Team USA @ Oregon - 11/09/19
- Thread starter Shades
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And she‘ll still end up on the team when it counts the most.
nwhoopfan
hopeless West Coast homer
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I think she's considered a good defender. Since Parker usually can't be bothered to play D, Nneka always gets the other team's best front court player in WNBA games.
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This is probably close to the B-team. I wouldn’t worry too much about Team USA.
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Well, that was super fun! The USA national team hadn't been looking peak, even before this, they'd been letting college teams get leads up on them, Stanford should be really proud of what they were able to do, and that gave me hope that Oregon could make this exciting. Fowles, A'ja, and Nneka were dominant in the previous games. And then A'ja was unavailable. I was definitely thinking during the game, that if EDD, Stewart, or Moore were out there, USA would be a lot more dangerous. It is amazing how quick Bird still is at 39 and how great her game is, but Taurasi seems to only want to take 3s. USA needs some deadly perimeter players. Good game for Collier today.
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I think after this game, I can see team USA adding Sabrina next year to help improve their perimeter play. Unless they really value the 3x3 inaugural Olympic Event that they have been grooming her for.
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This being a UConn site, I shouldn’t have to point out that the Lady Vols who have the only other college win over Team USA didn’t win the NCAA Championship. 
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I voted Oregon
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I think they just need to show confidence in one of the younger guards (Plum, Diggins-Smith, C. Gray, maybe Sabrina). I guess right now, they get a chance to show what they can do before anyone gets elevated above the others. Put Sabrina on team USA and she's in an entirely different role, and I'm not sure she'd have done much different than Plum (didn't show much of anything) - and Plum was looking really good in the recent WNBA semis - hit some clutch buzzer beaters.
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nwhoopfan
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I mean, she played 2 minutes at the end of Q2. What can you show in 2 minutes?
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Wow. That sucks. Sabrina, on the other hand, had a few more minutes to use to shine. Sabrina played great today. Gutsy, and it was fun. But is she better than Plum, C. Gray or Diggins-Smith? I hear Sue Bird saying 'Staley pulled me aside and said, I don't care who these players are you need to lead'... are these young players getting that chance? In the last Olympics, Catchings was last off the bench at age 37. Are Bird and Taurasi going to start in Tokyo?
nwhoopfan
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It's an interesting question. In this game Ionescu was certainly better than anyone in the back court wearing a U.S. uniform.
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I mean, this game isn't counting to anything. So No
Just got back from Eugene. I don't think I was crazy to vote for the Ducks. Can't wait to read the rest of folfs thoughts before I give more of my thoughts from Row J.
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Minyon Moore was a nice get. 10 points and compliments Sabrina well on the floor. Satou is something else.
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I voted for the Ducks, too. I was hoping I’d be wrong, but nope. USA didn’t come to play today. Nobody wanted to play defense and Oregon took advantage. I think if USA had Wilson or really any other actual center available they might’ve won, but these are all professional players regardless and they just got outworked tonight.
Along with EDD, and Stewie. The team Uconn faces will be much better then this group.
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I’d also stress that some of the guards (4-5 at least) were injured this past WNBA season. I’d have to imagine there are quicker guards that could’ve better defended Ionescu. Not to mention the lack of another post player with size like Wilson, Griner, or even forwards like Stewart and Delle Donne. But Ionescu and co. played a great game regardless and have to give them credit for beating a team of pro players.
You add EDD, Stewie, and Maya if she comes back, and Oregon isn't even close. There isn't a defender on Oregon who could guard any of the 3.
Dillon77
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The good things about an exhibition game loss against the currently rated #1 college team in the U.S. are:
- it's an exhibition game;
- helps you assess what you have and, perhaps more importantly, what you don't.
We know this team didn't -- but will -- have the overwhelming front-court firepower of EDD, Stewie, A'ja and Brittany Griner. You have those four avaiable, then add in Ms. Charles, and most other international teams are in trouble. Griner plays so very well in the international format that it's scary. Maybe it's the trapezoid lane, but she always seems to be a presence on offense. And having a 6/9" center to anchor the defense is an ace in the hole.
What this and other games can do is see that the the long-awaited need to address guards is coming up soon. These games will help with the "funnel" process as I call it. Defense and quickness are two attributes that should be looked for to add into the mix.
Stay tuned.
- it's an exhibition game;
- helps you assess what you have and, perhaps more importantly, what you don't.
We know this team didn't -- but will -- have the overwhelming front-court firepower of EDD, Stewie, A'ja and Brittany Griner. You have those four avaiable, then add in Ms. Charles, and most other international teams are in trouble. Griner plays so very well in the international format that it's scary. Maybe it's the trapezoid lane, but she always seems to be a presence on offense. And having a 6/9" center to anchor the defense is an ace in the hole.
What this and other games can do is see that the the long-awaited need to address guards is coming up soon. These games will help with the "funnel" process as I call it. Defense and quickness are two attributes that should be looked for to add into the mix.
Stay tuned.
This was from the NY times...Beavers??????...what///I'm sure they'll fix it
Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu Fuels Exhibition Win Over U.S. National Team
Ionescu, the star of the No. 1 Beavers, scored 30 points in the win over a national team featuring Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.
Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu Fuels Exhibition Win Over U.S. National Team
Ionescu, the star of the No. 1 Beavers, scored 30 points in the win over a national team featuring Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.
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I'd add Bird's quotes about what they learned, what they wanted from the games, and the difference between the Ducks and the other 3 college teams
“Overall, the atmosphere was amazing,” said Sue Bird (Seattle Storm/Connecticut), USA co-captain and four-time Olympic gold medalist. “This is what we wanted on this college tour. It just goes to show that you’re never too old to learn some lessons. This time we had to learn it the hard way, but congratulations to Oregon for playing a great game. For us, hopefully we can learn some of these lessons and take it with us as we go to Argentina.”
“I watch college basketball, so I’m not surprised by anything,” added Bird. “If anything on this college tour has been surprising, it’s the height. These teams are tall. So, that’s been surprising. Overall, we knew from the first three games that they’re going to come out, they’re going to throw the first punch, it’s going to get loud. I think the difference with Oregon was that they never quit. Some of the other teams, we eventually wore them down a little bit but not this team. Obviously for them that’s good news moving forward.”
I think that perspective will help them in future games. Bird is a leader.
jonson
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Oops for me as well--and I think for Graves, who used all sorts of weird combinations, and played everybody, for most of the first half, with predictable results. (At one point I believe there were 3 freshman, a sophomore, and Satou Sabally on the floor.) Ionescu also seemed determined not to take shots. But when Oregon rallied toward halftime, I suspect he, or maybe the entire team and staff, began to think differently. Anyway, here are some thoughts from one of the 11,500+ fans at the game:
1) Some folks on this board have questioned why Hebard seems to end up on most top ten lists of one sort or another. I think this game showed why: she is a warrior inside, had almost a double double during the first half when the team seemed out of sync as often as not, and held her own physically with Fowles.
2) That said, she will need help when Oregon faces a team with two physical and talented bigs. It seems to me Sabally is a potential answer, but I think Graves fears she will get in foul trouble. Lydia Giomi now looks like a possibility, if she can play as well as she did today--probably her best game so far imo. But whether she can do that with any consistency is a major question. And if Prince gets a waiver and is ok physically by January, that will be, as Graves has said, "a difference maker."
3) Satou Sabally drove on the USA defenders virtually at will, and if she hadn't missed some easy layups she might also have scored 30 (or more). After the game, Ionescu said that one of her major goals is to make sure Satou is the player she should be game in and game out. If so, she'll be an all-American.
4) Minyon Moore is a major addition to the team. She's almost as intense as Ionescu, and so disruptive on defense. And she can get to the basket on almost anyone. Oregon has not had a player like her in a very long time.
5) Erin Boley was a no-show today and hardly played at all in the second half--something that reminded me of the Mississippi game in Eugene last fall. A freshman (Holly Winterburn) took her place for the most part--a lot more active and fearless physically, and the team was better off for it.
6) Finally, although there are already some posters discounting the victory or Ionescu's play, I'll take both.
jonson
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Diana and the Ducks:
"They're gonna come out, they're gonna throw the first punch, it's gonna get loud," Bird said. "I think the difference with Oregon was, they never quit. Some of the other teams, we maybe wore them down a bit. But not this team."
For that, Bird could credit an unlikely source — her own teammate and fellow UConn alum.
The night before Saturday's game, Diana Taurasi spoke to the Ducks for nearly an hour. The essence of her message: "Stay mad."
Don't get complacent after making the 2019 Final Four. Don't get caught up in the hype of preseason expectations. Don't lose your will to do more than the other team.
When the Ducks went into halftime Saturday, their deficit was just four, 42-38. Earlier in the week, UO coach Kelly Graves said it would be delusional to think Oregon had a chance to win the game. At halftime, it didn't seem so delusional.
Before leaving the locker room for the second half, the Ducks huddled up and shouted, in unison: "Stay mad!" [. . . .} "Diana told us to stay mad," Ionescu said. "We didn't want to come out complacent. We didn't want to come out excited we were only down four at half. So we came out in the third quarter, and we stayed mad, just like she told us. So, thank you to her for helping us with that win."
No. 1 Topples No. 1! Oregon Knocks Off Team USA - University of Oregon Athletics
"They're gonna come out, they're gonna throw the first punch, it's gonna get loud," Bird said. "I think the difference with Oregon was, they never quit. Some of the other teams, we maybe wore them down a bit. But not this team."
For that, Bird could credit an unlikely source — her own teammate and fellow UConn alum.
The night before Saturday's game, Diana Taurasi spoke to the Ducks for nearly an hour. The essence of her message: "Stay mad."
Don't get complacent after making the 2019 Final Four. Don't get caught up in the hype of preseason expectations. Don't lose your will to do more than the other team.
When the Ducks went into halftime Saturday, their deficit was just four, 42-38. Earlier in the week, UO coach Kelly Graves said it would be delusional to think Oregon had a chance to win the game. At halftime, it didn't seem so delusional.
Before leaving the locker room for the second half, the Ducks huddled up and shouted, in unison: "Stay mad!" [. . . .} "Diana told us to stay mad," Ionescu said. "We didn't want to come out complacent. We didn't want to come out excited we were only down four at half. So we came out in the third quarter, and we stayed mad, just like she told us. So, thank you to her for helping us with that win."
No. 1 Topples No. 1! Oregon Knocks Off Team USA - University of Oregon Athletics
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