INTRODUCTION The influence of biological maturity on talent identification in physically demanding sports is critically debated within both, research and practice. Especially during adolescence, maturity-related performance differences within the same age group may cause greater chances of being selected and promoted for early-maturing athletes (Malina et al., 2019). Though increasing interest is dedicated to maturity-related parameters in talent identification and development in general, evidence of its impact for talent identification in Basketball is still scarce. However, particularly in Basketball, maturity-related indicators (e.g., body height) are considered relevant for performance. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to analyze differences in the biological maturity status and predicted adult height between selected and non-selected male and female youth basketball players for the German U15 and U16 youth national teams. METHODS Male U15 (N=71) and female U16 (N=50) elite youth basketball players were investigated who participated with regional associations squads in a selection tournament for the youth national teams. Just before the start of the tournament, height, weight, biological maturity status (maturity offset, MO; Mirwald et al., 2002), and predicted adult height (PAH, Khamis & Roche, 1994) for each player were assessed. After the tournament, 28 male and 15 female players were selected for the extended squad of the respective youth national teams. Separately for each gender, independent samples t-tests were utilized to analyze differences in the assessed outcomes between selected and non-selected players. Cohen`s d served as effect size. RESULTS In the male sample, selected players were significantly taller (p<.01; d=0.65), heavier (p<.05; d=0.44), and showed significantly higher MO (p<.05; d=0.44) when compared to their non-selected counterparts. Regarding PAH, selected male players were predicted to get significantly taller than non-selected counterparts (p<.01; d=0.70). Regarding anthropometric characteristics in the female sample, selected players were taller (p<.01; d=0.70) while no differences in body weight were present (p=.08). Also, significantly higher MO (p<.01, d=0.78) and PAH (p< .001; d=1.02) could be observed in selected females. DISCUSSION Generally, evident advantages regarding maturity-related parameters in selected male and female players highlight the necessity for their consideration within talent identification procedures. However, future studies are required to allow for more differentiated analyses of the influence of biological maturity on talent selection within elite youth basketball. Among others, the evaluation of benefits of using bio-banded teams within selection tournaments may display a promising approach.
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