Oregon State sophomore forward Michael Rataj will captain Germany at the upcoming FIBA U20 European Championships in Greece, the Germany Basketball Federation announced Thursday.
The tournament will begin Saturday, with Germany in action at 6 a.m. PT against France. Group play will continue through Monday. The Round of 16 starts on Wednesday, leading up to the final on Sunday, July 16. All contests will take place in Heraklion, on the island of Crete.
The 16 team field is split into four groups for the first round of play. Joining Germany in Group D are Iceland, France and Slovenia.
Rataj has represented Germany at the U15, U16, U18 and U20 levels. Most recently, the Augsburg native took part in the 2022 edition of the U20 European Championships. He averaged 7.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game at that event, playing in all seven of Germany’s contests. He went 7-for-9 from the floor against Lithuania in the Round of 16 to finish that outing with 15 points.
During his freshman campaign at Oregon State, Rataj saw action in all 32 games, making 16 starts. He averaged 6.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and shot 43.8 percent from the floor. The forward finished third among Pac-12 freshmen in rebounds per contest, and 10th among conference first-years in points per game. He notched a season-high 18 points against Arizona on Jan. 12.
Every game of the FIBA U20 European Championships can be viewed live on YouTube here.
Germany U20 European Championships Schedule (All times PT)
Sat. July 8 – Germany vs. France – 6 a.m.
Sun. July 9 – Germany vs. Iceland – 3:30 a.m.
Mon. July 10 – Germany vs. Slovenia – 3:30 a.m.
Weds. July 12 – Round of 16 begins – TBD
