Tudor Somacescu, one of Europe’s most promising prospects, is signing with Overtime Elite, the league told ESPN Tuesday.
Somacescu is the 12th player to sign with Overtime Elite, bringing them halfway to their stated goal of 24 players for the upstart league’s inaugural season.
The Romanian-born Somacescu, who turned 16 last month, spent this past season as a freshman at Sierra Canyon high school in Southern California alongside top-five recruit Amari Bailey and Bronny James, son of LeBron James. He is currently the youngest player on Overtime’s roster.
He gained notoriety as the youngest player in FIBA history to average double-figure scoring in a European Championship, which he did just weeks after turning 14 years old, playing up two age categories at the U16 European Championship Division B in 2019. Somacescu made his debut in the Romanian first division competing against professionals last winter before departing for the U.S.
Somacescu, at 6-foot-2, is a creative point guard with strong ball-handling and passing ability who stands out with his competitiveness and feel for the game which has allowed him to hold his own against older players from an early age.
Overtime Elite has made significant headway since its inception in March with its goal of becoming a legitimate alternative pathway for elite high school and international prospects to use as a training program and exposure platform. Thanks to significant financial backing and the hires of former national championship winning coach Kevin Ollie and several former NBA executives, OTE has signed five five-star recruits in Jalen Lewis, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, Matthew Bewley and Ryan Bewley, while also landing a projected top-20 pick in 2022 in Dominican guard Jean Montero.
OTE says they will continue recruiting another 12-18 signings before their teams assemble in Atlanta in September to begin training and playing games against prep schools in the US and international teams abroad.