USA vs Canada

[Wbbfan1]

Don't know when Geno made the comment. John A tweeted the information.

As long as there are no medical restrictions, have to believe Griner will play. Can't see her going up to DT and saying I'm not playing without providing a good reason. DT wouldn't accept it.

Well if this is really true they may have to keep Stef, otherwise we are going to be pretty short in the post

I missed the Geno comment about BG not be able to travel due to her eye. Was that in the post-game press conference.

 

[Wbbfan1]

USA Basketball Article: http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2014/09/usa-defeats-canada-in-exhibition-game.aspx

Additional Quotes: http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2014/09/additional-quotes-usa-76-canada-51.aspx

 

[meyers7]

Sims and Diggins may both make the team. Bird may not.

I assume you are joking. This is Bird's team. (Well probably Bird and DT's.)

 

[doggydaddy]

I assume you are joking. This is Bird's team. (Well probably Bird and DT's.)

I didn't see anyone saying that Bird shouldn't go.

Whoever said that had to be either joking or they are totally clueless about basketball.

 

[meyers7]

I didn't see anyone saying that Bird shouldn't go.

I'm sure you didn't.

 

[meyers7]

Carolyn Peck made mention that 8 players were playing in WNBA finals an still needed to head to Paris. Shortly after that she made mention that she "heard" some may not attend.

Her 12 were:

Whalen
Bird
Diggins
Moore
Mcoughtry
Augustus
Dupree
Stewart
Griner
Charles
Ogwumike
Taurasi

Oddly enough I kind of like Peck's picks.

 

[sawxfan23]

Sims and Diggins may both make the team. Bird may not.

HAHAHAHAAHAAA LOL thanks I needed a laugh on a dark and rainy day.

 

[JSB60]

I loved what I saw from Nurse, even though her shot was off. For a freshman who hasn't played a college game yet to guard Whalen and Diggins without getting burned is impressive.

Stef is not effective at this level, at least not yet. Stewie is.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Oddly enough I kind of like Peck's picks.

Me, too...

 

[MilfordHusky]

Sims and Diggins may both make the team. Bird may not.

That's the worst post you've ever made.

 

[Sonny44]

I loved what I saw from Nurse, even though her shot was off. For a freshman who hasn't played a college game yet to guard Whalen and Diggins without getting burned is impressive.

Stef is not effective at this level, at least not yet. Stewie is.

Stef appears to be most interested in having fun.
She needs to take her defense much more seriously.

 

[pap49cba]

 

[JudgeSCR]

Perhaps some are being a little hard on Stef. She certainly tries to lighten the mood and have fun. Perhaps a little more so than some would want. But it is also true that her teammates (past and present) seem to enjoy her personality. All of that is not to be confused with not taking her game seriously. We saw her reshape her body through hard work while at UConn. Geno said that she was one of the most consistent and hard workers at practice. She was a leader of the UConn team. Those are not attributes of a person who is most interested in having fun.

 

[RadyLady]

I honestly thought that the reason both Sims and Diggins were given so much playing time is that the committee was taking a good hard look at both of them in various combinations with other guards and other players

Maybe my view is a little prejudiced (to be fair) and likely I've missed some things because of my vantage point sitting on the floor but I thought Odyssey acquitted herself well. And she was running the offense it appeared to be more in sync, with good passing and floor spacing whereas Diggins, especially when she first came on appeared to dribble like a mad woman looking for her shot before she thought to pass. Subsequently the offense was not very pretty and in disarray. She did calm down a little bit as time went on.
Defensively both did pretty well and Skyler did have some success with her poke from behind tactic when the other team got ahead of her.

If I can I'm going to watch the game again but I'm glad I don't have to decide between the two but if I did I'd probably go with Sims.

 

[Orangutan]

Personally, I would take both Diggins and Sims and leave Bird out. The team will have veteran leaders at guard in Taurasi and Whalen. Why not give two young guards who will be with USA basketball for a long time some valuable experience?

 

[doggydaddy]

Personally, I would take both Diggins and Sims and leave Bird out. The team will have veteran leaders at guard in Taurasi and Whalen. Why not give two young guards who will be with USA basketball for a long time some valuable experience?

Their time will come.

Bird is not using a walker yet.

 

[UConnCat]

Personally, I would take both Diggins and Sims and leave Bird out. The team will have veteran leaders at guard in Taurasi and Whalen. Why not give two young guards who will be with USA basketball for a long time some valuable experience?

Because I've seen nothing to suggest either is ready to run the team the way it should be run at a world championship/olympic level and at a level Geno wants which includes getting the ball to the right player at the right time. One should make the team to get the experience of what it takes just like Sue Bird made the team and learned from Dawn Staley. It's pretty clear Sue Bird is the leader of this team and Taurasi will soon be right next to her assuming those responsibilities.

 

[phil sampieri]

Because I've seen nothing to suggest either is ready to run the team the way it should be run at a world championship/olympic level and at a level Geno wants which includes getting the ball to the right player at the right time. One should make the team to get the experience of what it takes just like Sue Bird made the team and learned from Dawn Staley. It's pretty clear Sue Bird is the leader of this team and Taurasi will soon be right next to her assuming those responsibilities.

Couldn't have said it better-right pass at the right time is undervalued and not always given importance to.

 

[UcMiami]

USA is really lucky to have Bird Whalen and DT who all have the ability to lead the team exactly the way Geno wants it led. Neither Sims nor Diggins is ready for that yet and that is what this year is all about. The other guard that I assume is joining USA with a chance of being selected in the 12 player team is Vandersloot who may not have the scoring ability of either Sims or Diggins, but has the advantage of having trained with USA for 3 years under Geno and playing two years of international basketball in Turkey and Croatia.

 

[JS]

It's pretty clear Sue Bird is the leader of this team

If the team has a captain, Sue seemed to be it when she came out to deliver the "welcome/thanks for your support" introduction before the game. Don't know whether that was televised.

 

[Orangutan]

2014 WNBA stats:
Bird: 1.77 to 1 assist-turnover ratio, 12.5 PER, 0.2 Win Shares, 48.4% True Shooting%, 44.5% effective field goal percentage
Diggins: 1.75 to 1 assist-turnover ratio, 21.3 PER, 3.9 Win Shares, 50.0% True Shooting% 45.4 % effective field goal percentage

I know that Bird is more comfortable in the USA basketball environment, but from a pure statistical point of view Diggins is the better player right now.

 

[UConnCat]

2014 WNBA stats:
Bird: 1.77 to 1 assist-turnover ratio, 12.5 PER, 0.2 Win Shares, 48.4% True Shooting%, 44.5% effective field goal percentage
Diggins: 1.75 to 1 assist-turnover ratio, 21.3 PER, 3.9 Win Shares, 50.0% True Shooting% 45.4 % effective field goal percentage

I know that Bird is more comfortable in the USA basketball environment, but from a pure statistical point of view Diggins is the better player right now.

I don't care about the WNBA stats and I can guarantee you USA BB doesn't either. The job is not to run the Tulsa Shock or handle the ball a lot looking for her shot or take the most shots on the team. That's what Diggins did this past season for Tulsa and to her credit she did it much better than in her rookie season. She'll be asked to manage the offense of Team USA in a way Geno can trust. I've seen no evidence to suggest that Diggins knows how to run this team as well as Bird or Whalen. That's not to say Diggins is not better than Bird right now at doing certain things offensively (penetrate and finish at the basket tho that's never been a Bird strength) but that's not what Team USA is looking for in its point guard.

 

[UcMiami]

2014 WNBA stats:
Bird: 1.77 to 1 assist-turnover ratio, 12.5 PER, 0.2 Win Shares, 48.4% True Shooting%, 44.5% effective field goal percentage
Diggins: 1.75 to 1 assist-turnover ratio, 21.3 PER, 3.9 Win Shares, 50.0% True Shooting% 45.4 % effective field goal percentage

I know that Bird is more comfortable in the USA basketball environment, but from a pure statistical point of view Diggins is the better player right now.

Yeah, well ... a one year picture is interesting, and I am sure that Diggins will have better stats than Bird over the next decade (because Bird will retire in a few years) but for the USA national team I put Bird's chance of being selected at 99.9% and Diggins' at about 30%. Ask me in two years and that may change dramatically but I will take the player with 2 NCAA titles, 2 WNBA titles, 3 WC medals, 3 Olympic Golds, and 5 Euro trophies and is still playing very well over the player who hasn't won anything yet and as far as I can see has no adult international experience - did she really not play overseas this past year?

 

[MarlboroughMike]

For my own amusement, at games I keep track of what I consider outstanding plays and plays that are bad or dumb. Outstanding gets a +1, bad gets a -1. Scoring seldom gets a + or - unless its really, really good (Diana's shot clinching the title for the Mercury would garner a +1) or really, really dumb (dribbling into multiple taller coverage and trying to put up a shot for no reason) would get a minus. Made or missed normal shots taken by a pro are given no plus or minus. My scoring is simply what my eyes tell me at the time of the play, no more, no less. Obviously the minutes played will impact my totals (more time for a plus or minus). Have fun with the following:

Players with net pluses list in order most to least:
Moore
Nurse
Whalen

Players with equal pluses and minuses (or none of either):
Charles, Augustus and McBride

Players with a net minus listed most to least:
Diggens
McCoughtry
Bird
Dolson, Stewart, Ogwumike, Lavender (each of this four barely made the minus column at -1);

Yes I know, I should get a better pair of glasses.

 

[DishNSwish]

2014 WNBA stats:
Bird: 1.77 to 1 assist-turnover ratio, 12.5 PER, 0.2 Win Shares, 48.4% True Shooting%, 44.5% effective field goal percentage
Diggins: 1.75 to 1 assist-turnover ratio, 21.3 PER, 3.9 Win Shares, 50.0% True Shooting% 45.4 % effective field goal percentage

I know that Bird is more comfortable in the USA basketball environment, but from a pure statistical point of view Diggins is the better player right now.

The most important role of the PG on USA senior national team is get the ball to your teammates in the right places at the right time and don't turn it over. You don't have to score.

Bird last night was only one of three who did not score, but she had 3 assists, 2 steals, and of her 2 TOs, I know 1 was a pass that Sims apologized for cutting the wrong way on.

Bird, Whalen, Taurasi....Geno said he's lucky to have three veteran guards he can trust.