Ian Platteeuw: The early MVP who led Spain to the Eurobasket

Ian Platteeuw ( Barcelona , 03/XI/2007) will go from taking public transport in the Barcelona neighborhood of Horta to train with Joventut de Badalona to exercising in the facilities of Davidson University, the same university where Stephen Curry grew up before being selected seventh in the 2009 draft by the Golden State Warriors.

Platteeuw, who was named MVP of the U-18 Eurobasket tournament won by Spain last Sunday, averaging 10 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, will play at the University of North Carolina starting next season after becoming the second-youngest debutant in Joventut history (16 years, 142 days). Only Ricky Rubio, who was on the court for Barça when Platteeuw made his debut, surpassed him at 14 years, 11 months, and 21 days.

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His parents, Noelia and Koen, are basketball enthusiasts. Noelia is a teacher, and Koen, who was born in Belgium, ended up living in Barcelona after arriving at a young age in the Catalan capital to pursue a university degree. Those closest to the player acknowledge that the Belgian federation recently contacted him to try to arrange for Platteeuw to play for the Belgian national team, but he never even considered it and has always been called up to the youth ranks of the Spanish national basketball team.

He is one academic year ahead due to his cognitive abilities; this year he was studying Journalism.

His first steps as a player were at Unió Esportiva Horta alongside his brother Unai, two years his senior. “He was a focused, very calm, and clever kid. He was very mature for his age, but he was also very cunning and knew how to handle frustration very well,” says Pau Ferragut, Platteeuw’s coach at the Barcelona club and one of the current heads of the club.

Years later, Joventut took notice of the brothers, and they joined the Penya youth system. The younger Platteeuw's career at the club's youth system was rewarded with his ACB debut against Barça on March 24, 2024. This past season, the young center, who stands at 2.14 meters tall, played in four different team dynamics. He played a few games with Penya's first team in the ACB and EuroCup, and also played for CB Prat (the reserve team), the Junior team, and the 'B' team of the club. All of this while he was studying his first year of a Journalism degree, having been ahead of his academic level compared to students his age. However, the program didn't appeal to him, and he has yet to decide what he will study during his new spell in the United States.

"He's incredibly gifted. Anyone else would struggle to remember all the instructions, but he has an intellectual capacity that allows him to adapt to any situation," says Héctor Sánchez, Platteeuw's coach this season with the Junior team, about the adaptation she has had in the different squads she has played for.

He will play at Davidson University and will donate a portion of his earnings to the Penya

“Ian is a genius. He's a young man who, for his age, thinks and sees life very deeply. He's a very good person and always prioritizes the good of the team. He doesn't thrive on conflict and doesn't get angry with his teammates in adverse situations,” Sánchez added in a conversation with La Vanguardia . Jordi Martí, Joventut's sporting director, meanwhile, told this newspaper that “there are very few midfielders like Ian these days” and that “being able to train with Ante Tomic must have been very beneficial for him.”

La Penya announced Platteuw's departure last May, heading to the NCAA (United States college league). However, the green-and-black team will retain the player's rights in the ACB. Grateful to the Badalona club for the training it has provided him, the center will offer Joventut an annual financial contribution from his earnings in the United States through NIL (name, image, and likeness rights exploited through sponsorships and commercial agreements). His departure from La Penya "doesn't mean a full stop, but rather a parenthesis," as the Catalan club expressed in its statement announcing the departure of a center who promises to be a talking point in the future.