OT: - Sarah Strong and FIBA U 18 Women's Americup 2024 games start Monday | Page 10 | The Boneyard

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

I thought both USA and Canada played quite poorly. Very boring to watch. I suspect this is the result of the previous blowouts. Once they encountered a team with a similar level of athleticism, all the deficiencies of their teamwork were exposed. But this is what all star games are always like. I wouldn't blame any individual players.

I was disappointed Sarah didn't get to play more. When she was on the floor, it did seem to me that there was a tiny bit more focus on defense and passing. When she entered with 3 minutes left in the 3rd, USA got a few steals and scored 6 straight points.
 
Sluconn Husky said:
So what's the excuse for Strong playing 10 minutes in the gold medal game whereas the starters got 26, 29, 36, and 36?
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Blame it on the coach, Sarah has been great in all phases of the game, but you can't get in the flow of the game if you only play 10 minutes. USA does win 80-69, sloppy play and some may have been because of the amount of minutes played by 4 of the 5 starting players.
 
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Overall, I was impressed with Sarah. I didn't really know what to expect heading into the tournament. Someone earlier this summer compared her to Madison Booker of Texas and I thought that was super high praise/high expectation. But they look somewhat alike. I think they both have a passing skill that is a bit unprecedented at that size. I think Sarah is even a bit more unselfish. I think Sarah is also probably the better distance shooter. Booker is a mid-range killer which we didn't really see from Sarah. But it was just cool to see her always pass up good shots for great shots and make the little plays. Adding a number one player can be a bit much to an already loaded roster but she really does seem like she has all the intangibles to make even the good players around her better, which is saying something for a freshman. But I could see her dishing to Azzi and Paige and even Jana downlow.
 
Sienna Betts "ALL STAR FIVE" 15 points Efficiency 25 27 minutes 42 sec and she did not start
Joyce Edwards MVP " ALL STAR FIVE 16 points Efficiency 24 36 minutes 19 seconds 13 rebounds STARTER
Jordan Lee 9 points 36 minutes 48 seconds Efficiency 9; Starter
Kennedy Smith 18 points Efficiency 21 27 minutes 39 seconds Starter
Kayleigh Heckel 13 points Efficiency 10; Starter
Jasmine "Jazzy" Davidson 9 points Efficiency 11; Starter
off the bench Sarah Strong no points, 4 assists, two steals, Efficiency 4 ten minutes fifteen seconds
Arianna Roberson no points, four minutes 30 sec
Alivia McGill seven minutes
Leah Macy, Madison Francis, and Zakiyah Johnson did not play.
REBOUNDING USA 43 Canada 37 Assists USA 22 Canada 9 Turnovers USA 19 Canada 20
Blocked shots USA 9 Canada four FG % USA 47.8 Canada 36
2 point FG % USA 50.9 Canada 41 3 point FG % USA 37.5 Canada 28
Free throw % USA 72.7 Canada 76 Steals USA 9 Canada 11
First Q USA 23 - 14 Half USA 39 - 36 !!! Three Q USA 58 - 51 and final USA 80 - 69 MOV 11
REMEMBER FIBA U 17 WOMEN's Basketball Starts JULY 13 which should have Olivia "BIG O"
Vukosa playing for Croatia and there is also the FIBA U 20 with Gandy playing for Ireland in
the "B" level. Gandy is the BIG on the Irish Team. I also expect Lara Somfai to be playing for
the Australian squad in the FIBA U 17 tournament ( in Mexico ), but she was not among
the early list of Australian players !!!???
 
Zarathustra said:
Sienna Betts "ALL STAR FIVE" 15 points Efficiency 25 27 minutes 42 sec and she did not start
Joyce Edwards MVP " ALL STAR FIVE 16 points Efficiency 24 36 minutes 19 seconds 13 rebounds STARTER
Jordan Lee 9 points 36 minutes 48 seconds Efficiency 9; Starter
Kennedy Smith 18 points Efficiency 21 27 minutes 39 seconds Starter
Kayleigh Heckel 13 points Efficiency 10; Starter
Jasmine "Jazzy" Davidson 9 points Efficiency 11; Starter
off the bench Sarah Strong no points, 4 assists, two steals, Efficiency 4 ten minutes fifteen seconds
Arianna Roberson no points, four minutes 30 sec
Alivia McGill seven minutes
Leah Macy, Madison Francis, and Zakiyah Johnson did not play.
REBOUNDING USA 43 Canada 37 Assists USA 22 Canada 9 Turnovers USA 19 Canada 20
Blocked shots USA 9 Canada four FG % USA 47.8 Canada 36
2 point FG % USA 50.9 Canada 41 3 point FG % USA 37.5 Canada 28
Free throw % USA 72.7 Canada 76 Steals USA 9 Canada 11
First Q USA 23 - 14 Half USA 39 - 36 !!! Three Q USA 58 - 51 and final USA 80 - 69 MOV 11
REMEMBER FIBA U 17 WOMEN's Basketball Starts JULY 13 which should have Olivia "BIG O"
Vukosa playing for Croatia and there is also the FIBA U 20 with Gandy playing for Ireland in
the "B" level. Gandy is the BIG on the Irish Team. I also expect Lara Somfai to be playing for
the Australian squad in the FIBA U 17 tournament ( in Mexico ), but she was not among
the early list of Australian players !!!???
Expand ...
www.fiba.basketball

Australia vs Malaysia - Group Phase - FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2024 | FIBA Basketball

Australia vs Malaysia - Browse boxscore, game information & live stats, team rosters, photos and video highlights
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball

Lara Somfai is at the U18 championship, which has just begun. It's not uncommon for Australian and European women to take part in more than one championship during the summer.
 
Correction to post #281 Lauren Betts #13 USA did start.
From Canada said:
www.fiba.basketball

Australia vs Malaysia - Group Phase - FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2024 | FIBA Basketball

Australia vs Malaysia - Browse boxscore, game information & live stats, team rosters, photos and video highlights
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball

Lara Somfai is at the U18 championship, which has just begun. It's not uncommon for Australian and European women to take part in more than one championship during the summer.
Expand ...
Thanks for the update. I'll have to start tracking the U 18 Championship with Lara and her Aussie
teammates!
 
Zarathustra said:
Sienna Betts "ALL STAR FIVE" 15 points Efficiency 25 27 minutes 42 sec and she did not start
Joyce Edwards MVP " ALL STAR FIVE 16 points Efficiency 24 36 minutes 19 seconds 13 rebounds STARTER
Jordan Lee 9 points 36 minutes 48 seconds Efficiency 9; Starter
Kennedy Smith 18 points Efficiency 21 27 minutes 39 seconds Starter
Kayleigh Heckel 13 points Efficiency 10; Starter
Jasmine "Jazzy" Davidson 9 points Efficiency 11; Starter
off the bench Sarah Strong no points, 4 assists, two steals, Efficiency 4 ten minutes fifteen seconds
Arianna Roberson no points, four minutes 30 sec
Alivia McGill seven minutes
Leah Macy, Madison Francis, and Zakiyah Johnson did not play.
REBOUNDING USA 43 Canada 37 Assists USA 22 Canada 9 Turnovers USA 19 Canada 20
Blocked shots USA 9 Canada four FG % USA 47.8 Canada 36
2 point FG % USA 50.9 Canada 41 3 point FG % USA 37.5 Canada 28
Free throw % USA 72.7 Canada 76 Steals USA 9 Canada 11
First Q USA 23 - 14 Half USA 39 - 36 !!! Three Q USA 58 - 51 and final USA 80 - 69 MOV 11
REMEMBER FIBA U 17 WOMEN's Basketball Starts JULY 13 which should have Olivia "BIG O"
Vukosa playing for Croatia and there is also the FIBA U 20 with Gandy playing for Ireland in
the "B" level. Gandy is the BIG on the Irish Team. I also expect Lara Somfai to be playing for
the Australian squad in the FIBA U 17 tournament ( in Mexico ), but she was not among
the early list of Australian players !!!???
Expand ...
Correction: Sienna Betts did start for the USA.
 
Zarathustra said:
Correction to post #281 Lauren Betts #13 USA did start.

Thanks for the update. I'll have to start tracking the U 18 Championship with Lara and her Aussie
teammates!
Expand ...

It will be updated in the recruit thread.
 
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Overall I was impressed with Sarah’s performance even if the last game wasn’t strong for her. Great IQ, handle, shooting, and rebounding.

Personally I would’ve given MVP to Heckel. Consistent scoring, passing, and rarely turned it over. Also had some good rebounding stats. Fairly efficient as well.
 
I was overall pleased with Sarah's performance, but was surprised and disappointed in the minutes in the final. During the tournament distributing minutes fairly equally among the whole team was possible because of blowouts, and perhaps strategic (more rest for key players) since these were many games back to back.

I thought when we got to Canada we would see what the coaching staff really thought, and that the minutes would go to the players they thought were best. From that standpoint it appears they had Sarah behind Betts and Edwards, which is disappointing. An alternative explanation might be because of ball handling and passing. Without Heckel in the lineup the second unit needed a distributor and the other point guard was not that impressive in this tournament in my opinion.

Regardless we saw great passing, great rebounding, three point range, quick hands on defense, solid interior position defense, but not looking like a big time shot blocker, outlet passes and the ability to bring the ball up court on the break. Low post scoring and a mid range game I would like to see more of, and in terms of position, she played like a 3 on offense, but was comfortable underneath as a 4 on defense.

We need her to be a 4 on the defensive end, and if she plays quite a bit on the perimeter on offense that can work as long as we have someone who is a consistent low post threat. I think Jana can be that and a high/low with Sarah and Jana seems promising, but of course Jana likes to play some on the periter too.
 
NW-MW said:
I would assume Geno put her on a minute restriction.
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I don't know about that, but it sure wasn't a talent restriction. I think 3 players didn't even play in the final. One of them scored close to 20 the day before...all in one quarter! Too much to try and make sense out of for me. I need to save the brain cells I have remaining.
 
yhun89 said:
Personally I would’ve given MVP to Heckel. Consistent scoring, passing, and rarely turned it over. Also had some good rebounding stats. Fairly efficient as well.
Expand ...
I thought Heckel was exposed too often by Bascoe and the rest of Canada's back court in the finals. She looked really good in the blowouts, but I'm inclined to discount those games.

Also, just to correct a misapprehension of mine about Betts. She showed good mobility even against Canada. I had thought she looked as slow as her sister at the same age, but she looked really active and quick in the final. And don't get me wrong, I think Lauren has improved her mobility a lot at UCLA, as well as her handles and post moves.

And I shared the opinion that others expressed that Edwards didn't exhibit a good attitude in the finals. I mean, after beating up on undermanned teams for the rest of the tournament. one might expect just a little more grace and less petulance when an opponent with similar athleticism stands up to you. I don't care if it was bad calls by the refs. It was not a good look for her.
 
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NW-MW said:
To be honest it was the best thing she's done this game, she has not impressed me at all especially with her attitude and demeanor on court.

Also I am not sure what the coaches are thinking. Having Sarah and Heckel play less minutes than Lee combined, when they have been the clear best players for the US in the tournament so far, is an interesting decision on their part.
Expand ...

Didn't she win MVP?
 
yhun89 said:
Overall I was impressed with Sarah’s performance even if the last game wasn’t strong for her. Great IQ, handle, shooting, and rebounding.

Personally I would’ve given MVP to Heckel. Consistent scoring, passing, and rarely turned it over. Also had some good rebounding stats. Fairly efficient as well.
Expand ...

Edwards deserved MVP and was awarded it.
 
USA won the gold. Good. Sarah's game action well documented in this thread - with editorializing.

Now Sarah comes home to UConn. Her talents will be nurtured by the best coaching staff in women's college basketball. She will thrive in the UConn environment. She will be surrounded by teammates who appreciate and support her game.

Case closed.
 
NW-MW said:
To be honest it was the best thing she's done this game, she has not impressed me at all especially with her attitude and demeanor on court.

Also I am not sure what the coaches are thinking. Having Sarah and Heckel play less minutes than Lee combined, when they have been the clear best players for the US in the tournament so far, is an interesting decision on their part.
Expand ...
Lee played the most minutes ( almost the entire game ) because she was the teams best parameter defender. They put her on Bascoe and when she was on her she did a good job. When they took her out at the end of the first half, Bascoe went off. It was evident that the other defenders could not handle her. It was important to stop Bascoe to stop Canada. Fans often forget the importance that defense plays.
 
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willtalk said:
Lee played the most minutes ( almost the entire game ) because she was the teams best parameter defender. They put her on Bascoe and when she was on her she did a good job. When they took her out at the end of the first half, Bascoe went off. It was evident that the other defenders could not handle her. It was important to stop Bascoe to stop Canada. Fans often forget the importance that defense plays.
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What fans also tend to forget is that Offense can win. It's not a one way street- and the more effcient your Offense is, th moree= you can set up halfcout Defense.
 
Fans often forget the importance that defense plays.

So True!!
 
I would like to say how impressed I was with the Canadian team.
They hung really tough with a very talented and deep USA
team. They had good size and and some tough guards. They
probably got warn down from the USA depth and talent.

Hats off to Canada. The future looks bright up north.
 
RadfordRam said:
Edwards deserved MVP and was awarded it.
Expand ...
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Competition Stats - FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup 2024 | FIBA Basketball Events

Discover detailed statistics of FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup 2024 - players leaders and games highs, teams leaders and game highs
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball

For my part, I think Betts should have been awarded the MVP trophy, she's superior in almost every statistic to Edwards. Only the average points per game is the one that advantages Edwards, 14.2 against 13.2 and even there, if we go with the number of points per minutes played Betts is still superior. Better in rebounds, FG, FT, BLK, and less TO, of course all this translates into the best EFFICIENCY statistic of the tournament.



Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
 
After Jana's injury playing for her country, I bet Sarah and the coaches were fine and even requested the about15 min a game. She got her participation points and no injury. Check check!
 
hoophuskee said:
What fans also tend to forget is that Offense can win. It's not a one way street- and the more effcient your Offense is, th moree= you can set up halfcout Defense.
Expand ...
If the defense is good and the offense is off you'll keep yourself in the game until the offense clicks in, if the offense is good and the defense isn't thn you'll have a "sitting on the edge of ur seat" type shootout, if both are clicking in unison thn you'll have a championship. Defense wins games offense determines the M.O.V.
( Margin Of Victory). But ur definitely right it's not a one way street, but if the Final score is let's say......52-48 tht would be a bad offensive day but to hold an opponent to 48 pts and get the win would be great esp if ur opponent averaged 60 ppg......jmho
 
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