Team USA aka Mississippi State Bulldogs.... Napoli, Italy in July

[SimpleDawg]

 

[Jmsdawg]

So many new comers, this is going to be an interesting season. Could not help but notice neither Bibby or P. Taylor are on this roster. I knew Bibby would not be on the squad (Australian) but hoped Promise would be well enough to play. Any info on rehab for either of them?

 

[militarydog]

So many new comers, this is going to be an interesting season. Could not help but notice neither Bibby or P. Taylor are on this roster. I knew Bibby would not be on the squad (Australian) but hoped Promise would be well enough to play. Any info on rehab for either of them?

C Bibby is already running on a track and doing other conditioning and weight lifting. Coach Schaefer said her progress has been outstanding and he expects her to be fully ready when preseason practice begins. However there is no rush with her.
P Taylor is supposed to be out of her boot completely this week. He said she had already being doing some work without the boot. He said he expects her to be fine by the time preseason workouts start.
In his press conference he also stated the trip would be a play to win instead of one where everyone is going to be guaranteed a certain amount of time. We will get to see which of the newcomers are ready to push for a role on the team.
It is also very encouraging for him to bring M Taylor (along with J Holmes) to the interview and give her such positive comments.
I wished he had spoken more about possible roles or positions like he did regarding point guard. He specifically referenced how much J Holmes was helping M Taylor and A Matharu develop as point guards.
Finally I don’t think people are going to appreciate how dominating T McCowan was until we don’t have her on the court this season. She commanded so much attention.

 

[Jmsdawg]

Mildog, thanks for info. I agree we will miss Big Tee. Did Vic comment on Jamya Young? I have seen video footage on her as HS player and she was impressive. I thought she would be big surprise for us but all the four freshman appear to have that potential. Do you know if the World University games will be streamed?

 

[Reypl21]

Is this the PanAm team? Or a different one?

 

[DaBball]

Is this the PanAm team? Or a different one?

This is World University Games. Perhaps someone who has a greater memory of the World University Games from when KML, Bria Hartley, Tina, Maya, and Tiff Hayes played, but I believe back then USA Basketball held trials, but that does not appear to be the case now. Not sure USAB has any involvement with it anymore.

 

[Jmsdawg]

Is this the PanAm team? Or a different one?

Different, the PanAm team is composed of players from many universities while the World University team is just MSST players. Really do not know how either team is chosen but apparently USA University team is limited to one school. I believe the teams from other countries are similar to AAU teams in that they are not tied to a university.

 

[Reypl21]

I think that one of the previous University teams comprised of players from different teams. I was going to rant about this on my first post in this thread, but saved it for now.

I don't like this! I am not knocking MissSt for doing this, because it is great experience for the players! But this team should be made up of the elite players teams across the country. Sometimes this is the chance for players from mid-majors to show that they can play with players from the power conferences. I wish they kept it invite and trial style, but it's okay.

Go MissSt!! Make the country proud and win one for us! I'll always cheer for any player representing the USA

 

[DaBball]

Per Wikipeadia, the USA has sent a women’s basketball team to every World University Games (biannual event) since 1973. From 1973-2015, USA Basketball organized a team for every competition except 2 -- in 2003 a “Big 12 All-Star” team went and in 2007 UNC-Charlotte went. Since 2017, it appears the organization USA Team has taken over the organizational role in the World University Games, and has sent Maryland and Mississippi State in their two years of overseeing the event.

 

[Jmsdawg]

I think that one of the previous University teams comprised of players from different teams. I was going to rant about this on my first post in this thread, but saved it for now.

I don't like this! I am not knocking MissSt for doing this, because it is great experience for the players! But this team should be made up of the elite players teams across the country. Sometimes this is the chance for players from mid-majors to show that they can play with players from the power conferences. I wish they kept it invite and trial style, but it's okay.

Go MissSt!! Make the country proud and win one for us! I'll always cheer for any player representing the USA

Not sure MSST is allowed to use any players not associated with either last year’s team or the players currently on the roster. I think the selecting organization set the ground rules associated with players selected and I have no idea how MSST was selected.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Malina Howard played on Maryland's team in 2017 because she was of age and she was a post grad at Maryland. Maryland also used Tori Jankoska from Michigan State since she was not a professional player and was of age. As long as the player isn't a professional and still of college age ( a liitle sketchy on this rule) she can play in the University games.

 

[DaBball]

Malina Howard played on Maryland's team in 2017 because she was of age and she was a post grad at Maryland. Maryland also used Tori Jankoska from Michigan State since she was not a professional player and was of age. As long as the player isn't a professional and still of college age ( a liitle sketchy on this rule) she can play in the University games.

The big rule I saw was must have been enrolled in a university within the past year.

Ezi Magbegor and the Froling twins from SMU will be playing for Australia.

 

[Jmsdawg]

I was able to watch the 4th quarter of the exhibition game against Japan, 79-78 victory for MSST. The team I saw did not look anything like I expected, no pressing defense, no physical inside game, and they just did not look sharp. I think Vic played everybody but since I only saw last quarter I did not see Rickea Jackson, Jessica Carter was the star of the game hit a three pointer late for the win. I realize this game was an exhibition and it is very early but Vic will have to do magic if MSST is to be elite this coming season.

 

[militarydog]

I was able to watch the 4th quarter of the exhibition game against Japan, 79-78 victory for MSST. The team I saw did not look anything like I expected, no pressing defense, no physical inside game, and they just did not look sharp. I think Vic played everybody but since I only saw last quarter I did not see Rickea Jackson, Jessica Carter was the star of the game hit a three pointer late for the win. I realize this game was an exhibition and it is very early but Vic will have to do magic if MSST is to be elite this coming season.

I think it would be difficult to tell too much from this friendly match with Japan as I’m sure he was throwing a lot of players out there testing different lineups and seeing responses of the different players. The two most consistent players were J Holmes and J Carter. B Scott, M Taylor, A Espinoza-Hunter and in a slight surprise X Wiggins also looked pretty good. All the aforementioned players were the most consistent on defense, passed the ball and took proper shots (save B Scott forcing a few on drives). Of the newcomers J Hemingway looked very good. She rebounded well, played good defense and for the most part played within the offense. J Mingo-Young wasn’t far behind and A Matharu kind of disappeared during the course of the game. I don’t remember anything good or bad that she did. R Jackson has talent but took some ill advised shots and got schooled a couple of times. S Cooks looked okay but I was expecting a lot more from her. Honestly there were stretches she simply didn’t look comfortable. Y Morris played the role of defender and rebounder but brought the ball down on offense instead of keeping it high. Overall the team looked lost a lot in their press and got back doored consistently in the half court. Their rushed shots off the dribble lead to some very easy layups for Japan. Help side defense also left too many players open for cutting baskets. It’s definitely not the end of the world or gloom and doom worthy but there is a lot to show during film sessions.

 

[Jmsdawg]

Mildog, were you able to stream the whole game? I had lots of problems with the audio, really was hard to follow. What I did see did not look like State, especially on defense. Frankly, they looked disorganized and lost at times. No panic here but sure looks like Vic has a major job getting team ready.

 

[militarydog]

Mildog, were you able to stream the whole game? I had lots of problems with the audio, really was hard to follow. What I did see did not look like State, especially on defense. Frankly, they looked disorganized and lost at times. No panic here but sure looks like Vic has a major job getting team ready.

I was able to stream the entire game. There were a couple of small glitches and the quality obviously was not the best but overall it was better than I would have expected.
My apologies if I came across as argumentative. I agree the defense did not look strong at all. However I attribute some of that to Japan’s experience playing together, their age and the fact they looked like a talented team. My thought was I don’t think we can get a gauge as to how much improvement they will need to compete at a very high level this season. I am glad we are competing in this tournament as we get to see who is able to step up and help during the regular season. I imagine several of the newcomers are thinking “what the heck just happened??!!??”

 

[SECbbfan24]

Well when you lose that many starters there will be some major growing pains early. A lot of inexperience and these girls are not used to playing together, that will only develop through experience which takes time. A lot of youth between the freshmen and sophomores.

I would not judge too harshly how they look this tournament. These games are being used to get kids experience, work on different lineup combinations and to test the waters with the different skillsets of this group. Every team is different so this will be a great way for State to evaluate what they do well and not do well early on before they get rolling in the fall again. Keep in mind Bibby and Promise will bring a lot of help once they get back healthy.

 

[militarydog]

Well when you lose that many starters there will be some major growing pains early. A lot of inexperience and these girls are not used to playing together, that will only develop through experience which takes time. A lot of youth between the freshmen and sophomores.

I would not judge too harshly how they look this tournament. These games are being used to get kids experience, work on different lineup combinations and to test the waters with the different skillsets of this group. Every team is different so this will be a great way for State to evaluate what they do well and not do well early on before they get rolling in the fall again. Keep in mind Bibby and Promise will bring a lot of help once they get back healthy.

What I do like about this tournament is that he is playing to win. Therefore it is going to be more like the season where you may have some players who don’t get a lot of minutes or perhaps even no minutes in some games. That could be a good wake up for some of the newcomers. Most everything is about what I expected except for the post play. I am surprised with how physical J Carter is playing and how S Cooks didn’t stand out at all.

 

[SECbbfan24]

From watching the game today:

Defensively was a struggle, but a lot of that can be attributed to a lot of poor shot selection. A lot of kids forced up shots driving the ball in the lane which led to a lot of easy points and opportunities for Japan in transition. Many of the kids did not rotate or switch correctly off ball screens which resulted in more easy baskets. Something I am sure will be pressed on in practice.

J. Carter got better as the game went on and was the clear MVP of the game today. She became much more aggressive rebounding and attacking the rim with her size. Her free throw shooting is much improved.

Wiggins was very active and was able to manufacture a lot of points on her own. Very strong midrange game but needs to work on her 3 point shot. She will continue to see more minutes. Her length disrupted a lot of passing lanes today.

Hemmingway stood out big among all the freshmen and it was mainly because of her presence rebounding and her defense. She did not try to do too much offensively, she played within her self which was a big reason she was on the floor a lot at the end. Showed a lot of maturity early.

R. Jackson is a stud obviously but we saw some freshmen moments. Taking some ill advised shots and trying to force it too much at times. She has some nice individual moves and is able to create her own shot. Missed too many layups for my liking but I am not concerned much about her.

Mingo Young is extremely athletic and talented. She did some very good things defensively. Knock on her was she dribbled the ball into some tight spots then just stopped and picked up her dribble. She is able to get up very high for rebounds.

M. Taylor is a pesky little defender, probably her best attribute. Decision making and finishing offensively is still a major concern.

Cook looked a little slow and did not look very comfortable. Again it may be because of her injury.

Morris didn't play a whole lot but she is very raw. Focused mainly on rebounding and defense. Did not try to get very involved offensively.

AEH was fine. Not a whole lot to say. She has a pretty outside jumper. Needs to continue to work on her defense. Allowed her man to penetrate into the pain way too easy at times.

 

[DaBball]

From watching the game today:

Defensively was a struggle, but a lot of that can be attributed to a lot of poor shot selection. A lot of kids forced up shots driving the ball in the lane which led to a lot of easy points and opportunities for Japan in transition. Many of the kids did not rotate or switch correctly off ball screens which resulted in more easy baskets. Something I am sure will be pressed on in practice.

J. Carter got better as the game went on and was the clear MVP of the game today. She became much more aggressive rebounding and attacking the rim with her size. Her free throw shooting is much improved.

Wiggins was very active and was able to manufacture a lot of points on her own. Very strong midrange game but needs to work on her 3 point shot. She will continue to see more minutes. Her length disrupted a lot of passing lanes today.

Hemmingway stood out big among all the freshmen and it was mainly because of her presence rebounding and her defense. She did not try to do too much offensively, she played within her self which was a big reason she was on the floor a lot at the end. Showed a lot of maturity early.

R. Jackson is a stud obviously but we saw some freshmen moments. Taking some ill advised shots and trying to force it too much at times. She has some nice individual moves and is able to create her own shot. Missed too many layups for my liking but I am not concerned much about her.

Mingo Young is extremely athletic and talented. She did some very good things defensively. Knock on her was she dribbled the ball into some tight spots then just stopped and picked up her dribble. She is able to get up very high for rebounds.

M. Taylor is a pesky little defender, probably her best attribute. Decision making and finishing offensively is still a major concern.

Cook looked a little slow and did not look very comfortable. Again it may be because of her injury.

Morris didn't play a whole lot but she is very raw. Focused mainly on rebounding and defense. Did not try to get very involved offensively.

AEH was fine. Not a whole lot to say. She has a pretty outside jumper. Needs to continue to work on her defense. Allowed her man to penetrate into the pain way too easy at times.

So, are you taking LSU or MSST this year?

 

[MSUFan2003]

I think this tournament will be a good experience for the team. They need to build chemistry. A lot of these players have never played together before or been in Vic's system. Add that to inexperience with the new freshmen, and they will look disorganized. He also played several different lineups. For the past 3 years, we've have seniors and juniors that had been playing together for awhile, and this year will probably be a bit of an adventure due to inexperience and developing roles/chemistry.

I was glad to see Carter do so well. The development of her and Myah Taylor will be the keys to this year IMO. They both need to take the next step. Wiggins was also impressive. She is intriguing to me. Rickea Jackson made me think back to Victoria Vivians' first few years where she was inefficient and would take ill advised shots. She has the potential to be better than Vivians though.

 

[SECbbfan24]

So, are you taking LSU or MSST this year?

Who are you going with?

 

[militarydog]

After being down most of the game Mississippi State outscores Mexico 19-4 in the final quarter to win 60-49.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I would think that Miss State has a lot of time to get it together.

I'm mentally trying to remember whether South Carolina women have had an international trip any time recently and cannot.

Seems like it has been a long time since the men had one for that matter. Feel like they went to Costa Rica or something four or five years ago.

Rules must have changed on this, because this used to be more of a thing.

 

[SECbbfan24]

Box Score