16U trials May 21-25...Andra is there!

[Blakeon18]

http://www.usab.com/womens/u16/news.aspx

The link is to the general USABasketball site for the 16U trials....with several links
to specific stories.

Good luck to our 2017 verbal Andra Espinoza-Hunter...hopefully we will get some good news
on May 25 when the team is announced. 16U world championship is in late June.

158 players will be there....triple yikes!
34 were invited...including Andra. The others [I think] are allowed to come at their own expense.


60 are from the class of 2017
72 are from the class of 2018
17 are from the class of 2019
9 are from the class of 2020...they would be entering the 8th grade in September...another
triple yikes!

A Blair teammate of Andra will be there...Honesty Scott-Grayson...a 2018'er.

Keep an eye out for the official site as the days go by for updates.

BTW: I didn't look at the list too closely but I wonder if one Mo'ne Davis will be there?
There are a couple of kids from Long Island Lutheran....I wonder if Geno has heard of them?

 

[Blakeon18]

Davis isn't going as an invited player....no list available that I can find as to the other category.

 

[willtalk]

Most of the players paying their own way have a " snowballs chance in hell's" chance of making the team. I think they see it as an opportunity to get some exposure if they have a good showing at the trials. Not a bad investment for some players to get seen. That is a lot of players though and they might have to change the criteria some in the future.

 

[Boreifs]

Most of the players paying their own way have a " snowballs chance in hell's" chance of making the team. I think they see it as an opportunity to get some exposure if they have a good showing at the trials. Not a bad investment for some players to get seen. That is a lot of players though and they might have to change the criteria some in the future.

Absolutely. Allowing players to try try out who haven't even played a game of high school basketball is beyond ridiculous. No doubt, the parents were involved in that decision-making.

 

[Orangutan]

Absolutely. Allowing players to try try out who haven't even played a game of high school basketball is beyond ridiculous. No doubt, the parents were involved in that decision-making.

For the kids who have a slim chance of making it, this basically serves as the best possible basketball camp available, something they might be doing in the summer anyway.

 

[meyers7]

Davis isn't going as an invited player....no list available that I can find as to the other category.

Here's a list (link to it) of the players.

http://www.usab.com/womens/u16/roster.aspx

 

[meyers7]

Most of the players paying their own way have a " snowballs chance in hell's" chance of making the team.

Ionescu made it a couple years back as a "walk on". Make a good showing is a good way to move up the rankings too.

 

[EricLA]

My quick perusal of the list showed 2 kids (guards) from Connecticut. Hope they do well. But really rooting for Andra. I hope she makes the teams, or if not, several of the cuts - showing she's really a top 25 kid, if not higher, in her class...

 

[UcMiami]

Most of the players paying their own way have a " snowballs chance in hell's" chance of making the team. I think they see it as an opportunity to get some exposure if they have a good showing at the trials. Not a bad investment for some players to get seen. That is a lot of players though and they might have to change the criteria some in the future.

The reason USA basketball went to the invitation plus applications for pay-your own way was a feeling that the committee just couldn't see (and judge) all the under 16 basketball players in the country fairly. The pay-your-way kids still have to apply, which includes coaching recommendations, and I believe video before their application is accepted. I think it is a very good plan, that especially helps kids like a Chong who play all of their HS/JHS basketball regionally including their AAU participation.
And while the numbers are not great, I am pretty sure the last U16 team included two players who were not invited, so two out of twelve. Definitely long odds as it was 2% or less of the non-invitees that made the team, but certainly not an impossible dream. And I suspect that all the non-invitees gained a lot personally from the experience. They may never make a USA team, but maybe with the exposure and the experience, their game improves over the following few years and they get a better scholarship offer for college than they would have without the experience.

 

[TFintheMix]

Andra will be ok. She is a classic UConn type of player will a great skill-set and athletic. She is unselfish and played with great players throughout her young career (Chong, Sadie Edwards, Batouly Camara, Bre Cavanaugh and others) but given the opportunity she steps up and makes big plays.

 

[rvwsleep]

I wonder why Megan Walker is not there ?

 

[willtalk]

UcMiami-- Ionesco was in the same situation as Chong. She played for the Cal Stars before they became affiliated with Nike and the EYBL. Her AAU team played basically on the west coast. That was a problem a lot of the California players faced back then they were not affiliated with the right AAU teams. This is less likely to day with the creation of EYBL. It is still a problem for the younger players as evidenced the number of the players from California listed on the 2018 watch list in relation to the numbers from the cities around the major rating services. It tends to even out more as that class and those players get more national exposure, however the west coast is still (for logistical reasons) remains under-represented through out entire rating process. This is a reason why these trials are so valuable for certain players in various parts of the country.

When Ionesco made the team in 2013 she was one of 91 who paid their own way. Going by their issued statements they only have room for 150 players at the trials. The criteria for the cut off of applications was based on that limit. In 2013 the total number of players at trials was 120 players. Meaning they still had room for 30 more players to hit their limit. This means that with 158 players attending this year it makes them 8 over that announced limit. Was it that 158 applied and the number was so close that they decided to just go eight over? Or did they actually have a much larger number of applications and began to reject applications already this year? This reflects the ending point in my previous post. Are they in a position where the number of applicants warrant a change? It was stated even as early as 2013 that if they start getting larger numbers of applicants they might have to go to regional trials as well. Up until this year the numbers have not necessitated any need to reject applicants which they really do not want to do. But as it becomes more obvious to parents that the trials are one of the best options available to a young player in respect to exposure and as a skills camp, there will surely be more applicants in future years. It can not be emphasized enough how valuable it is for a player to be seen and tracked by the USA developmental program even if they never actually make any of the teams. That is one major reason they have these open try is to discover and track younger talented players.

 

[Boreifs]

I wonder why Megan Walker is not there ?

She is too old for the U16 team. She will need to wait for the U18 trials next year.

 

[rwdinsalem]

They have Audra listed as a forward. I thought she was a guard.

 

[rvwsleep]

She is too old for the U16 team. She will need to wait for the U18 trials next year.

Thanks. I thought that might be it but I couldn't find her DOB. That partially explains why she seems so physically advanced for her age. So, instead of being physically ahead of the other HS sophomore's by 3 years, she's only 2 years more advanced ! Still impressive.