DBB Albert Schweitzer Tournament

Albert Schweitzer Tournament (AST)
SportBasketball
Founded1958
No. of teams12
Country Germany
Continent Europe
Most recent
champion(s)		 Australia
(2nd title)
Most titles United States
(10 titles)
Official websiteast.basketball-bund.de

The DBB Albert Schweitzer Tournament (German: Albert-Schweitzer-Turnier, abbreviated as AST), full name DBB Albert Schweitzer World Under-18 Tournament (German: DBB Albert Schweitzer Welt-Unter-18-Turnier), is an international basketball competition that is played between national teams of the Under-18 men's age category. It takes place every two years in Mannheim, Germany, and is contested between teams from 12 countries.

The organizers of the tournament are the German Basketball Federation (German: Deutscher Basketball Bund, abbreviated as DBB), and the city of Mannheim. The tournament is named after Albert Schweitzer. Since FIBA does not organize an Under-18 world championship, the Albert Schweitzer Tournament is internationally recognized and considered an official non-FIBA organized world championship for the Under-18 age group. From 1958 to 1993, the tournament was an Under-19 age competition. Since 1994, it has been an under-18 age competition.

History

Ryan Boatright of USA Under-18 with the ball, against France Under-18, at the 2010 AST.
2018 AST MVP, Jonas Mattisseck of Germany Under-18, in the 2018 AST Final against Australia Under-18.
Germany Under-18, after winning the 2018 AST.
All 12 participating teams at the 2018 AST closing ceremony.

The first Albert Schweitzer Tournament took place in December 1958. It was contested between eight teams, and won by Belgium. Hans-Joachim Babies, and the German basketball pioneer, Hermann Niebuhr, asked the theologian and physician, Albert Schweitzer, if they could use his namesake for the name of the tournament. After the second tournament in 1960, there was a break in play until 1966. From that point onwards, a two-year tournament cycle was established.

From 1958 to 1971, Team USA used players that were the dependents of the USA's military forces. Starting with the 1973 tournament, Team USA began to use players that were selected from throughout the entire USA high school system.

The 1991 tournament was canceled, due to the Gulf War. In 1994, the tournament switched from an Under-19 competition, to an Under-18 competition, and has since been held during even-numbered years.[1]

The USA has won the most titles, winning ten. The USA is followed by Italy with four titles. The tournament's record attendance so far was 28,763 spectators. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the 2020 tournament was cancelled.[2] Due to COVID-19, the 2022 tournament was also cancelled.[3] The tournament resumed in 2024.[4]

Results

Summaries[5]
Year Gold Medal Silver Medal Bronze Medal 4th Place
1958
  Belgium  Austria  Germany  United States
1960
  Belgium  Austria  United States  Netherlands
1966
  Italy  Turkey  Austria  United States
1967
  Poland  Austria  France  Belgium
1969
  Italy  Czechoslovakia  Poland  Turkey
1971
  Yugoslavia  Italy  Poland  Spain
1973
  United States  Poland  Yugoslavia  Italy
1975
  United States  Turkey  Spain  Poland
1977
  United States  Spain  Turkey  Germany
1979
  Yugoslavia  Spain  United States  Soviet Union
1981
  United States  Soviet Union  Bulgaria  Germany
1983
  Italy  United States  Germany  Finland
1985
  United States  Yugoslavia  Turkey  Sweden
1987
  United States  Spain  Turkey  Germany
1989
  United States  Greece  France  Czechoslovakia
1993
  United States  Lithuania  Italy  Greece
1994
  United States  Spain  Australia  Lithuania
1996
  United States  France  Greece  Turkey
1998
  Spain  Australia  United States  Turkey
2000
  FR Yugoslavia  Greece  United States  Australia
2002
  Greece  Spain  FR Yugoslavia  United States
2004
  Turkey  Argentina  Spain  Serbia and Montenegro
2006
  France  Turkey  Serbia  Croatia
2008
  Greece  Turkey  Australia  United States
2010
  Australia[6]  Germany  Germany  United States
2012
  Spain[7]  Serbia  Turkey  Germany
2014
  Italy[8]  United States  Serbia  Turkey
2016
  Germany[9]  Serbia  Italy  France
2018
  Germany[10]  Australia  Italy  Russia
2020
 Cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic[11]
2022
 Cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic[12]
2024
  Australia  Serbia  Germany  Italy
2026
 TBD TBD TBD TBD

Performance by nation

Country
Winners
 United States
10
 Italy
4
 Australia
2
 Germany
2
 Spain
2
 Greece
2
 Yugoslavia
2
 Belgium
2
 France
1
 Turkey
1
 Serbia and Montenegro
1
 Poland
1

Future stars

The tournament is an important event for professional basketball scouts from around the world. Over the years, many players who have played at the tournament have gone on to become well-known pro players, both in the NBA, and the EuroLeague.[13][14]

Some of the NBA players who have played at the AST are:

In addition, some of the players who have played in various international senior men's professional top-tier national domestic leagues and who have also played at the AST are:

Awards

MVP Award

Year MVP
1996
 United States Kevin Freeman
1998
 Australia David Andersen
2000
 Greece Charis Markopoulos[15]
2002
 Greece Sofoklis Schortsanitis
2004
 Turkey Ersan İlyasova
2006
 France Nicolas Batum
2008
 Greece Nikos Pappas
2010
 Australia Mitch Creek
2012
 Serbia Nikola Radičević
2014
 United States Ethan Happ
2016
 Germany Kostja Mushidi
2018
 Germany Jonas Mattisseck
2024
 Australia Rocco Zikarsky

Burkhard Wildermuth Prize

The Burkhard Wildermuth Prize, or Burkhard Wildermuth Award, was first awarded in 2006, and is given to the player in each tournament that is deemed to be the "Most Talented Player". The award is named after Dr. Burkhard Wildermuth, the long-time co-organizer of the Albert Schweitzer Tournament.

Year Most Talented Player
2006
 France Alexis Ajinça
2008
 Turkey Enes Kanter
2010
 Croatia Dario Šarić
2012
 Turkey Cedi Osman
2014
 Chile Nicolás Aguirre
2016
 China Zhu Rongzhen
2018
 Israel Tomer Levinson
2024
 China Boyuan Zhang

All-Tournament Team

See also

References

  1. ^ "AST-basketball.de It all started in December 1958". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Albert Schweitzer Turnier 2020 fällt aus – AST 2020 is canceled « Deutscher Basketball Bund". Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  3. ^ FICYMIs Feb 11: Albert Schweitzer 2022 cancelled, Spain, France up in new FIBA youth rankings, youth European draw Feb 15.
  4. ^ Nächstes Albert Schweitzer Turnier im Jahr 2024 (in German).
  5. ^ "AST-basketball.de Turnierergebnisse " (in German). Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Schoenen-dunk.de Australien triumphiert verdient " (in German). Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  7. ^ Nikola Radicevic wird MVP des AST 2012 – Radicevic honoured as MVP. (in German).
  8. ^ "US-Boy Ethan Happ ist AST-MVP 2014! " (in German). Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  9. ^ "AST 2016: Deutschland erstmals Turniersieger!". basketball-bund.de. German Basketball Federation. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  10. ^ "AST 2018: Deutschland verteidigt den Titel!". basketball-bund.de. German Basketball Federation. 7 April 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  11. ^ Albert Schweitzer Turnier 2020 fällt aus – AST 2020 is canceled.
  12. ^ FICYMIs Feb 11: Albert Schweitzer 2022 cancelled, Spain, France up in new FIBA youth rankings, youth European draw Feb 15.
  13. ^ "AST-basketball.de Magic Johnson was a part of AST in 1975". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  14. ^ 2000 Albert Schweitzer Tournament.
  15. ^ HARIS MARKOPOULOS From Matt Blair for HH:
  16. ^ Μισάν Νικαγκμπάτσε, ο Άιβερσον του Ολυμπιακού! (in Greek).
  17. ^ "Kostja Mushidi ist MVP des AST 2016". basketball-bund.de (in German). German Basketball Federation. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  18. ^ "AST 2018: Jonas Mattisseck ist MVP". basketball-bund.de (in German). German Basketball Federation. 7 April 2018. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  19. ^ AST 2024: Rocco Zikarsky ist MVP All Tournament Team | Final Placement (in German)
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