Breaking Down Gonzaga Recruit Mario Saint-Supéry's Performance at EuroBasket 2025
Putting a third grader in a college class probably wouldn’t bode well for either side. The nine-year-old would likely zone out almost immediately, while being disruptive and a distraction to classmates who are ten years his senior. Even if this newest student on campus was as emotionally mature as possible, the intellectual gap would be too grave for real learning to occur.
Mario Saint-Supéry turned 19 years old on April 14, but has already immersed himself in levels of basketball competition that other players his age would dream of. Hailing from Spain, he began playing professional basketball at 15, for LIGA ACB. Saint-Supéry has grown and developed on the fly, rubbing shoulders with players who routinely have at least a decade of age on him.
To say he’s been up for the challenge would be an understatement. As a 6-4 combo guard who can play on and off-ball, Saint-Supéry has fit in with winning basketball during his four years in the top Spanish basketball league. He earned the attention of Mark Few and his staff with his play overseas and is slotted to begin his freshman season in Spokane as someone who could make an immediate impact.
Saint-Supéry’s biggest obstacle yet was playing for Spain’s senior national team this summer at FIBA EuroBasket. He was the youngest to play for the Spaniards in the tournament since 18-year-old Ricky Rubio in 2009. Saint-Supéry suited up for the U-18 squad last year, where he averaged 21.7 points, 6.6 assists, and 5.6 rebounds, including a 35-point triple-double. But a year later, he was thrown into the fire featuring the likes of two-time NBA MVPs Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić, along with Luka Dončić.
Saint-Supéry averaged 8.4 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 rebounds in nearly 17 minutes a game this year in the next level of EuroBasket. He got a steal for each game and averaged 1.2 turnovers a contest while shooting 43 percent from the floor, 33 percent from beyond the arc, and 91 percent from the charity stripe. Spain played five games in the group stage, going 2-3 and eventually being eliminated by Greece. The biggest named teammates of Saint-Supéry were Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama and the Hernangómez brothers, Willy and Juancho, who also have NBA experience. But beyond the box score, what did one of the newest and youngest Zags feature against some of the best talent in the world?
August 28 vs. Georgia
Saint-Supéry came off the bench in his first game, logging 13 minutes, scoring four points with two assists. He also racked up three steals while committing four fouls in the process. He only put up two field goals, both three-pointers, knocking down one of them. Saint-Supery split a trip to the free-throw line as well.
The three steals in his short time played are eye-opening. Watching him either offensively or defensively, you will notice Saint-Supéry’s continuous bounce when he doesn’t have the ball. He is consistently engaged, seemingly always looking for a chance to disrupt the action. In this game, Saint-Supéry poked the ball from someone who was driving for his first swipe, took it out of the hands of a player he guarded who was falling for his second, and jumped around a bigger opponent on a downcourt pass to knock away his third steal, drawing a foul in the process.
Like Rubio, Saint-Supéry is heralded for his playmaking prowess and ability to create offense for himself and others. On his lone triple, he kicked a pass to the corner just after getting the ball, holding position after his teammate pump faked and passed it back to knock down the triple. Saint-Supéry is active, frequently cutting, and never stagnant on both ends of the floor. He was +8 in Spain’s 83-69 loss to open the tournament.
August 30 vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
He earned five more minutes in Spain’s next game, this time scoring nine points on 3-of-7 shooting. Saint-Supéry aired it out from downtown – taking five shots from behind the arc – but only hit one of them. He also logged four assists, a rebound, a steal, and a foul with two turnovers. He hit both free throw attempts he had along the way. Saint-Supéry’s confidence and comfortability on the court were evident in Spain’s 88-67 victory. He had the ball in his hands more in this one and stepped into his shots without hesitation, even though he shot 20 percent on his threes.
With the shot clock winding down on a play that almost broke down, he jumped to retrieve a high pass that he quickly dished to the corner while still in the air. The defense collapsed on Saint-Supéry when the ball went his way, and he sent up his teammate for a wide-open three that was drilled. He pulled off a behind-the-back bounce pass, directed traffic for the offense, and even added a lob pass out of the pick-and-roll.
Saint-Supéry also finished two layups down low, around and over bigger defenders, including a reverse layup he finished late in the shot clock. After getting momentarily lost on a screen, he recovered under the screener as the ball-handler lost the ball, and Saint-Supéry dove on the floor to gather it over his opponent and start a fast break the other way. Late in the game, which was out of reach at that point, he did try to fire it cross-court but left it too far inside, committing a turnover. Overall, he was once again effective, recording a +9 in the game.
August 31 vs Cyprus
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone on Spain who wasn’t a net positive in the team’s 91-47 win over Cyprus. Saint-Supéry earned his first start and was +27 in the game, as he filled the stat sheet with nine points, and team-highs in assists (five) and rebounds (four) in 21 minutes played. The game got out of hand fairly early, so he was perhaps overzealous in terms of ranging over far in attempts to get steals and making unnecessary passes. But Saint-Supéry can make any type of pass; he can contort his body and hang in the air to fit the ball through tight windows. His confidence exudes in his flair, and his awareness to make whatever play necessary to initiate offense is evident.
His highlight in this game came late in the fourth when he drove, had a defender force him to pick the ball up, and finished a circus layup through contact and essentially turned away from the basket.
September 2 vs Italy
Saint-Supéry played his worst game of EuroBasket in Spain’s 67-63 loss, granted against the team’s biggest test to that point. Italy featured Miami Heat forward Simone Fontecchio and Danilo Gallinari, who has played 14 years in the NBA. His three turnovers off the bench were the most he had in the tournament, and he was -9 in the box. He totaled seven points with a rebound and assist apiece, shooting 2-for-5 from the field and 1-for-3 from behind the arc in 16 minutes.
Spain got off to a 13-0 lead, as Italy was held scoreless nearly eight minutes into the first quarter. Their comeback run was aided by a pass from Saint-Supéry that skipped right to an opponent and led to a fastbreak layup the other way. But that didn’t push him away from being himself. With Spain down one in the fourth quarter, he fired a behind-the-back pass in transition. Saint-Supéry wouldn’t be credited with the assist as the shot was blocked, but it was definitely worthy of praise.
A few plays later, he penetrated off the dribble and finished over his defender with hands sprayed in his face. The flashes were still there, but the physical nature in this matchup did seem to faze him out at times.
September 4 vs Greece
Facing elimination, Spain had to overcome a Greece squad led by Antetokounmpo. The ‘Greek Freak’ dropped 25 points, but Saint-Supéry rose to the occasion in the biggest game of his career. He scored a tournament-high 13 points in 17 minutes, reaching double figures for the first time. Saint-Supéry shot 4-for-9 from the field, while hitting one of his two three pointers, and draining four free throws in two trips to the line. He was -11 in the box but that had more to do with Spain’s inability to stop the Milwaukee Bucks superstar. Spain couldn’t capitalize on opportunities to complete the comeback, as the team missed five free throws in the final minute.
Saint-Supéry improved as the game went on, earning more tick as he continued to be effective on the floor. He showed off his passing again with a no-look dish to the corner, setting up an open three that was knocked down late in the third as Spain looked to cut into a ten-point deficit at the time. Moments later, he split two defenders off a screen and threw up a buzzer-beating floater in the pain.
He eventually tied the game at 71 as he came around a screen and buried a three with eight minutes left in the fourth. With the game knotted at 82 and under three minutes to go, Saint-Supéry went over another screen and had the ball touched by the defense, forcing him to pick it up. But he maintained control and used a hop step to hit a runner that he shot off-balance.
Being on the floor in the final minutes of an elimination game is an encouraging sign for Saint-Supéry and the Zags. The ability to improve and adjust in-game is a valuable tool and a scenario that Mark Few and his staff would love the 19-year-old to be in late in the season in imperative matchups. During EuroBasket, his feel for the game and competitive spirit were showcased as a teenager amongst players with decades of professional experience. His next stop will be arriving at Gonzaga and getting acclimated as a Bulldog before his next challenge arrives -- collegiate basketball at the Division I level.
