RebKell's Junkie Boards

[GlennMacGrady]

The U17 team has seven players from the 2015 class and five from 2016. No college commitments are listed, but Boykin and Samuelson are recent UConn commits.

http://www.usab.com/womens/u17/roster.html

The U18 team has six players from the class 2014 and six from 2015. College commitments are listed for all but three of the 2015's.

http://www.usab.com/womens/u18/roster.html

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[GlennMacGrady]

Some notable players who didn't make any team:

- Sierra Calhoun, the 2014 Duke commit and McDonalds AA. I don't think she's ever made a USAB team.

- Kalani Brown, 6-4 center from 2015. She had been on last summer's U16 team.

- Sabrina Ionescu, from 2016 was named an alternate for the U17 team. She started every game as a member of last summer's U16 team.

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[icey23]

I wonder who Kalani Brown tick off lol

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[ClayK]

Kalani Brown did not play well, plain and simple.

For a girl her size, she has a lot of shots blocked, and she didn't do much at either end to make the top 12.

As someone said at the U18 tryouts, "Well, it looks like Sierra will shoot her way off another USA team." And apparently that's what happened.

Ionescu is the only alternate, and given that USA Basketball has said that Katie Lou Samuelson's ankle injury (suffered in the last ten minutes of the three-day event) is serious, she might slide on.

Shameless self-promotion: On the last day, I said "My sleeper pick is Kennedy Burke. They always pick someone you don't expect."

The general response was that she would never make the team, and they offered their names.

For once, I was right, and Burke, a long 6-1 wing from Southern California, pushed her way onto the team with a fine last-day performance.

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[icey23]

[GlennMacGrady]

Clay, were you there on assignment for someone or just free lancing?

Since big players are so rare, I also wondered whether you had any impressions of these three players from 2015, whom I've never really heard anything about:

Teiara McCowan, 6-7 (U18)

Beatrice Mompremier, 6-4 (U18)

Kristine Anigwe, 6-4 (U17)

I watched 2016's young Nancy Mulkey (6-9) and Lauren Cox (6-4) on the U16 games that were streamed last summer, and wasn't particularly impressed by their games at that time. Cox seemed to have a better developed game at that point than Mulkey.

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[ClayK]

Teiara McCowan, 6-7 (U18): Tall, slender, not dazzling -- but 6-7. I didn't see the U18s as much as the U17s, so I wouldn't take this as anywhere close to definitive.

Beatrice Mompremier, 6-4 (U18): Very athletic, but didn't seem that skilled. Did have a nice left hand around the basket.

Kristine Anigwe, 6-4 (U17): Played very well in all phases of the game. Hit some midrange jumpers, blocked shots, athletic, physical (though not 6-4). From those three days, a very good get for Cal.

Nancy Mulkey (6-9): Was awful last year. Moved up this year to below average -- but by "below average," I mean her skills wouldn't be enough if she were 6-3. She's 6-9, so she's going to rebound, she has reasonably quick hands and blocks shots, her outlet passes were much better and she actually made a couple post moves.

She's tall and thin so her center of gravity is high and she can't hold her ground against smaller posts, nor does she seem particularly interested in doing so. Overall, she has few skills.

Still, if she improves as much between next year and this year as did between last year and this year, she's going to be a force. She's far from horrible, and presumably will only get stronger and better.

Lauren Cox (6-4): A very athletic power forward who played poorly, but she's not slender, runs the floor well, can shoot (though they weren't going in), has a good basketball IQ, and has enormous potential but must improve. Her attitude is sometimes a little questionable, as she begs for calls from the officials and doesn't yet understand how to be a leader rather than just a player who tells others what to do.

All in all, though, she has all the tools to be a WNBA player and maybe an Olympian, as does Mulkey. Both have to improve a lot, though, and it's pretty much impossible to look at any player today and know at what point she will stop improving. Some peak at 15; others at 27. You just never know.

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[#Occasionalwnbafan]

Hey Clay what did you think of 6'3 Joyner Holmes? It sounds like the top spot in 2016 will be between Holmes and Cox. I'v heard her game is like a cross Diamond Deshields and Alyssa Thomas.

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[ClayK]

From what I saw, Joyner is more of an athlete than a player -- though again, I can't claim to know her complete game. She can really jump, she's fast and she's strong.

I didn't see much offense (no outside shot that I can recall, but that's not to say she didn't make any) but she has enormous potential if that part of her game develops.

Like almost every young player, she needs to work on her shooting, it seems to me, but she has every chance to be a very good college player.

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[dtbtbtb]

Clay, it does seem that you were not too impressed by few of the players who made the team. Were there any players that you saw that didn't make the team that you felt should have been on the team because of the way they performed during those trials?

[#Occasionalwnbafan]

[ClayK]

[sammieee]

Clay, who were a few of the players you were most impressed by?

[ClayK]

The top young players, which pretty much everyone there would agree with, I think, are:

Katie Lou Samuelson: Much more athletic than she appears, fast, great, great shooter, good understanding of the game, plays hard. Not quite EDD, but close.

Asia Durr: Strong lefthanded combo guard who controls the game on offense. Can shoot, drive, pass. Really, really good player.

Arike Ogwunbowale: Another strong guard, a Linnae Harper with more guard skills. Can shoot, rebound, pass. She's very good, and these three are the cream of the crop (though obviously the 6-9 Mulkey could be a force as well).

I like Brianna Turner better than A'ja Wilson, but that's not necessarily a majority opinion. Turner has developed into more of a true power forward, while Wilson's greatest strength is her ability to score on the perimeter at 6-4. She's not like EDD, though -- she doesn't have that range.

I'm biased in favor of local girl Mariya Moore, so take this with a grain of salt: I think she's going to be an Alyssa Thomas kind of player at the college level (Louisville).

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[GlennMacGrady]

Comprised of De'Janae Boykin (173), Natalie Chou (183), Napheesa Collier (46) and Arike Ogunbowale (172), Defend (in white) finished with a perfect 8-0 record and earned the 2014 USA Basketball U18 3x3 championship.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_kxiJtbj7Qk?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Collier is reported to have won the MVP award and Chou the three-point contest award. I've also read that Chou will get replaced by Samuelson if her ankle heals in time. Boooo! . . . let the girl who actually won the USA 3x3 championship play in the Youth Olympic Games.



I wonder how Natalie Chou compares to Mariya Moore.

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