DBB Albert Schweitzer Tournament

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Albert Schweitzer Tournament (AST)
SportBasketball
Founded1958
No. of teams12
Country Germany
Continent Europe
Most recent
champion(s)
 Germany
(2nd title)
Most titles United States
(10 titles)
Official websitebasketball-bund.de/albert-schweitzer-turnier
France vs. USA, at the 2010 Albert Schweitzer Tournament.

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

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. Originally, the tournament was an Under-19 age event. The organizers of the tournament are the German Basketball Federation and the city of Mannheim. The tournament is named after Albert Schweitzer.

History[edit]

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, the USA used players that were the dependents of the USA's military forces. Starting with the 1973 tournament, the USA began to use players that were selected from throughout the entire USA 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 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 record attendance 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]

Results[edit]

Summaries[4]
Year Gold Medal Silver Medal Bronze Medal 4th Place
 Belgium  Austria  Germany  United States
 Belgium  Austria  United States  Netherlands
 Italy  Turkey  Austria  United States
 Poland  Austria  France  Belgium
 Italy  Czechoslovakia  Poland  Turkey
 Yugoslavia  Italy  Poland  Spain
 United States  Poland  Yugoslavia  Italy
 United States  Turkey  Spain  Poland
 United States  Spain  Turkey  Germany
 Yugoslavia  Spain  United States  Soviet Union
 United States  Soviet Union  Bulgaria  Germany
 Italy  United States  Germany  Finland
 United States  Yugoslavia  Turkey  Sweden
 United States  Spain  Turkey  Germany
 United States  Greece  France  Czechoslovakia
 United States  Lithuania  Italy  Greece
 United States  Spain  Australia  Lithuania
 United States  France  Greece  Turkey
 Spain  Australia  United States  Turkey
 FR Yugoslavia  Greece  United States  Australia
 Greece  Spain  FR Yugoslavia  United States
 Turkey  Argentina  Spain  Serbia and Montenegro
 France  Turkey  Serbia  Croatia
 Greece  Turkey  Australia  United States
 Australia[5]  Germany  Germany  United States
 Spain[6]  Serbia  Turkey  Germany
 Italy[7]  United States  Serbia  Turkey
 Germany[8]  Serbia  Italy  France
 Germany[9]  Australia  Italy  Russia
2020
Cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic[10]
2022
Cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic[11]
TBD[12] TBD TBD TBD

Performance by nation[edit]

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

Future stars[edit]

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[edit]

MVP Award[edit]

Year MVP
United States Kevin Freeman
Australia David Andersen
Greece Charis Markopoulos[15]
Greece Sofoklis Schortsanitis
Turkey Ersan İlyasova
France Nicolas Batum
Greece Nikos Pappas
Australia Mitch Creek
Serbia Nikola Radičević
United States Ethan Happ
Germany Kostja Mushidi
Germany Jonas Mattisseck

Burkhard Wildermuth Prize[edit]

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
France Alexis Ajinça
Turkey Enes Kanter
Croatia Dario Šarić
Turkey Cedi Osman
Chile Nicolás Aguirre
China Zhu Rongzhen
Israel Tomer Levinson

All-Tournament Team[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  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. ^ AST-basketball.de Turnierergebnisse (in German).
  5. ^ "Schoenen-dunk.de Australien triumphiert verdient " (in German). Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  6. ^ Nikola Radicevic wird MVP des AST 2012 – Radicevic honoured as MVP. (in German).[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "US-Boy Ethan Happ ist AST-MVP 2014! " (in German). Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  8. ^ "AST 2016: Deutschland erstmals Turniersieger!". basketball-bund.de. German Basketball Federation. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ Albert Schweitzer Turnier 2020 fällt aus – AST 2020 is canceled.
  11. ^ FICYMIs Feb 11: Albert Schweitzer 2022 cancelled, Spain, France up in new FIBA youth rankings, youth European draw Feb 15.
  12. ^ Nächstes Albert Schweitzer Turnier im Jahr 2024 (in German).
  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.

External links[edit]