U17 cuts down to 41 with some surprising omissions

[Fightin Choke]

Here is the list of 41 (LINK):

Notable cuts included Chloe Chapman, Amira Collins, Lexi Gordon, Zarielle Green, Lindsay Jarosinski, Jordan Nixon, Ashley Owusu, and NaLyssa Smith. I would have thought that all of these players would be in the final 41, based on reports I have read.

 

[MilfordHusky]

But did Candace Parker make the team?

 

[Charliebball]

Here is the list of 41 (LINK):

Notable cuts included Chloe Chapman, Amira Collins, Lexi Gordon, Zarielle Green, Lindsay Jarosinski, Jordan Nixon, Ashley Owusu, and NaLyssa Smith. I would have thought that all of these players would be in the final 41, based on reports I have read.

Exactly why they invite or allow 104 players to tryout for the U17 team is beyond me...............cutting down to 12 automatically means that some great players simply aren't going to make the team and just as we saw in the Olympic team selection process certain choices will be questioned.......................wait till you see the final list.....................I guarantee some pretty big names will be among the missing..................................in Lexi Gordon's case, I believe she is rated somewhere in the high 20's to low 30's in her class...........why would anyone be surprised that she didn't make the cut with so many more highly ranked players also participating...........frankly her selection or lack there of is not predictive as to how productive a player she will be at UConn

 

[MilfordHusky]

Exactly why they invite or allow 104 players to tryout for the U17 team is beyond me.....cutting down to 12 automatically means that some great players simply aren't going to make the team and just as we saw in the Olympic team selection process certain choices will be questioned........wait till you see the final list......I guarantee some pretty big names will be among the missing.........in Lexi Gordon's case, I believe she is rated somewhere in the high 20's to low 30's in her class......why would anyone be surprised that she didn't make the cut with so many more highly ranked players also participating......frankly her selection or lack there of is not predictive as to how productive a player she will be at UConn

I agree that lots of excellent players will get cut. Heck, Moriah got cut 2 or 3 times. The surprising part about Lexi being cut is that she made it to the final cut last year, when she paid her own way out there. This year, she knew what was required, was an invitee, has improved her game substantially, played well by multiple accounts, and yet was cut at an earlier stage than last year. It seems odd.

 

[Gus Mahler]

in Lexi Gordon's case, I believe she is rated somewhere in the high 20's to low 30's in her class......why would anyone be surprised that she didn't make the cut with so many more highly ranked players also participating

Not making the 12-player roster is not surprising. Not making the cut to 40 is.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Not making the 12-player roster is not surprising. Not making the cut to 40 is.

Spot-on!

 

[Charliebball]

It's always subjective and sometimes it's simply a numbers game which can change from year to year................take a look at how many players remaining have similar position/size to Lexi................as far as I'm concerned getting cut is getting cut whether your 100 or 13 you're still not making that team.................

USA Women's U17 World Championship Team

 

[Magy Cannon]

Sidney Parrish, a 14 year old from Indiana, is still on the list of 41. I find that interesting. Class of 2020.

 

[Charliebball]

Here is the list of 41 (LINK):

Notable cuts included Chloe Chapman, Amira Collins, Lexi Gordon, Zarielle Green, Lindsay Jarosinski, Jordan Nixon, Ashley Owusu, and NaLyssa Smith. I would have thought that all of these players would be in the final 41, based on reports I have read.

Forgot one.....................UConn target Mikayla Coombs also got the axe

2. 
   MikaylaCoombs ‏@CoombsMikayla 7h7 hours ago
   Thanks @usabasketball for the opportunity this weekend! I had a great time . #USABwu17
   
   
   
   
   18 retweets52 likes
   

 

[ju6381]

Well on the bright side, Coombs can now make her visit.

 

[DaddyChoc]

guess they didnt get the memo that Lexi is a UConn kid

 

[connboy77]

There is no shame in not making the USA team since there is over 100 very good players competing for 12 positions. Lexi doesn't have any reason to hang her head.

 

[CocoHusky]

It's always subjective and sometimes it's simply a numbers game which can change from year to year......take a look at how many players remaining have similar position/size to Lexi......as far as I'm concerned getting cut is getting cut whether your 100 or 13 you're still not making that team.......
USA Women's U17 World Championship Team

Lexi was going to have a hard time making this team as I wrote in April when the attendees were announced.

I don't expect anyone from class of 2019 to make the team but it will be great experience for next time. 11 players return from Under 16 team which did not win gold metal. Look for them to make changes in Bigs which bodes well for Collier in and Prince out. Rellah Boothe will also likely make the team if her head is right considering all the controversy of not selecting her last year. Lexi Gordon has major competition to make this team from AEH and DeCosta. Christyn Williams has the most competiiton from Both greens and Caldwell. This will be interesting.

 

[malevocalist#]

Sidney Parrish, a 14 year old from Indiana, is still on the list of 41. I find that interesting. Class of 2020.

Smells fishy doesn't it?

 

[connboy77]

Smells fishy doesn't it?

Maybe her father is on the committee!

 

[Fightin Choke]

Kenny Kalina weighs in: LINK

His all-cut team:
Rennia Davis
Anaya Peoples
Mikayla Combs
Chloe Chapman
Lexi Gordon

Clay Kallam was shocked that the following young woman were cut (LINK):
Chloe Chapman
Rennia Davis
Taylor Kissinger
Emer Nichols
Zarielle Green
Haley Jones
NaLyssa Smith (his biggest surprise, a 6-4 athlete who seemed to do pretty much everything but make threes)
Ashley Owusu

 

[Charliebball]

Kenny Kalina weighs in: LINK


Ashley Owusu

Like I said in an earlier post, choosing the "best" team from well over 100 of the top basketball players in the country in a couple of days is a ridiculous task.................I am sure that there were many players with equal ability that simply weren't picked..............those choosing are under intense pressure after the third place finish last time out.............couldn't have been a fun job............................

 

[shinobimono]

But did Candace Parker make the team?

Non sequitur, no?

 

[masshusk77]

Aliyah Boston out of Worcester Academy in MA is a promising young talent..saw her play this year a few times and she shows flashes of being one of the next future stars out of Massachusetts. She plays in the same high school league (NEPSAC Class A) that Molly Bent played in for 3 years in at Tabor Academy. To show the depth of talent in that league she was not even named a NEPSAC all star this season and she is in the last 41 for the U17 national team..obviously an all star nod would have been much deserved but it shows the amount of good players that are playing in the prep schools now a days if a player of Aliyah's calliber wasn't listed among the best players in her high school league. It leads me to believe that the jump to college for Molly may be a bit easier to make from the preps than it would be for a player coming from public school.

Super Sunday Program 2016

 

[Charliebball]

One other thought regarding Lexi Gordon being cut early...............is it possible that they would cut the older girls that are aging out of the U17 team first to give more experience to the younger players? Haven't checked the final 41 for their ages but I did note there were a large number of younger players that made the cut.......

 

[HopJim]

Kenny Kalina weighs in: LINK

His all-cut team:
Rennia Davis
Anaya Peoples
Mikayla Combs
Chloe Chapman
Lexi Gordon

Clay Kallam was shocked that the following young woman were cut (LINK):
Chloe Chapman
Rennia Davis
Taylor Kissinger
Emer Nichols
Zarielle Green
Haley Jones
NaLyssa Smith (his biggest surprise, a 6-4 athlete who seemed to do pretty much everything but make threes)
Ashley Owusu

At first thought this was no big deal, but likely a major event for those attending. No matter if cut or not, having the ability to play at this level has to improve skills and knowledge of strengths and weaknesses. Geno has been a master as this type of player development and suspect the workouts was early reinforcement of some of the processes these players need to focus on.

 

[BobbyJ]

It's a waste of people's time and money having that many kids travel out there for tryouts. That committee knows what pool of 20 or so kids they're choosing from before they ever go out there. Just a big publicity show.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Maybe Lexi will play with a chip on her shoulder now like Parker?

 

[Fightin Choke]

It's a waste of people's time and money having that many kids travel out there for tryouts. That committee knows what pool of 20 or so kids they're choosing from before they ever go out there. Just a big publicity show.

There have been players who were not invited who made the team, even becoming stars. Sabrina Ionescu comes to mind. If they want to try out, why shouldn't USA basketball allow it? Even if they don't make it, it could be an experience they treasure forever.

 

[Fightin Choke]

One other thought regarding Lexi Gordon being cut early.....is it possible that they would cut the older girls that are aging out of the U17 team first to give more experience to the younger players? Haven't checked the final 41 for their ages but I did note there were a large number of younger players that made the cut..

Here is the breakdown of the 41 by class: LINK

2017: 15
2018: 20
2019: 5
2020: 1

Now that they are down to 18 athletes, here is the breakdown by class:

2017: 4
2018: 12
2019: 2

So at least for the cut to 18, they seemed to favor the younger players.