Good lawd.
Viewer discretion advised
Actually, here is the MVP (Stewie) and the "All Star 5"No. There is for the World Cup but not the Olympics.
Yvonne Anderson was a star at a local high school when her dad coached at UAB. Watched her play AAU ball at the same time my youngest daughter was playing, and she was quite good.FWIW, Anderson is the daughter of current St. John’s coach Mike Anderson who has been a pretty successful MBB coach for a long time, with stops at UAB, Missouri, and Arkansas. He apprenticed as an assistant to “40 minutes of hell” Nolan Richardson.
Actually, here is the MVP (Stewie) and the "All Star 5"
MVP Stewart leads All-Star Five at the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament in Tokyo - Tokyo 2020 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament 2020 - FIBA.basketball
View attachment 68983
Stewie handled bringing the ball up the floor dominated the defensive boards. Played great defense, did all the things a great player does.I don’t recall that from previous Olympics though maybe I wasn’t paying attention. Some fans gonna be upset with Stewie as MVP. She deserved it though. Did a lot of things at both ends of the floor while playing out of position. People who know basketball know.
Ditto on D against Japan. D controlled the flow and tempo of the game when she had the ball with her assist passing and hockey assist passing. 8 assists, 6 boards and 7 points is solid and that is all she had to do to get the job done. Plus the presence of her and Sue. You are in the game with them and you know you are going to win. That is a big future void.I was one of those going after Gray and she deserved it at the time but she significantly reduced the dribbling this morning and was looking to pass first now instead of setting up her own shot. I doubt it was just by happenstance but you never know because the team played more like a team than ever before. One of the consequences of the front line of Stewie, Wilson and Griner and also Charles and Fowles is that they have more touches where they are not in scoring position and have to pass and Griner is clearly the worst of the group. The 3 guard offense with Stewie and Wilson is a good alternative at times. No one will beat them if they play like this morning from here on in. One final note, it may not be clear to the new spectator watching these games so far that D is the Goat but it sure as heck is clearer about Bird. She is a marvel and subtly controls every game she plays.
I agree that Gray has proven she belongs but she dribbles too much, is more of a point 2, and is not fast enough to be the point. I like Plum a lot at that position but I think Paige is the natural fit there and the likely choice.
It's the way she plays the point. It's not lack of confidence, and I think she had a very solid Olympics and served well as the 3rd guard. She was almost always in with either D or Sue last night. When she isn't there is trouble. There is a reason for that. She over dribbles and slows up the offense. Yes, she can make a pass for a score and score herself but she doesn't set the team up. She can be pressed and will be in Paris if she is the point. Despite that, she will probably get the nod at the position but Paige is the new UCONN Sue/DT clone and the future of Team USA..I don't understand the lack of confidence in Gray--this was her first major tournament with USA basketball (she'd only been a part of the core team since 2019) and she was probably the best/most trusted sub off the bench. She's second in the WNBA in apg, and has been one of the top 3 PGs in the WNBA for at least 4 years.
Paige is terrific, but she does not have near the accomplishments/experience to overtake a 7 year WNBA vet
Me too. She often seems to play below her ability. Not today though, she was magnificent!I will be very interested to see if BG continues her elevated play during the WNBA season.
Look closely at the ref, she's grinning with the whistle in her mouth. She looks like she's trying to keep from laughing her head off.
Yes, I just edit my post .. thank you.Look closely at the ref, she's grinning with the whistle in her mouth. She looks like she's trying to keep from laughing her head off.
It's the way she plays the point. It's not lack of confidence, and I think she had a very solid Olympics and served well as the 3rd guard. She was almost always in with either D or Sue last night. When she isn't there is trouble. There is a reason for that. She over dribbles and slows up the offense. Yes, she can make a pass for a score and score herself but she doesn't set the team up. She can be pressed and will be in Paris if she is the point. Despite that, she will probably get the nod at the position but Paige is the new UCONN Sue/DT clone and the future of Team USA..
DT with her 2 dance moves
Anyone have video of this?Look closely at the ref, she's grinning with the whistle in her mouth. She looks like she's trying to keep from laughing her head off.
No, I get this photo from Twitter, there is no video attached.Anyone have video of this?
I agree about Gray and that is why she played as much as she did and she was a significant contributor. I think part of the problem in general is that we have seen a trend away from the pure point guard.I think she was usually in there with Sue and Dee because Loyd had an underwhelming Olympics (which surprised me since she plays with Bird and Stewart all the time) and Atkins/SDS were at the end of the bench. USA is so front court heavy, and the lack of balance from the backcourt will be more concerning in 3 years if others don't step up. I think Gray was easily the best guard on the team outside of Bird and DT.
Looking forward, I'm sure Ionescu, Arike, Plum, A. Gray will continue to get looks. Loyd should stay in the fold for sure. Atkins is still a very good player and continues to improve every year. I'd love to see USA get T. Hayes, C. Williams and B. Laney in the fold ASAP.
I was actually a little uncomfortable with this. It seemed to me that D was mocking or makingI think this is a really not fair competition , and both the ref and DT are smiling.
View attachment 68989
I was actually a little uncomfortable with this. It seemed to me that D was mocking or making
fun at the Japanese player's expense ("dissing" in modern parlance).
Diana has always had a competitiveness and killer instinct that has served her well in her career, but it can
sometimes have an unattractive edge to it.
Did not meant to suggest they were PGs. Gray and Ionescu are the closest to "pure" PGs in the league right now, outside Bird and Vandersloot. I'm a big fan of Cloud in DC but I don't think she's a good enough shooter to make the team.I agree about Gray and that is why she played as much as she did and she was a significant contributor. I think part of the problem in general is that we have seen a trend away from the pure point guard.
All the others you mention are not classical point guards although Sabrina may be the closest. However, compared to Paige with the ball, the presence and leadership, the vision, they all do not make the grade as pure points. Plum and Gray were great in 3x3 but neither are pure points. That's why Bird is so great and now unfortunately a unique relic in a sense except for Paige and maybe Clark coming along.
Finally and most important, the best American women play in the Olympics, they all battle for a roster spot. Not so for the men. The women won 25 more medals than the men. Wanna see real one time dominance in an event? The women's 4 x 400 relay. Worth the watch. Unreal.
No I wasn't. I wasn't looking at her facial expression. What I was looking at wasYou were able to see her smiling in a mocking way on this play during the game? . . .