Meet Israel's Next Big Prospects: Deni Avdija and Yam Madar

The future is here. Avdija and Madar celebrate Israel's 3rd consecutive Finals appearance. (FIBA.Basketball)

Tel Aviv, the same city where Israel's top two U20 players play for rival clubs, has been the center of attention during the FIBA U20 European Championship Division A tournament. Deni Avdija (Maccabi Tel Aviv) and Yam Madar (Hapoel Tel Aviv) have set the tone for the tournament's hosts. After a hard-fought loss to Serbia in its first group-stage game, Israel has put together five consecutive wins en route to a third consecutive final berth. This time it is trying to repeat as the European champion.

Deni Avdija, a projected top-10 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, had his best game of the tournament in the semifinals as the reigning champs knocked out the previously undefeated French team 81-70. The 18 year-old, 6'-9" forward scored a tournament-high 26 points on 14 shot attempts, while collecting 11 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 spectacular blocks in 34 minutes with only two turnovers.

Most impressive is his ability to get to the rim in traffic, though he needs to improve his finish. He's shown the ability to glide past three players with an astonishing array of dribble moves on the fast break. He defends at a high level, too. Often times you'll see him blocking shots on drives or running down players in transition opportunities. Off the ball, he's very good at denying players and anticipating passes. He's an excellent rebounder as well and often wins battles on the boards even against bigger, stronger players. He's averaged 17.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5 assists in Israel's first six games.

Point guard Yam Madar has been one of the tournament's biggest surprises, and his success has led to talk about becoming a potential NBA first-round pick in the next two seasons. It's worth noting that he is a very strong candidate to finish among the tournament's top five players along with the aforementioned stud, Avdija (who will be repeating if selected).

In today's impressive win over France, Madar had a mediocre game compared to the expectations that have resulted from his successes in this tournament. He scored 13 points and collected 3 assists in the victory. In this tournament, he's been very good at putting pressure on the rim and has constantly forced his defenders to scramble back against his quickness. As the man who runs Israel's show, he has faired magnificently well. He gets past half court at lightening speed--two to three seconds is all he takes off a make, a miss, or a turnover. At 6'-3", he has good length for a point guard although he is lacking a bit in size. His length helps him to see over the top of his defender and make good decisions, whether driving to the basket or finding an open teammate on the cut or in the corner. This has been noticeable when he's stationary or on the move. He's averaging 15.7 points per game, 3.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists (number 1 in the category).

Defensively, Madar still has a ways to go. He is very good at pressuring the ball but often gambles too much and gets a bit restless when guarding off the ball. His help defense timing is good, too. He does not care about getting dunked on and contests any shot-attempt at the rim, which has led to posters and highlight reel blocks.

Tomorrow, Israel will face its toughest opponent yet, Spain, in the tournament final. The Spanish team comes off an impressive 80-62 thrashing of Germany in the other semifinal and remains undefeated at 6-0. It will be interesting to watch how Israel's dynamic duo fairs against the likes of PG Carlos Alocen (12.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, and 5.7 apg) and PF Sergi Martinez Costa (13.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 1.8 apg). Tomorrow at 1:30 ET or 8:30 local time, we will find out who will be the European Champion at the U20 Level.