RebKell's Junkie Boards

[Joe Foss]

[GlennMacGrady]

USA beats Hungary in semis, 91-63. Box:

http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/20495/12/17/33/72chqdricBTxs/

Samuelson had a magic first quarter with six three-point makes, but no one made another for the rest of the game.

Anigwe had a strong 14-14 double double. She missed a lot of shots, but most of them were very aggressive posts moves or putbacks in traffic. Her offensive aggression is impressive.

USA plays Spain tomorrow for the championship, probably at 2:15 EDT.

_________________
http://www.youtube.com/MagicBusBasketball

[Phil]

While the record number of threes (All in first quarter!) by Samualson, and the double-double by Kristine Anigwe very understandably drew headlines, Asia Durr was quietly the most effective on the team with a 21 Efficiency Score, highest on the team.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Women%27s_U16_and_U17_teams#Medal_rounds

[blaase22]

I'm most impressed by the Spanish player, Salvadores??

[Fighting Artichoke]

[Phil]

Holly was at the game as well. If I were her, I'd offer Salvatores on the spot.

[Phil]

USA started out 9-2, and you briefly wondered if Spain was over-rated, but they came back to take the lead. Fell behind by 10 late in the game and came back again to talk a 3 point lead.

USA is lucky that late 3 was waved off due to offensive foul.

[Fighting Artichoke]

[Fighting Artichoke]

[summertime blues]

[GlennMacGrady]

Box score:

http://www.fiba.com/world/u17women/2014/0607/United-States-of-AmericavSpain

Final USA stats:

http://www.fiba.com/world/u17women/2014/USA

Salvadores played one of the greatest games at guard I've ever seen. She was the dominant player on the court.

It was hard not to like Spain. They had a crisper half court and fast break offense than the USA. Nice cuts and screens. More assists and fewer turnovers. USA had the better height and it showed in rebounds and blocks.

_________________
http://www.youtube.com/MagicBusBasketball

[RedEqualsLuck]

It's been interesting to try and figure out over the last few years which country was going to try and step up its game internationally. Russia and Brazil seem to have dropped off the map. The Czeck Republic? Not so much. Hopeful about Spain....

_________________
When Jefferson wrote: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," he didn't include the word "except."

[Oldfandepot2]

I do believe that Spain played a better game, set better screens for the simple reason that the USA set none. For a team that relied on raw talent and street ball to overcome a team like Spain who players have been together for awhile is a tribute to the tenacity of the USA and will to win.

Salvadores MVP is well deserved and she exploited to her credit a non existent Rucker style defense.

I believe in time as these players like Cox, Durr and Samuelson play together then the defense will come, the offense will be fine tuned and the margin of victory will increase.

By the way. I love the advertising on the unforms of the girls from Spain, wonder if the USA will counter with their own ala Shamrock Meats.

_________________
Cave Canem!
We must listen to each other no matter how much it hurts. Bishop Desmond Tutu.

[Nixtreefan]

[Nixtreefan]

[Phil]

[NoDakSt]

[ClayK]

As with almost everything, it goes in cycles. The pool of women's basketball players in most countries is very small, and the competition with volleyball, team handball, netball and so on, is a factor.

Australia, for example, has 17 million people (or something like that), which is less than Southern California. I don't know the population of Spain, but I have to wonder how much girls are encouraged to get involved in sports in that culture, and how prominent basketball is.

The United States has an enormous advantage in basketball, given the tremendous amount of participation at a young age, and the reward of college scholarships (which, as I understand it, don't exist in other countries).

Countries that get three or more quality players at the same time (through luck or whatever) will always be able to challenge the U.S., but it's hard to see anyone matching America's depth in the foreseeable future.

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Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā

[dtsnms]

Salvadores was awesome, protected or not, the girl was great.

Cox was a wall down the stretch inside, did a great job defending. Even my daughter noticed and commented.

Ah, I can hear the yelling already from Storrs, "LOU! There's two ends to the court!"

[cthskzfn]

Imo, Cox is a legit, wonderful old-fashioned 5 who moves extremely well and has sophisticated post moves already and is a very good defender.

Durr is elite WCB-ready now.

Samuelson is pretty much all catch-and-shoot. One of the worst defenders I've ever seen. She also needs a year in the weight room, but at least her weakness paid off on that screen foul on the game-tying 3.

I think she's got a major reality check coming. (how's that, dtsnms?)

_________________
Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[Nixtreefan]

How many games did you watch?

First of all Cox was woeful for the whole tournament, against players as big as her she jacked up fade aways and kept getting pulled, the other post Holmes particularly was much better. Spain was a lot smaller so USA could post her low for the advantage and having KLS draw the D out of the paint, after Hungary the Spain coach was smart to have a player in her face wherever she was. The offense flowed better through KLS hands and keeping her off the ball caused problems for USA.

Holmes played a much better tournament, she had more hustle plays and can take hits, she can also go around slower defenders.

Anigwe is strong and can finish with contact, only issue would be team play and decision making but a much better rebounder then Cox.



Red flag to me was USA having to play KLS at the point she was gassed and probably played too many minutes especially v Hungary where she kept USA in the game in the first half. This makes me wonder about the other guards on the team. They mostly were selfish and couldn't make the right decisions on offense, kept going 1 on 1. The team defense on the whole was bad.

Would have liked to have seen Ionescu get into the rotation instead of Ogunbowale (spelling) as she hasn't seen a shot she doesn't like and can't guard quick guards and is out of position on rotation so everyone else looks bad trying to cover. Ionescu is more of a team player and unselfish. USA probably should have kept at least 1 or both of the 2 fast guards from last years U16 team, Taylor Murray, Dangerfield, they were better defenders than both Ogunbowale and Durr.

1 game doesn't suddenly make a player good or bad, its the mismatches and having an advantage from coaching moves. Cox benefitted from having a crappy tournament and not having to deal with any height in the paint and others on the team being the focus of the defense. Not saying she didn't take advantage but there also has to be perspective.

[cthskzfn]

Admittedly a small sample- just the semi and final.

Your pt. re: Cox is a good one. Still, I like what I saw, which included lots of hustle, imo. For a 16-yr old 5, she's very good. Could be why she's ranked #1 in the class by some ranking services.

Even though I spoke only of Cox, Durr and KS, I actually am aware of Holmes', et al, excellent play.

_________________
Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[ClayK]

Cox was very inconsistent at the trials, so her up-and-down play at the Worlds is no surprise.

Coach Sue Phillips completely tightened up the rotation in the title game, which might explain the fatigue issues.

From what I've seen, Katie Lou can do more than catch and shoot, quite a bit more. But that doesn't mean improvement isn't necessary ...

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Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā

[GlennMacGrady]

Some comments on the team and individual players.

I watched all the U16 games last summer and came away not particularly impressed by the 2015 players other than Samuelson and Durr. Having watched five of the U17 games this summer, I would say the same thing except I'd add Anigwe (who wasn't on the U16 team) to the 2015 players who impressed me most, and Joyner Holmes as the 2016 who impressed me most.

On the whole, the U17 team did not have any really good shooters other than Samuelson, as the team shot 43% in the tournament. Nor did I see any really good passers. Durr made a couple of semi-WOW assists, but none of the guards showed the passing proficiency of a Chelsea Gray, Alexis Jones, Shoni Schimmel, Odyssey Sims, Skylar Diggins, or even Bria Hartley.

The team defense was pretty good. The offense was more like street ball. In the final game the two starting guards, Durr and Ogunbowale, chucked up 30 of the team's 66 shots.

The players:

- Samuelson is the clear cream of the crop. By far the best outside shooter. However, it was a mistake to play her so much on the arc just to await passes, and it was also counterproductive to her overall development. I've seen her up close, and she has better low and high post moves than Cox, Holmes or Anigwe, though not the aggression of the latter two. She's also a talented driver and cutter, which she was able to show a little of. She was a weak defender against quick guards. Samuelson should be played like Breanna Stewart: about 75% of the time in the high and low posts, where she would be very effective if not as elite as Stewie, and 25% of the time on outside, where she would be better than Stewie.

- Joyner Holmes impressed me as the best post player on the team and the best of the 2016 crop I've seen. She's aggressive on the boards and as a driver. She takes and hits the mid-range jumper. She's just quick and active all over the floor on offense and defense. She didn't get the ball much in the final game, and it was probably her least productive performance. Holmes was co-MVP with Durr of the exhibition tournament (in which Samuelson didn't play).

Samuelson and Holmes rightfully made the U17 All-Tournament team.

- Durr was the best guard. She can drive and has a great floater and pull-up jumper. She didn't show much from the 3pt line in this tournament; she was better last summer as a U16. (I wonder what her HS stats were.) Though an average passer, she could be the immediate high scorer on lots of good D1 teams.

- Cox is a very good rebounder and post defender. She had a great last game, but was insipid on offense in the previous six. She made only 20 shots during the tournament, eight of them in the final game. Even in the final game, all of her shots were one step drop shots, putbacks or other lay-ups. I've seen no proof she's got a shooting touch outside of five feet. Her mid-range jump shot attempts were mainly line drive bricks. She'll be a solid college center, but far from elite unless she can develop an outside shot.

- Ogunbowale was an effective shooting guard, showing range from beyond the arc, and a tough little rebounder for her height. She carries too much weight, which limits her quickness on defense. She needs to share the ball more effectively.

- I had mixed feelings about Boykin. She's a good rebounder for her size, which doesn't seem to be much more than 6-0, and doesn't make many mistakes. But she's really too short to be a top notch power forward. Holmes and Anigwe, bigger players, were more aggressive and effective on offense around the basket. Nor did Boykin show much shot creation ability, particularly from the outside--skills she'll need to be an effective small forward at UConn. She almost appeared to be a reluctant shooter, taking only 31 or 32 shots in the seven games.

- Anigwe was a new player to me. I liked her aggression on rebounds and shooting in traffic around the basket. She was, by far, the most effective player on the team in drawing FTA's. Like Holmes, she didn't get the ball much in the final game, which was perhaps her least productive.

- West coast observers say very good things about Ionescu. Having watched her on the U16 and U17 teams, I'm not convinced. She is a very good hustler and a decent passer, but (like Cox) I don't see much evidence of a shooting touch. She bricks shots and seems klutzy on some of her drives. She definitely has athletic talent, but the bottom line is that she didn't put the ball in the bucket very often for two straight summers.

The rest of the players didn't get a lot of time and didn't make much of an impression on me.

_________________
http://www.youtube.com/MagicBusBasketball

[Nixtreefan]

Good analysis by someone who clearly watched more than one game.