The DBB Albert Schweitzer Tournament (abbreviated AST), full name DBB 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.
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1958 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country |  Germany |
| Continent |  Europe |
| Most recent champion(s) | Germany (2nd title) |
| Most titles |  United States(10 titles) |
| Official website | basketball-bund.de/albert-schweitzer-turnier |
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 (German: Deutscher Basketball Bund, abbreviated as DBB), and the city of Mannheim. The tournament is named after Albert Schweitzer.
History
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
Performance by nation
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
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:
Magic Johnson- Eddie Johnson
- B. J. Armstrong
- Eddie Griffin
- Luke Babbitt
- Kyle Lowry
- Ramon Sessions
- Cole Aldrich
- Vince Carter
- Glen Rice
- Kent Benson
- Kevin Garnett
- Joseph Forte
- Carlos Boozer
- Andre Barrett
- Jermaine O'Neal
- Baron Davis
Tim Duncan
Robert Sacre
Facu Campazzo
Dirk Nowitzki- Detlef Schrempf
- Daniel Theis
- Paul Zipser
Tony Parker- Jérôme Moïso
- Ronny Turiaf
- Boris Diaw
- Johan Petro
- Rudy Gobert
- Evan Fournier
- Nicolas Batum
- Alexis Ajinça
Pau Gasol- Raül López
- Víctor Claver
- Willy Hernangómez
Toni Kukoč- Dražen Petrović
- Dino Rađja
Igor Rakočević
Miroslav Raduljica
Dario Šarić- Bruno Šundov
- Zoran Planinić
- Bojan Bogdanović
Uroš Slokar
Victor Khryapa- Andrei Kirilenko
Šarūnas Jasikevičius- Darius Songaila
Arvydas Sabonis
Svi Mykhailiuk
Hedo Türkoğlu- Memo Okur
- Ersan İlyasova
- Enes Kanter
- Furkan Aldemir
- Cedi Osman
Kostas Papanikolaou- Andreas Glyniadakis
- Antonis Fotsis
- Vassilis Spanoulis
Omri Casspi- Gal Mekel
- Deni Avdija
Yi Jianlian
Patrick Mills- David Andersen
- Andrew Bogut
- Matthew Dellavedova
- Mitch Creek
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:
- Chuck Eidson
- Erving Walker
- Lamont Barnes
- Chris Burgess
- Kevin Freeman
- Mark Karcher
- Ethan Happ
- Ismet Akpinar
- Robin Benzing
- Richard Freudenberg
- Niels Giffey
- Kostja Mushidi
- Maik Zirbes
- Jonas Mattisseck
- /
Ziyed Chennoufi - Andrew Albicy
- Antoine Diot
- Edwin Jackson
- Adrien Moerman
- Kim Tillie
- Joseph Gomis
- Mam Jaiteh
- Juan San Epifanio "Epi"
- Albert Miralles
- Quino Colom
- Josep Franch
- Pierre Oriola
- Alberto Díaz
- Tomislav Zubčić
- Leon Radošević
- Mario Delaš
- Toni Prostran
- Andrija Žižić
- Milan Mačvan
- Nikola Radičević
- Nikola Rebić
- Dušan Ristić
- Mihajlo Andrić
- Stefan Lazarević
- Stefan Marković
- Nikola Milutinov
- Boriša Simanić
- Erazem Lorbek
- Sergiy Gladyr
- Igors Miglinieks
- Valery Tikhonenko
- Fedor Likholitov
- Andrey Desyatnikov
- Mikhail Kulagin
- Martynas Gecevičius
Ludde Hakanson- Doğuş Balbay
- Deniz Kılıçlı
- Egemen Güven
- Ender Arslan
- Kerem Tunçeri
Antonello Riva- Pietro Aradori
- Federico Mussini
- Dino Meneghin
- Diego Flaccadori
- Idan Zalmanson
- Nikos Zisis
- Charis Giannopoulos
- Georgios Bogris
- Vangelis Mantzaris
- Leonidas Kaselakis
- Nikos Pappas
- Kostas Sloukas
- Vlado Janković
- Linos Chrysikopoulos
- Dimitrios Katsivelis
- Nondas Papantoniou
- Sofoklis Schortsanitis
- Lazaros Papadopoulos
- Christos Tapoutos
- Michalis Lountzis
- Dimitrios Moraitis
- Kostas Papadakis
- Charis Markopoulos
- Dimitrios Agravanis
- Lefteris Bochoridis
- Chen Jianghua
- Andrew Ogilvy
Tai Webster
Awards
MVP Award
| Year | MVP |
|---|---|
1996 | Kevin Freeman |
1998 | David Andersen |
2000 | Charis Markopoulos[15] |
2002 | Sofoklis Schortsanitis |
2004 | Ersan İlyasova |
2006 | Nicolas Batum |
2008 | Nikos Pappas |
2010 | Mitch Creek |
 Nikola Radičević | |
2014 | Ethan Happ |
2016 | Kostja Mushidi |
2018 | Jonas Mattisseck |
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 | Alexis Ajinça |
2008 | Enes Kanter |
2010 |  Dario Šarić |
| Cedi Osman | |
2014 |  Nicolás Aguirre |
2016 |  Zhu Rongzhen |
2018 |  Tomer Levinson |
All-Tournament Team
- 2000:[16]
- 2006:
- 2008:
- 2010:
- Jackson Aldridge
- Evan Fournier
- Hugh Greenwood
- Mitch Creek
- Philipp Neumann
- 2012:
- Nikola Radičević
- Josep Pérez
- Paul Zipser
- Mihajlo Andrić
- Willy Hernangómez
- 2014:
- 2016:[17]
- Davide Moretti
- Aleksa Radanov
- Richard Freudenberg
- Boriša Simanić
- Zhu Rongzhen
- 2018:[18]
- Jonas Mattisseck
- Federico Miaschi
- Nikita Mikhaylovsky
- Callum Dalton
- Hendrik Drescher
See also
References
External links
- Official Website (in German and English)
- Official Archive Website (in German)
- Albert Schweitzer Tournament History (in English)
- Albert Schweitzer Tournament Stars (in English)
- Albert Schweitzer Tournament Results 1958–2008 (in German)
- Albert Schweitzer Tournament Results 2010 (in German and English)
- Albert Schweitzer Tournament Results 2012[permanent dead link] (in German)
- Albert Schweitzer Tournament Results 2014 Archived 11 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine (in German)
- Albert Schweitzer Tournament Schedule 2016 (in English)
- Albert Schweitzer Tournament Results 2018 (in English)