Israeli basketball has been at its peak in recent years and along with the great successes of the young teams, basketball talents are growing in the country that have not been seen here.
Ben Sharaf is only 16 years old, but it is already clear to all the professionals in Israel that the young center is the next big thing.
In the coming season, he will play for Elizur Netanya in the national league, and will be one of the youngest players playing in a professional league in Israel, when he is a student in the 11th grade.
Even before that, he will lead Israel's cadet team in the U16 European Championship in North Macedonia, and there is no better time to get to know the talent that has been raised here.
Ben Sharaf
He will play in the national team in the 11th grade, photo: FIBA
The FIBA marked him as one of the top 12 players in the championship and added: "With him, Israel definitely has a chance to finish on the podium."
Idan Avshalom, the professional manager of Elitzur Netanya is sure: "Based on his personality and abilities, I believe this is a player who can go anywhere he wants.
He is the one who will decide.'
The cadet team, Sheraf on the left, photo: Oded Karni
1.95 with coordinator features
Sharaf grew up in the youth department of Emek Hafer (which in recent years has produced quite a few talents such as Noam Ya'akov and Shoham Gat), already this season when he was a 10th grader he played in the youth team and was one of the leading players in the league, when in the upper house he averaged 13.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 Assists.
He is 1.95 m tall but plays as a center back, and knows how to manage the game.
He shoots excellently from beyond the arc (35%), it is very difficult to stop him when he attacks the basket with his strong left hand, and he also contributes in rebounding.
"The most special thing about him is the diversity.
He is a player who can do a lot of things on the field," says Avshalom, who added him to Netanya.
In the Challenger tournament the previous summer of the cadet team, he excelled even though he was a year younger than everyone else, and now there is no doubt that he is going to be the star of the Xiamen Sharon Abrahami team.
Ben Sharaf's highlight from the game against Serbia (he didn't play in the last quarter because he got 5 fouls).
Remembering that he is a year younger than everyone else.
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During the season, Scharf's talent led him to the "Next Generation" tournament of the Euroleague where he played under the legend of the Euroleague - Vasilis Spanoulis, and then in May he received a summons to make an impression at the academy of the Spanish "Juventud Badalona" team - which is known as one of the teams that specialize in developing young players.
Despite this, he chose to play in the upcoming season in Elizur Netanya, and it seems that there is no smarter choice than the one he took.
In recent years, the team from the National League, in cooperation with the "Real Player" project, has become an incubator for Israeli basketball players.
"We are ready to pay a price on the field to develop players.
Ben is the youngest player who needs a team, and we went with him because we believe he is something special.
He will go through a process with us, and make the transition from a youth player to a mature player," says Avshalom, who is also the CEO of the project, alongside his work as a professional manager in Netanya.
With the talent that is not in doubt, and with the right mentality that they are talking about, it seems that only Ben Sharaf's decision-making will determine where the player will end up - and if he chooses correctly, there is no doubt that you will hear more about him.
Ben Sharaf
Potential to go very far, photo: FIBA
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