Who I Watched (7/5): Eric Reibe, Roman Siulepa, Ronny Ewanke
Evaluating prospects from the FIBA Under-19 World Cup.
I watched a few FIBA Under-19 World Cup games on July 5, 2025, including Slovenia vs. Germany.
Here are notes on three prospects I find interesting:
🇩🇪 Eric Reibe (Germany)
BIRTHDAY: June 29, 2006
BOX SCORE: 13 PTS (5/8 PTS, 3/6 2P, 2/2 3P, 1/1 FT), 5 DREB, 3 AST to 2 TOV, 2 STL, 0 BLK, 1 PF in 29 MINS
HEIGHT: 7-foot-01
WINGSPAN: 7-foot-1
STANDING REACH: 9-foot-1
WEIGHT: 247 pounds
PLAYS FOR: UConn (freshman) / The Bullis School (Potomac, Maryland)
PREDICTION FOR FUTURE: Lottery pick in the 2027 NBA Draft
Eric Reibe looks like a mobile and skilled authentic 7-footer. He had a couple of nice passes against Slovenia, two pick-and-pop threes, finished some plays, and got a few stops. I feel better projecting Reibe for the 2027 draft (although he’ll be 21) since I’m expecting Tarris Reed Jr. to play a lot for UConn this year, but he’ll be a good player for Dan Hurley.
Going forward, I’ll be watching to see how Reibe finishes plays. He clearly has size, but I want to see if he has some sort of push shot or floater. Having an in-between game from the free throw line and elbows will be important. Also, I’m not sure how much the German big will step out to the perimeter with UConn, but I’ll be monitoring his three-point shot. Reibe has previously compared himself to Kristaps Porzingis, but the latter has legitimate gravity as a floor spacer. That’s far different from making one or two threes every few games.
Reibe moved fairly well on defense. He wasn’t perfect, but the incoming Huskies freshman got out in space and moved his feet. It’ll be tougher in college, though. The 19-year-old had an impressive recovery moment in the third quarter when he was too jumpy at first and left his feet, but then got back in the play with a surprisingly quick second jump to alter the Slovenian player's shot.
From Hanover, Germany. Father is Carsten Reibe, currently the president of the Starwings Basel (Switzerland) basketball club, also a former under-15 assistant coach and the president of BC Arlesheim. Mother is Martina. Moved to Switzerland when he was 8 years old. Started playing basketball at BC Arlesheim when he was 10. Played for Starwings at U-15 level during the 2019-20 season. After that, spent time with Ratiopharm Ulm's OrangeAcademy. Played at 2022-23 ANGT Munich. Moved to The Bullis School (Potomac, Maryland) in January 2023. Was selected for Basketball Without Borders Europe 2023. Was selected to the 2024 NBPA Top 100 Camp. Was selected for the 2025 McDonald's All American and Nike Hoop Summit games. Previously represented Germany at U-16 and U-18 levels. Played AAU ball with Team Museum on the PUMA PRO16 circuit; initially played with Team New World on the Adidas circuit.
🇦🇺 Roman Siulepa (Australia)
BIRTHDAY: July 9, 2006
BOX SCORE: 24 PTS (8/14 2P, 0/1 3P, 8/9 FT), 7 DREB, 0 AST to 5 TOV, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 2 PF in 25 MINS
HEIGHT: Listed at 6-foot-7 earlier this year; FIBA listing at 6-foot-5 is outdated
WINGSPAN: 6-foot-8½
STANDING REACH: 8-foot-7½
WEIGHT: 224 pounds
PREVIOUS TEAMS: Queensland U-20 (AUS) / South West Metro Pirates (NBL1)
PREDICTION FOR FUTURE: First round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft
Roman Siulepa kept putting pressure on the rim with his rugby-like drives, finishing with 24 points on 53.3 FG% against Israel.
Siulepa is at his best when he uses his physicality to move defenders out of the way and finish at the basket or go to the free throw line. The Australian athlete is shooting 8.3 free throws per game, which is great, but his 62 FT% (31/50) needs to improve. The 18-year-old was reliable in this game, missing just one of his nine foul shots.
Siulepa’s best moments came when he played through the help and with contact. He resorts to bully ball most of the time, but he’s occasionally shown some dexterity with sidesteps or low gathers to avoid defenders.
The thing with Siulepa is that he has to do more than just score. There’s no doubt about how he does that, although the efficiency and process are questions. He can appear drive-exclusive without a jump shot, and even his slashing needs more polish. But right now, there are questions over whether the Aussie forward can add real value as a rebounder (he’s only a factor on the defensive glass), as a facilitator (5 AST to 15 TOV for the tournament), and as a defender (0.5 STL, 0.7 BLK per game).
Siulepa’s strength and physicality should show up in more areas. The respite is that he’s relatively early in his basketball development, or at least in terms of hoops being his full-time focus. The Queensland native’s development will really be accelerated by NCAA-level coaching and reps, in my opinion. At this current version, Siulepa remains too one-dimensional.
From Upper Mount Gravatt, Queensland, Australia. Father is Nadas. Mother is Rachel. Parents are Samoan. Mentored by 15+ year pro Jason Cadee. Studied and played rugby at Brisbane State High School. Elite prospect in the GPS Rugby system. Previously played at the Global Youth Sevens under-18 tournament. Other family members also play rugby. Was selected for Basketball Without Borders Asia 2022 (MVP) and 2023, Basketball Without Borders Global 2024. Previously represented Australia at U-16 and U-17 levels. Signed a two-year NextStars deal with the Tasmania JackJumpers in June 2024. Wanted to follow the NextStars pathway after seeing Alex Toohey and Rocco Zikarsky go through it. Was mutually released from his contract in August. He wanted to finish his high school rugby commitments, which was incompatible with Tasmania. Was also dealing with back and shoulder injuries. Subsequently received interest from other NBL teams. Back-to-back MVP of the Australian Under-20 National Championships. In 2025, averaged 26.2 PTS, 11.3 REB, 4.3 AST on 38.2 FG%. In 2024, averaged 24.4 PTS, 8.3 REB, 4 AST to 2.3 TOV, 1.4 STL, 0.4 BLK, 2.9 PF in 28.4 MINS per game. Made eight three-pointers in one U-20s game this year. All-tournament team at the 2024 Albert Schweitzer Tournament (played with Rocco Zikarsky) after averaging 18.4 PTS, 6.7 REB, 2.4 AST to 2.4 TOV, 2 STL, 0.3 BLK in 26.2 MINS. Former NBA Global Academy scholarship holder. Joined the academy in July 2022. Played for the South West Metro Pirates in the NBL1 North. In the 2024 season, averaged 18.7 PTS, 9.1 REB, and 2 AST in 14 games. Had a season-high 37 points. Most recently played with the NBL NextStars team at the 2025 Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso.
🇨🇲 Ronny Ewanke (Cameroon)
BIRTHDAY: Jan. 4, 2008
BOX SCORE: 18 PTS (7/13 FG, 5/7 2P, 2/6 3P, 23 FT), 11 REB (3o), 2 AST to 4 TOV, 0 STL, 2 BLK, 4 PF in 31 MINS
HEIGHT: 6-foot-10
CLUB: Varese Academy (Italy)
PREDICTION FOR FUTURE: Mid-major D-I recruit
It’s hard to not be captivated by Ronny Ewanke. The Cameroonian prospect is a jumbo wing with two-way fluidity and theoretical floor spacing, although he’s still putting everything together.
Watch the first two clips above, with how Ewanke attacks closeouts in a straight line drive and throws down athletic dunks in traffic. Then, he finished a big lob in transition, made a skip pass out of the post to assist a corner three, hit a couple of jumpers, and showed off his defensive bounce near the rim.
Ewanke is relatively early in his overall development, but there are too many moments to ignore even now. Still, patience is needed.
The 17-year-old will rack up unforced turnovers. Sometimes, his shot — pull-ups and spot-ups — will be way off. That’s been on display all tournament long. As a whole, Ewanke’s motor can only offset his rawness on both ends to an extent.
Like I mentioned a couple of days ago, the game needs to keep slowing down for Ewanke. But after seeing more, I feel confident projecting him as a future mid-major player at the D-I level.
Full name is Ronny Brad Ewanke. Was one of three Cameroonian prospects (alongside Amadou Seini) to join Varese in January 2023. Process reportedly went through Italian diplomats in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Before that, was at the Friendship Basketball Academy in Yaoundé. In June 2023, had a 22 point+30 rebounds double-double at the Italian Under-15 Championship and named to the tournament's Best Five. In March, was named the Best Young Player of the Coppa Carnevale Piombino.
2025 Nike Hoop Summit (via NBADraftMikeyV)