Picture the scene: 2007-2008 ULEB Championship game. Title holders Akasvayu Girona vs. DKV Joventut Badalona. Marc Gasol vs. Rudy Fernández, two of the young gems of Spanish basketball.

And there is this floppy haired teenager, who looks like he has no place being there, especially not on a school night. Europe’s first YouTube Child Basketball Prodigy™. It wasn’t even the first championship game for Ricky Rubio, who was still four months short of his 18th birthday, and another year away from hearing his name called by David Stern.

Only a few months on from toppling Tau Ceramica in the Copa del Rey Final, Joventut secured another trophy that night – a defensive masterclass – grabbing a 79-54 victory and yet another MVP trophy for Rudy Fernández.

But the most impressive stat of all? Of the twelve players that suited up for Joventut that night, seven were native players, and five were direct products of their famous youth system.

Fast forward to 2010, and Regal FC Barcelona are conquering the highest level of European basketball with an emphatic 86-68 win over fellow powerhouse Olympiacos BC, with the dynamic backcourt of savvy veteran Juan Carlos Navarro and a now 18-year-old Ricky Rubio. And of that Barcelona side, half of the contributors were natives, with four of the six being developed in the region of Catalonia. This same side came within touching distance of the elusive ‘triple crown’ before being swept by Caja Laboral Baskonia in the domestic finals. However, every mountain has a peak.

Neither Joventut Badalona or Girona have returned to a major final since.

Ten years on from his incredible season for Los Verdinegros, Rudy Fernández is lifting his second EuroLeague title for Real Madrid whilst his former side Joventut celebrate staying in the Spanish top flight whilst holding off the debt collectors for another year after their worst ever finish in Liga ACB. Despite possibly one of the most incredible finish to a season in modern sport history, after being 4-20 in the last week of March. They continue to have one of the preeminent youth systems on the continent, but lack the financial force to keep those players when the bigger budget sides come calling. Develop and survive is now the name of the game.

As for Girona, only two months after the Championship game – a mere fourteen months after they had won a European title – they found themselves in financial ruin and out of the Spanish domestic top flight due to some Marc Gasol-sized debts.

Not many clubs were hit harder by the financial crisis, and six years later they were gone for good.

As for FC Barcelona, they continue to fall worryingly short of the lofty expectations they have set. The Catalan giants have yet to return to a major European final, and continue to struggle on the domestic front despite having one of the continent’s largest budgets. In this season alone, they have had three times as many head coaches as they have won trophies.

And make no mistake, the Copa Del Rey win was a major upset.

The European basketball landscape has evolved and, it appears, Catalonia has been left behind. Once the hotbed of Spanish and European hoops – half of the Spain side that almost, almost toppled USA in 2008 being brought through either the FC Barcelona or Joventut youth systems – has now been left well and truly in basketball purgatory. And due to the ever increasing importance of financial power at the highest levels of European basketball, only one team realistically can bring glory back to this region.

FC Barcelona Basketball operates on a budget of roughly €25 million per season. Comparatively, infamously extravagant rivals Real Madrid operate on a similar level with a €27 million budget. But whereas Real Madrid has had incredible success in the last decade, the club’s bitter rival has been flapping at every turn to try and catch up. Much of this comes down to how Los Blancos have almost seamlessly integrated the young, hungry players they have invested so much in with the squad of stars and savvy veterans. In this last decade Madrid has invested heavily in their youth academy and it is paying off mightily. Per Austin Green (@LosCrossovers), eleven products of their academy have made their professional debuts in the last seven years – effectively an entire professional roster they’ve successful put out in under a decade.

In the same period, FC Barcelona has given professional debuts to half as many young players as Real Madrid, and not a single one of those players will be on the roster by the start of the 2018-19 season. One of them doesn’t even play basketball anymore. And the hurt doesn’t stop there. In that period, Madrid has competed in 7 of 8 possible ACB Finals and Copa Del Rey Finals respectively, while also making 6 out of a possible 8 EuroLeague Final Fours. If we assume that is the measurement of success, their success rate sits about 83% Barcelona, conversely, has competed in 6 of 8 ACB Finals, 6 of 8 Copa Del Rey Finals, and 2 of 8 EuroLeague Final Fours. Their success rate? 58% Or, if you prefer: Real Madrid has won double – yes, DOUBLE – the amount of trophies FC Barcelona has since the 2010-11 season.

FC Barcelona’s lack of a productive youth system is having a very visible impact at the senior level. Despite a substantial investment in their youth academy, Barcelona have yet to show even the slightest interest in utilising it as part of a successful roster.

In the 2017-18 Season, the youngest regular contributor for Barcelona was Pierre Oriola, who is 25 years old and is just coming off the back of being a vital cog in the Valencia championship team. He started five EuroLeague games this season. The next youngest contributor for Barcelona was around 28-29 years old, and for a second consecutive season they failed to make it out of the EuroLeague Regular Season or to the Spanish League Finals. However, it wasn’t for a lack of young and hungry options are their disposal.

Sasha Vezenkov is a proven EuroLeague level scorer yet found himself mysteriously on the outside looking in all season, playing barely more than ten minutes a game despite his strong season opener against fellow EuroLeague outfit Baskonia. Other options including Marc Garcia, Rodions Kurucs and Atoumane Diagne – the only other players under the age of 25 – contributed a combined 27 minutes of basketball in an entire EuroLeague season. Luka Samanic – the crown jewel of the academy and potential 2019 NBA Draft lottery pick, wasn’t even included on the squad list. Compare that to their ancient rivals, whose youth movement was a huge part of their success this year. Bringing in Walter Tavares, who is the same age as Oriola, completed altered their frontcourt and offered the ideal target for academy wonderkid Luka Doncic – you may have heard of him – to hit on the run. Santiago Yusta (’97) provided vital wing depth for Madrid, even starting in 10 EuroLeague games. Dino Radonic (’99) was also given frequent opportunities within the first team both in the domestic league and EuroLeague levels.

In Laso's 7 years as head coach, 11 Real Madrid youth players have made their professional debuts — Austin Green (@LosCrossovers) May 25, 2018

And the problem explodes when you consider that historical rivals Joventut – a side who haven’t graced the EuroLeague in a decade – managed to contribute 771 minutes between Alberto Abalde & Guillem Vives, two of their academy graduates this season who now ply their trade for Valencia B.C. And this is only from their players under the age of 25. A deeper dive gives you names such as Pau Ribas, Rudy Fernández and to a lesser extent, Marcelinho Huertas – the Brazilian playmaker first arrived at Joventut in 2004 where he broke his way into the European market and won his first European medal. If you take an even deeper dive, the likes of Ricky Rubio, Alex Mumbru and Sergi Vidal have all contributed to some of the most successful Spanish sides over the last decade.

For Joventut, this is as close as it comes to competing on the greatest stage of European basketball these days – the lack of cash flow severely restricting one of both Spain, and Europe’s most historically successful sides to becoming the production line from which other teams build their successful sides. Barcelona on the other hand, find themselves in a quandary. They have the cash flow and expectations, like reigning EuroLeague & Spanish League Champions Real Madrid, to compete now. But the execution has been concerningly chaotic.

And this has led to a major problem at the Blaugrana: The young players no longer want to be there. And those that leave, when given the opportunity, are mostly flourishing. Marcus Eriksson – arguably the finest young sharpshooter in Europe – escaped last summer, and now he finds himself as chief bucket getter for newly minted Euroleague side Gran Canaria, alongside fellow FC Barcelona castaway Oriol Pauli, who himself has turned into one of the most sought after young forwards on the continent. At this point, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see them push their current side past the Catalan giants in next year’s standings. Stefan Peno – after being thrown in the deep end last year due to a succession of injuries and inconsistent playing time, was sent to Alba Berlin where he became a vital cog in the machine of the side that came within one game of joining Gran Canaria and FC Barcelona in next seasons EuroLeague. And although Barcelona have the option to bring him back, as they did with Pauli, it seems unlikely this is something they’ll be utilising.

However, the worst is yet to come.

Rodions Kurucs was once considered one of the brightest European prospects, a playmaking forward with enough athleticism to be considered a virtual lock to be a NBA Lottery pick. Given the Catalan sides enduring weaknesses and need for shot-creating/making wings, this should have been the perfect matchup. Instead, it descended into borderline insanity. The young forward spent much of the season on the outside looking in – stranded with the Catalan giant’s “B Team” in the lower tier of Spanish Basketball due to bitter contract negotiations with the club that had fostered him since he was a teenager arriving from his native Latvia. After managing under 60 minutes of basketball with the first team – his draft stock crashed. Selected 40th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Kurucs and his team quickly sought a buyout and committed to a long-term deal with the Nets, despite his apparent unreadiness for the demands of the American game. The G League was deemed a better place to develop than the Catalan capital given the minimal opportunities offered so far.

However, the bigger loss was the of young starlet Luka Samanic. I can say I had the pleasure of watching Samanic this year, and the hype is justified. At 6”10 with a developing jumper, solid defensive intensity and impressive athleticism, the Croatian forward passes the eye test for an exciting prospect, and certainly one you would want to keep a close watch on. In the L’Hospitalet Next Generation Tournament, Samanic looked several steps ahead of most of his fellow prospects, averaging an dominating 23 Points and almost 15 Rebounds per game on his way to MVP honours. Despite FC Barcelona being resigned to not making a European run this season and coasting to a playoff berth in the Spanish League – Samanic was never involved, for reasons unknown, with the first team. And almost immediately after the season was over, he publicly announced he was leaving the European giant – via Instagram.

Next season will see scouts flock to Ljubljana in order to see Samanic suit up for Petrol Olimpija, with whom he recently signed a 4-year deal, and attempt to make good on his potential at the senior level of European basketball in what could be one of the most important years of his basketball career ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft. And after seeing first hand what happened with his teammate Kurucs, I can’t think of many who would blame Samanic for maximising his playing opportunities to develop his skills whilst also gaining a platform to show those skills to his likely future employers.

And this is Barcelona’s crisis.

The young players aren’t receiving the opportunities to progress through a system – they are likely to see their development stagnate, or they leave for pastures new. Neither of which are beneficial for a club with ambitions as great as FC Barcelona. On the other side, it breeds complacency in the senior players, as they know their position is safe, regardless of how dreadful they play. If you need any proof of this, look at the veteran makeup of the lacklustre Barcelona sides we’ve been presented in the last few years: The teams which have failed to make it to either the ACB Finals, or past the EuroLeague Regular Season since the 2015-16 Season. Would an injection of youth have made these sides more competitive? What – this season in particular – was to be lost by giving minutes to these young prospects that, it would appear, everyone outside of the Blaugrana hold in a high regard?

Across town, fellow 2019 Draft prospect Arturs Zagars (‘2000) was given his professional debut this season in a match against the mighty EuroLeague side Kirolbet Baskonia. Zagars was one of 8 players under the aged of 22 that Joventut gave first team opportunities to this season despite facing the possibility of finishing last in the Spanish League.

FC Barcelona now find themselves at a concerning junction. In what could be Juan Carlos Navarro’s final professional season, they are facing a future without a player from their academy having a role in the Senior side. They are struggling for success on all fronts, continually spending their summers chasing a more expensive option than the one they tried and failed with the season before. All the while their prospects are moving on and being noticed across the continent for their level of play and the empty seats are growing at the Palau. And there could be a day where prospects begin rejecting FC Barcelona in the masses, the lack of opportunities no longer being offset by being associated with arguably one of the world’s largest brands. After all, what’s the use in having the platform if you aren’t allowed near it?

Reputation is everything in sport. And Barcelona basketball is in desperate need of a culture shift if it is to return to its place amongst the European giants. And until then, they, like their prospects, will continue to be noticed. But, unlike those that used to call the Blaugrana home, it won’t be for the right reasons.



Text edited by: Nick Flynt