with my schedule.” 

Jayden Cecil on the rise after a strong shooting performance for New Zealand 

Cecil made a strong first impression in the opening game of the tournament when he went off for 42 points. The 6-foot-3 point guard is originally from New Zealand but plays high school ball at Utah Prep. He followed up his 42-point performance by dropping 37 on a Serbian team that would eventually go on to win a silver medal. He has great touch around the rim, gets his shot off easily and has a quick first step. 

“I know the college coaches are here watching, but I just like to think that they’re not,” Cecil said. “I’m just trying to get to my spots and give my team a spark on offense. This is a tough tournament and there’s a lot of really good players, so I’m just trying to give it my all to get a team win.” 

Iowa State, Arizona State, Pepperdine and Cal have all offered, with Utah getting in contact and showing interest. With his strong performance at the World Cup for New Zealand, expect more schools to get involved heading into his senior season.