Many questions surround the 2024-2025 DODEA European boys basketball season.

In Division I, can Stuttgart reload and contend for a three-peat? Or will Ramstein’s experience or Wiesbaden’s revamped roster come out on top? And don’t forget Vilseck, which fell short in the postseason but had the second-best regular-season record in 2023-2024.

In Division II, can anybody keep up with the juggernaut that is Vicenza, which only lost to Division I opposition last winter en route to demolishing the South region for the title?

In Division III, which team can recover from graduations and transfers to take the crown from Spangdahlem?

Those questions will be answered throughout the season, which begins this weekend, with the final test coming Feb. 12-15 during the European championships in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Here’s a team-by-team look across Europe, based on coaches’ responses:

Division I

Kaiserslautern

Anthony Lopez moved from Texas, where he coached 5A basketball for seven years, to take over the Raider program that three years ago played in the title game but since has failed to reach those heights.

Lopez said Kaiserslautern plans to deploy an aggressive, up-tempo style, and he has the players to do so.

Plenty of veterans will lead the way, starting with a trio of seniors – forward Rueben Todman, guard Sevastian Quilles and forward/center Xavier Nelson. Sophomore guard Caleb Ringer should have an expanded role after showing sparks his freshman year, while junior guard Jordan Balsamo and sophomore forward Mason Stevenson round out the returners.

A group of experienced transfers headline the newcomers. Senior Denver Dait transferred from Camp Zama, Japan, while senior Aaron Potter came out for the squad this season. Others expected to see minutes are juniors Will Potter and B’Angelo Drew-Carranza and sophomores Carrett Vitter and Corbin King.

Lakenheath

The Lancers are looking to change the perception of Lakenheath basketball this season under the tutelage of London Burrell and Alex Feletar.

Lakenheath has six players back from the squad that went 4-11.

Senior guard Gideon Toure is back, as senior center Jayden Shepherd. Sophomore center Jaylon Gatewood and junior guard/forward Gabe Blanke give the Lancers more experience.

Transfer Darion Jose and freshman Jaiden Miles will get minutes this season.

Ramstein

The Royals have fallen just short the past two seasons, but they are hoping this year they reign supreme over Europe again.

Six seniors – Ky’Ron Hall, Kelan Vaughn, Tyrell Edwards, Christian Roy, Michael Gonzales and Micah Lambert – will pace coach Brendan Rouse’s squad. Sophomore Rhett Dalling picked up experience last winter, as did junior Aarius Guishard, Aamari Guishard and senior Ryan Izaguirre.

New to the team are Matteo Jones and Awwab Noble.

SHAPE

The Spartans may play a more international style this season, with only three Americans on the roster.

SHAPE also must find a way to replace the production of Bela Clobes, who graduated after earning first-team All-Europe honors.

Four players expected to step up are senior guard Matteo Sanciu, senior guards/forwards Euklid Cani and Alberto Saldana and senior forward Keller Schutt.

Stuttgart

The Panthers may be hard-pressed to keep their dominance going, losing large chunks of the squad that won back-to-back crowns in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.

Yet sixth-year coach Christopher Jackson said Stuttgart is not considering this a rebuilding year but a reload.

Tyler Jackson is the only returner who has logged significant minutes in his career. The senior point guard has started every game since his freshman year, and he averaged 14 points and 3.5 assists last winter while earning first-team All-European and all-tournament selections.

Others returning are junior guard Adrian Anglada Paz, the younger brother of last year’s Stars and Stripes’ boys basketball Athlete of the Year, Ismael; sophomore forward Kai Lewis; senior forward Seth Harpuder; and junior guard Ben Osman.

Newcomers expected to make an impact are Maximillian Andrysiak, Edmund Gavina and Zach Cerda.

Vilseck

The Falcons entered the tournament as the second seed, but they ended up faltering in the semifinals against Ramstein and in the third-place game against Wiesbaden to take fourth.

Coach Adrian Crawford said Vilseck will look to go higher on the podium this season.

The Falcons have six returners in junior guard Khyleel Grimes, sophomore forward Jeremiah Dorff and senior center John Dorff in the low post, senior forward Rohail Jan, Joshua Benn and Israel Pillaca.

Kyle and Kerrion Sullivan will add depth to the backcourt, while Skylar Cooper will make his mark on a deep forward line.

Wiesbaden

The Warriors are coming off their first losing season since 2015, but coach David Brown has astronomical expectations – and it’s not hard to see why.

Wiesbaden made a deep run in the 2024 tournament, beating Vilseck to clinch third place.

Nearly everyone from that squad who played significant minutes is back, paced by Jordan Thibodeaux. The senior point guard scored 17.1 points per game and shot 42.1% from the field, making first-team All-Europe and the all-tournament team.

Then, the Warriors won the PCS lottery, as a pair of All-Europe selections transferred into Hessen. Senior shooting guard Jacob Idowu (first-team All-Europe) and sophomore center Joel Idowu (second team) moved from Hohenfels, where they fell short of the Division III title last season, to team up with Thibodeaux and Co.

Also returning to the squad are small forward Zion Thompson, who led the team in rebounds last season with nine per game; junior power forward Teagan McConville, who had 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game; and senior shooting guard Jonah Harvey.

Former JV players Jake Koschnik (junior center), Ben Cashen (sophomore shooting guard) and Isaac Mason (junior power forward) are moving to the varsity squad and are expected to add depth. Freshman combo guard Carter Edwards could make an impact as well.

Division II

American Overseas School of Rome

Dave Roberts enters his first season in charge of the Falcons not knowing what to expect from the league as well as his young squad.

He said the team has a good balance of athleticism and basketball knowledge, and the key to competitiveness will be comprehending and becoming comfortable with the new system.

AOSR will get leadership from four returners – senior guard Riley Smith, junior guard MengPeng Jiang, sophomore center Ali Ceke and sophomore guard Leone Maggi.

Aviano

Coach Keith Adams has no qualms about calling last season a disappointment – one the Saints wish to avoid repeating in 2024-2025.

To do so, Aviano will use what Adams called a promising blend of seniors and new talent.

Three seniors lead the way, starting with the Walker brothers Andrew and Deon. Andrew Walker was named second-team All-Europe.

Senior forward/guard Joseph Guerrero, junior center/forward Alando Brown and sophomore guard Bryson Russell and Jonathan Sanchez round out the veterans.

Senior Cristiano Peterson, junior Nash Stoner and sophomores Toby Canales and Micah Guerrero join Aviano this season. Freshmen Troy Carpenter, Brylee Hillis, Davide Holospin and Elijah Sherrod add depth.

Black Forest Academy

Chris Takano takes over the varsity team after two years in charge of JV.

And he has an interesting mix of veterans and rookies with whom to work.

Senior forwards Jack Foster and Nate Maddox, junior forward Samuel Batluck and junior guard Nehemiah Perryman are back for BFA.

Senior Timothy Sivonen makes the transition from the volleyball court to basketball. Juniors Luke Hartman and Caed Lovell, sophomores Uriah Trusty and Mateo Chamberlain and freshman Jhun-I Kang all will see minutes this winter.

Marymount

After 25 years coaching AOSR, Phil Davis moves across the Italian capital to take over Marymount this season.

He predicted this season will be challenging, as well as exciting, and the Royals will be building for the future.

Six players are back in senior centers Patrick Gianni and Oscar White, sophomore shooting guard Valerio Carusi, sophomore power forward Radu Dumitrescu, sophomore point guard Hughs Hong and senior point guard Hiyab Haile.

Added to the group are nine newcomers.

Naples

The Wildcats advanced to the Division II championship game last but were overpowered by Vicenza.

To get back to the final, Naples can bank on plenty of experience from three players. Four-year contributor Camden Kasparek is coming off a second-team All-European season and an all-tournament selection at guard, while fellow senior guard Jettyn Jones also enters his fourth season on the squad.

Junior guard Jeramiah Robinson has played every year since his freshman campaign, and he made the all-tournament roster as a sophomore.

Rota

The Admirals are in rebuilding mode.

Rota doesn’t return a starter from last year’s third-place team. Only three players were in the program in 2023-2024.

The key Admirals this winter are 6-foot-5 junior forward Kaya Geylani and sophomore point guard Jad Acutim.

Vicenza

After waiting a decade for a European title, Vicenza likely won’t have to wait long for another.

The Cougars are stacked from the squad that went unbeaten in Division II play and doubled up Naples in the title game.

Nine players are back. It starts with Ben Harlow, the senior guard who was the tournament MVP and first team All-Europe. Fellow senior guard Jace Herron made second-team All-Europe, while junior forward/center Simon Gilbert earned all-tournament honors.

Also coming back are senior forward/center Joe Kelly, senior forward Michael Darlan, junior guards Dylan Horrigan and Alexander Olivera, junior forward/center Xavier Washington and sophomore guard Benedict Morton.

Coach Jesse Woods has six newcomers who will add depth.

Division III

Alconbury

The Dragons will hope brotherly love can take a disciplined and motivated squad to new heights under first-year coach Ronnie Mckinzie.

Three sets of siblings fill up the Alconbury roster, including senior Anthony and junior Vincent Sheehan and senior Taye and freshman Kai Vickerstaff. Senior Leonidas Politis will be joined sometimes by his younger brother Maximos Politis, who will move between JV and varsity.

Others on the squad are senior Aaron Dudley, juniors Julian Arias and Kieran Daley, sophomore Ietula Te’o and freshmen Sebastian Acosta Veliz and Jacob Sander.

AFNORTH

The Lions are in the middle of a complete rebuild after losing nearly all starters to graduation.

AFNORTH will need co-captains Jackson Lojka and Henry Main, as well as fellow sophomore Stefan Termure, to lead the way. Lojka, a junior guard, totaled 91 points in 2023-2024, while Main, a senior forward, had 86 points. Temure, a guard, collected 32 steals.

Senior Santi Aponte joins the team this season.

Baumholder

The Buccaneers’ five-year dominance of Division III came to an end last winter as the team went 13-5 and finished third in the tournament.

Coach Dwayne Pigge has five players returning from that squad. Junior point guard Gregory Makubuya made the all-tournament team, and he will be joined on the wings by shooting-guard brothers Leo (senior) and Sir (sophomore) Kirkland and sophomore shooting guard Jaylan Harewood.

DeWayne Washington is the last returner.

New to the squad are Jaylon Bilbrew, Curtis Duecker, Antonio Lara-Martinez, Jaedon LeBlanc, Evan Olin, Semaj Stukes, Justin Velez Benitez and Artez Williams.

Brussels

The situation in the Belgian capital looks eerily like AFNORTH’s.

The Brigands have no returning starters, yet second-year coach Glenn Goodrich is relying on the few coming back to provide leadership.

The veteran group includes sophomore guards Altin Ebipi and David Marone, junior guard Matthew Rogers, Cameron Hales and junior guard Ivica Domazetov.

The new players who Goodrich said must provide scoring opportunities are Liam Richard, Toma Jgenti, Sawyer Ter Horst, Elham Aziri, Antonios Karakonstatis, Alex Scwindt, Conrad Adams, Kai Zinn and Filip Goricanec.

Hohenfels

The Tigers’ lone blemishes in 2023-2024 came against Spangdahlem, including in the championship game.

The team took heavy hits in the offseason with the losses of the Idowu brothers, but second-year coach Michael Weston said his players have stepped up.

The team’s other starters from last winter are back, starting with junior guard Jacob Berkau and senior forward Theo Reyes. With senior forward Javin Smith, 6-4 sophomore Lucas Gibbs and junior guard Cameron Sanchez, the Tigers have plenty of firepower to contend again.

As much as PCS hurt the Tigers, they also brought in a trio of new players in seniors Marcus Freeman and Trevon Scott and sophomore Nasir Vargas. Senior Hayden Spalsbury joins the team this year, as do freshmen Kyrin Smith and Logan Landry.

Sigonella

Coach Jimmy Martin is hoping another year under the belt of key players will lead to an improvement from last season’s 6-10 record.

Guard Mikolaj Czernielewski is Sigonella’s lone veteran senior. The junior contingent includes guard Jacob Maloney, forward Gideon Tesfay and Kerion Cayton; and a large sophomore group is led by guard Bobby Gibbons, Mandy Gonzalez, Carter Steele, Joaquin Duron and Mikolaj Falecki.

Joseph Eck adds a senior presence to the Jaguars, while juniors Cooper Harrison and James Stinyard and freshmen Luca and Makari Spencer will push for playing time.

Spangdahlem

The Sentinels won’t look like the same team that went undefeated last winter.

Just one player – junior center Zander Doulder – is back. He is joined by junior transfer Jesus Nunez. The rest of the squad is a mix of JV players making the leap to varsity and incoming freshmen.

Coach Mark Jackson said he anticipates Spangdahlem taking its lumps early in the season before growing into contention by the tournament.

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