The future of Italian basketball looks westward. Inside United States limits, to be exact, where Nico Mannion looks like he might have a sensational career. Arizona's redhead, a five-star recruit already committed to the Wildcats, has chosen to represent the nation of his mother, Gaia Bianchi, an Italian former volleyball player. He made his first appearance with the Azzurri during Italy’s FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifying campaign in 2018 and impressed at this level.
The match resulted in a defeat against the Netherlands, but Nico showcased flashes of the talent, supported by coach Sacchetti, that will likely eventually grant him the starting point guard spot for years to come. Nico won't compete among the NCAA Division 1 big guns until next year. But in the meantime, there are many other young Italian prospects to keep an eye on in the college ranks.
For some of them, Division 1 will be a benchmark to prove themselves worthy of the national team, and maybe a jumpstart for a professional career in Europe. That was the case for Amedeo Della Valle, who played for Ohio State, and Federico Mussini of St. John's. Other players, instead, opted to move to America for both basketball and academic purposes, but no doubt all of them will be dreaming big.
Davide Moretti
Davide Moretti is ahead of the pack. He's the son of Paolo, former player now working as a coach for Mens Sana Siena, and he will be playing his sophomore season with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, who enjoyed an exciting run through the last March Madness, coming to a halt only in the Elite Eight. With one more year in the books and some extra pounds of muscle, Davide has won himself more time in coach Chris Beard's rotation and is now the starting point guard.
In the first match of the season he was on the floor for 28 minutes (in 2018 his average stopped at 12.3). Moretti is not shy about his role models: all those trend-setting point guards who are taking the NBA by storm, starting with Steph Curry, and he tries to replicate their style with long-range shooting, exquisite ball-handling and fast-paced offense.
His shooting is accurate (5/7 in the second game of the season, a resounding win over Mississippi Valley State), and alongside his basketball skills Davide boasts the self-confidence and the stubborn attitude that comes from his family tradition. Being sent home at the very doorstep of the Final Four last year, recounts Davide, was a tough pill to swallow because he feels his mission is to win every game, regardless of the opponent.
Such determination comes from the rare features he already has on his resumè: playing in Serie A at 16 years old, a call by the senior national team and five years as a cornerstone for the youth sectors – seven European Championships at different age groups and one FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in seven years, before bidding his farewell to the team last summer. To adapt his playstyle to the high level required by the Big 12, Moretti needs to keep on working on his strength and conditioning, to absorb contact from his opponents and to become a more balanced defender. Among the things Coach Beard asks of him, though, the most intriguing one is leadership, both by example and by being more vocal on the floor.
Alessandro Lever
In this discussion of Davide Moretti, we mentioned Steph Curry, but in Alessandro Lever's case we must summon the name of the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. After the amazing crescendo of his freshman season, Lever has been shortlisted for the award named after the former Laker, a prize reserved for the best big men in college basketball.
The recognition is all the more valuable because Alessandro is enrolled for a mid-major university and it's no easy task to make the highlights on the national level. Grand Canyon University, though, is on the rise and aims to win the WAC tournament notching a spot in next year’s March Madness; their strong suit is their froncourt, led by Lever himself.
Alessandro is an all-around scorer with a 30 points-10 rebound career high, and all over Phoenix's campus they compare him to Marc Gasol. Much like the Spaniard, he's able to stretch beyond the three point line but he boasts an old school touch around the rim too, alongside a tough-as-they-come attitude – granting him his fair share of troubles on the court. Like Moretti, he's looking to improve his explosiveness and dexterity, in order to better grab rebounds and to be more nimble on the perimeter, where he's frequently asked to guard smaller players on switches.
He'll hone his skills with some help from coach Dan Majerle, who had a brilliant NBA career and there's no doubt Alessandro has high hopes. During the summer he turned down a three-year deal with his hometeam of Reggio Emilia to keep chasing GCU's dream – and his American dream too.
Mattia Da Campo
In the same conference, led by perennial favourite New Mexico State, we find Mattia Da Campo, born and raised in Rome by famed club Stella Azzurra. A Division 1 junior after two seasons with the Seattle Redhawks – last year he was teammates with fellow countryman Scott Ulaneo, who recently transferred to Hawaii Pacific, a Division II college.
As his career progresses Mattia hopes to receive more minutes on the floor, whereas veteran Pierfrancesco Oliva is definitely looking for fresh start.
Pierfrancesco Oliva
Finally free from the injuries that plagued his days at Saint Joseph’s and kept him off the court for the entire 2017 season. Oliva is a high IQ point-forward, the jack-of-all-trades for a team competing for a top spot in the Atlantic 10. He's got the powerful frame needed to switch between the two forward spots, but he must sharpen his shooting percentages. Scouts have marked Oliva's name in their notebooks since the very beginning of his career: he's a natural born scorer, but in Saint Joseph's roster he considers himself more of a playmaker, generating offense for both himself and his teammates.
He's already received a call by coach Sacchetti for the “experimental” national team, but injuries must give him a break in order for him to flourish and make a career back in Europe.
Giovanni De Nicolao
Giovanni De Nicolao's NCAA journey, instead, started off with a bang. He's the brother of Andrea, now part of Reyer Venezia, and in his sophomore season he took over the UTSA starting point guard spot by sheer will. He improved almost every stat by a good margin (three point shooting went from 26% to 34%) and dropped a couple of clutch baskets to secure wins at the buzzer, putting a stamp on a season to be remembered. De Nicolao is a team-oriented playmaker, a lockdown defender, a reliable shooter and now a better athlete too. This will probably be his last season overseas, and he's looking to seal it with a C-USA victory to win his team a ticket for March Madness.
Gabriele Stefanin
Bologna's own Gabriele Stefanin is also a NCAA veteran: defense and three point shooting are his strong suits, but he probably shines the most for the education he's receiving at the prestigious Columbia University, competing in the Ivy League.
There are also some new faces, five freshmen to keep an eye on. Some of them are well-known in Italy, coming from successful campaigns in Serie A2; others have moved earlier to the United States, but they were still linked to the national team's youth sectors. The coaching staff now has a chance to see how they perform against top-notch opponents.
Guglielmo Caruso is probably Italy's best player in the class of '99, showcasing his skills for Napoli Basket where he averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds despite his team ending the season at the bottom of the standings. He chose to enroll at Santa Clara, California, where he will face juggernaut Gonzaga in the WCC. Santa Clara enjoys a fast-paced basketball that should help Caruso hide the “work in progress” sign that follows him around at this juncture of his career. Not enough height and weight to camp in the paint, not yet quick or effective enough on the perimeter to play forward. He needs to evolve in the latter direction; with the solid fundamentals he possesses, any goal is within reach.
The other absolute beginner is Federico Poser, following the same path of Caruso from Serie A2 (Treviso, in his case) to NCAA. He will play for Elon, North Carolina, who competes in the modest Colonial Athletic Association. Poser boasts a body that's already athletic enough to compete physically, and that could earn him a decent amount of minutes.
Pietro Agostini and Ethan Esposito
The last three freshmen are already accustomed to living abroad. Pietro Agostini, from Trieste, moved to America in high school and has now chosen the Owls of Kennesaw State. Ethan Esposito has an American mother and has lived there since he was fourteen. After a season in junior college he enrolled at Sacramento State. 200 cm and 100 kilos, he's got the typical swingman frame and a hard-nose attitude on defense, but to become a proper ‘3 & D’ specialist he'll need to stretch his shooting range – just eight attempts from the three point line last year, although he played closer to the basket for tactical reasons.
Michael Anunmba
The last Freshman on the list is an “unidentified object” indeed. Michael Anunmba was raised in Reggio Emilia's youth sector but moved to the United Kingdom early in his life. He played with good results for the Manchester Magic plus a big-time showing at the Luol Deng camp. This year he will suit up for Winthrop, one of Big South's premier programs, a nice stage to win back the attention of those who may have forgotten about him.
He's an intriguing talent indeed, combining defensive prowess and astonishing quickness on fast breaks: Michael is also well-rounded enough to compete for the starting shooting guard spot.
Francesco Badocchi
Regarding Francesco Badocchi, Italian father and American mother, already nicknamed “The Human Pogo-Stick” for his explosive jumps, we must put the word “if” before place. He redshirted the entire last season for Virginia Cavaliers, among the best team in the nation looking to win it all in March, and unfortunately he will take an indefinite leave of absence from the team until he'll be medically cleared to play.
Italy hopes for some breakout seasons from its NCAA prospects, to boost the national team's roster: all the twelve “Americans” have been inside the circle of youth sectors, but only Davide Moretti and Alessandro Lever seem ready to take the next step towards professional basketball.
The Women’s Game
Female basketball is leading the way is this perspective, following the 3x3 World Cup gold medal and the successful story of the U 16 team last summer. There's a large pack of Italian girls in NCAA Division I, a nine-players patrol spearheaded by Elisa Penna – already irreplaceable in the senior national team and a leader for Wake Forest Demon Deacons, for whom she's been playing the last four years in the ACC.
Last season she averaged more than 15 point per game, garnering awards and approval all over the country: her next goal is to be called by the WNBA. Francesca Pan is her conference rival for Georgia Tech: she's the ace of the team too, 14 point per game and designated sharpshooter from three point range. Lorela Cubaj joins her in a starting five which is for two fifths Italian.
Elisa Pinzan is a rookie with a tough task, but the coaching staff trusts her to achieve it promptly: to leave her mark in the talent-filled roster of South Florida, the number 22 team in the national ranking. The other girls are Division I veterans: Lucrezia Costa at UMBC, Elisa Pilli at Wyoming, Lucia Decortes at Albany, Mariella Santucci at Toledo, Carlotta Gianolla at Kennesaw State.
Overview
For the players enjoying their overseas adventures, the hardest gap to overcome is often athleticism, for they're facing off against players who have been physically training at a different level since high school. On the flip side, Italian and European players are often ahead of their American teammates regarding basketball IQ and comprehension of rules and sets, a trait that makes them dear to any coaches.
To translate basketball from one continent to another is a tricky experiment in alchemy, even more if adding to the equation the level of academic commitment required from student-athletes, but the outcome may turn out to be glorious. Just think of Amedeo Della Valle, the main man for Italy in the last World Cup qualifying window, among the best scorers of the tournament – on one game, the 101-82 win over Poland, he broke the record for most three point field goals made with eight bullseyes from long distance. He now looks back at his days in Ohio State as a turning point of his career, where he was asked to carve himself a valuable place through hard work in a demanding environment, day by day.