OT: - Sarah Strong and FIBA U 18 Women's Americup 2024 games start Monday | Page 4 | The Boneyard

OT: Sarah Strong and FIBA U 18 Women's Americup 2024 games start Monday

yhun89 said:
She ran only to the perimeter on offensive plays. Barely stayed in the paint besides going for rebounds. Not a single shot attempt from under the basket. Kept putting her at the perimeter despite her ability to make an impact underneath. The whole time she was a 2. Typically, she’s a 3-4 who occasionally stretches out. That’s why she’s out of position. Team USA had a plethora of forwards already though so using her as a 2 isn’t unexpected.

I started watching 2nd Half so maybe she was playing a forward in the first half. But the stats are showing she didn’t get one shot off under the basket.
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Sarah’s play:
  • Playmaker, Sweet Shooter, One-Woman Safety, Versatile;
  • Team USA has a wealth of players 6’2 or taller — Edwards and Betts were the key posts for the starters while Sarah and Roberson were the key posts for the subs;
  • Sarah was the key playmaker during her minutes as Heckel was for the starters;
  • Her play during the final 3:14 of 1Q is emblematic of her versatility: defensive rebound to point-forward on the break, deflection, deflection, post-screener for Roberson layup, trailer 3, pass then flash to the wing, block on guard who beat a defender, tip on rebound, rebound, pass to wing 3 (miss), last second 3.
  • Her versatile play continued in 2Q with two attempted drive-and-dish, an inbounds play that resulted in a drive to the basket and 2 FTs, a battle for a loose ball, skying for a rebound, an attempted drive and a post-seal leading to a driving lane for a teammate.
  • In the 2nd half, Brazil decided to clog the paint and Sarah found herself more open from 3 (she went inside and out to nail her last 3); for the half, she played more like a rebounding safety valve 2; she made a deflection, a 3, a steal, a steal to an outlet pass, a block, a rebound, a steal, a deflection, a rebound to an outlet pass leading to a 3.
  • Sarah’s 4Q play includes a deflection, a dive for a loose ball leading to an outlet pass, a block, a deflection, a touch pass leading to a corner 3.
  • Sarah guards posts well without fouling and impacts several plays in many ways that don’t show up in stats.
  • As mentioned above, Sarah played the third less minutes while having the 2nd highest EFFscore.
Game 1: USA vs Brazil: Overview | Boxscore | PlayByPlay | ShotChart | GameStats | Photos | Videos | News |

Sarah Strong: Statistics | Videos | News | Photos |

USA Roster
 
sarah struggling a lot offensively (0/4) but has 5 rebounds and 3 AST.

Cut to a few minutes later, she’s 2/6 from the floor, 7 REB, 4 AST. She currently has more assists than Team USA’s PG Kayleigh Heckel.
 
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Strong buried a three to end the first half. She also has an offensive rebound and putback. She's made three terrific passes, one off an offensive board, one out of the midpost, and one in transition. She also made a quality entry post pass to Betts.

She really impacts the game even when not scoring.
 
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Oh, and Heckel is a stud. Really like almost Husky Roberson too.

Think Davidson overhandles the ball a bit, but her ability to make plays is evident.

Leah Macy looks out of place here.
 
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Sluconn Husky said:
Oh, and Heckel is a stud. Really like almost Husky Roberson too.

Think Davidson overhandles the ball a bit, but her ability to make plays is evident.

Leah Macy looks out of place here.
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Haeckel looks like a young Jack Sheldon. Similar energy.

As for Macy, she looks strong but not imaginative in the way she plays. Kids like Haeckel or Davidson are ready to try any daring thing. But Macy doesn't seem ready for that. Not on this stage. The nice way to put it is she lacks confidence. Niele is right there on the bench, so she should have plenty of opportunity to give her encouragement.
 
Jazzy nails a smooth jumper off a screen to start the 2nd. Also made a nice jump pass to Betts on a two-on-one but Betts missed.
 
Heckel with a great pass to Davidson on the break for two.

Really like Davidson as a wing.
 
ZaKiyah Johnson hit a three and a tough runner in the 3rd.

Strong with an offensive putback off a nice rebound. She did make a questionable bounce pass on the break when a simple one was the better option.
 
Davidson's outside shot and handle under pressure are probably her biggest weaknesses. She works on those she will be a terror. Has 13 points and 6 rebs.

Johnson had 9 points, 3 rebs, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

Strong finished with 7 points (3-7 FG), 9 rebs, 4 assists in 15 minutes.
 
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The second half of the game was ridiculous with the USA scoring 44 points to Puerto Rico's 2 points.
 
yhun89 said:
Was she more of a forward/post player in the first half? I didn’t watch till the second, but I really didn’t see too much post play. A lot of the times she was running to the 3 point line. And all her shots were 3s.
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She was more of a forward than post. Like you, I didn't see her in the post much. She was more on the perimeter.
 
MSGRET said:
The second half of the game was ridiculous with the USA scoring 44 points to Puerto Rico's 2 points.
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Yikes! I will have to watch that shortly. I am watching Brazil/Mexico now.
 
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BobbyJ said:
Strong is not only physically the best player on the floor but her BB IQ and court vision is so much more advanced that it's not close.
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Love watching her (SS) rebound and pass. She keeps the rebound above her head and most of her passes are the same, from over her head and right on the money. We really have a winner. She is clearly the best of the incoming FR. If she has anything to work on, it is probably her conditioning but she has lots of time for that. She plays under complete control at all times.

So. Cal's PG looks good and their "big" who I think was a top 10 recruit just looks ok. Betts will be a good addition for UCLA as will Edwards for USC, although she doesn't look like the #2 ranked recruit and ND doesn't look like they are getting much help
 
BobbyJ said:
Strong is not only physically the best player on the floor but her BB IQ and court vision is so much more advanced that it's not close.
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Spot on. While the level of basketball in this game was ugly at times, Sarah impressed me with her court awareness, touch passing and overall understanding of team defense. She also plays the game under control with an easy but effective pace. The kid’s gonna be a good one.
 
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LwrcasefaN said:
There's no way if I'm a top prospect would I play in a tournament like this. I just don't see where any benefit outweighs the risk of injury or just basic wear and tear.
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These young ladies play because they hope to get FIBA experience so that they may be part of USA Basketball and hopefully down the road be on the National Olympic team.
 
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MSGRET said:
These young ladies play because they hope to get FIBA experience so that they may be part of USA Basketball and hopefully down the road be on the National Olympic team.
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Is it a requirement?
 
LwrcasefaN said:
There's no way if I'm a top prospect would I play in a tournament like this. I just don't see where any benefit outweighs the risk of injury or just basic wear and tear.
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I completely share this sentiment. But it’s not one that occurred to many people before the recent spate of injuries. When Paige and Azzi played in high school, it just wasn’t a widely held concern.
 
I would go if I were them. Back at that time my age - get a chance to travel to a foreign country - away from home. And probably several players on the team I am friends with. And in practices I'm going head-to-head vs them. And as others point out- if you are member it may help down the road for other opportunities.
 
LwrcasefaN said:
Is it a requirement?
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It could be a deciding factor if the committee is choosing between two similar players. International ball has slightly different rules and some of the players might be the same.
 
RoadMaster said:
Swipe..
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If this was a high school game, the coach would be in trouble for "running" up the score. PR was just overmatched in every phase of the game. Mexico will face the same problem.
 
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