Albert Schweitzer Tournament
Albert Schweitzer Tournament Mannheim
|
|
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1958 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country |
 Germany
|
| Continent |
 Europe
|
| Most recent champion(s) |
Germany (1st title) |
| Most titles |
 United States(10 titles) |
| Official website | basketball-bund.de/albert-schweitzer-turnier |
The Albert Schweitzer Tournament (AST), or "Mini Basketball World Cup", is an international basketball competition that is played between junior youth national basketball teams of the Under-18 age category. It takes place every 2 years in Mannheim, Germany, and is contested between teams from 16 different countries.
Since FIBA World does not organize an Under-18 age world championship, this tournament is internationally recognized and considered as a youth world championship for the Under-18 age group. Originally, the tournament was an Under-19 age category tournament. The organizers of the tournament are the German Basketball Federation and the city of Mannheim. The tournament is named after Albert Schweitzer.
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. Since 1994, the tournament has been held during even-numbered years.
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.
The tournament is an important event for professional basketball scouts from around the world. Over the years, many players that have played at the tournament, have gone on to become well-known pro players, both in the NBA, and the EuroLeague.
Some of the NBA players that have played at the AST, include:
In addition to that, some of the players that have played in various international senior men's professional top-tier national domestic leagues, and that have also played at the AST, include:
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.
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