U18 Tournament Starts Today USA vs Guatemala 6 PM

[Wbbfan1]

Support your team at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women

Will be interesting to see if this U18 team can get USA back on the winning track. USA Girls have lost two straight FIBA 3 x 3 and the last U16 & U17 tournaments.

Roster: USA Women's U18 National Team

Megan Walker who UConn is recruiting is on the team. I'm interested in seeing Rellah Boothe play.
Lauren Cox is another player I'm interested in as she signed with Baylor and will play UConn this year.

 

[Charliebball]

Hard to know what to expect from this group............with Boothe, Cox, Walker and Westbrook you would think they have an excellent chance of bringing back the gold but it will probably depend on Ramirez's outside shooting.................

 

[mkwstar23]

anxious to see if this team is more organized and better coached than the u17 were

 

[easttexastrash]

Will be interesting to see how Cox performs in a setting like this. She seems to be the type that works best in a team environment where she knows her teammates well and is comfortable taking over when necessary. She kind of reminds me of Stewart in her early years where she would wait until she realized that she needed to take over before she did so.

Boothe is also a Baylor target so I am interested in seeing her play and hoping that she and Cox have nice chemistry.

 

[SCGamecock]

Booth looks good. Walker looks REALLY good. I like Cooks too, a big that can bring the ball up the court naturally.

We obviously vastly outmatch this Guatemalan team.. the USA is just so much bigger and longer than this team, but it's interesting to see how these girls play in a game vs. a team that just can't really compete. Who has the killer instinct, who's ready in relief, who sets their teammates up for the plays.. stuff like that.

 

[UcMiami]

No real competition in this game, and the 'Americas' competitions generally have quite limited competition as a whole. USA looks pretty ragged, even though they are ahead 45-13. There doesn't seem to be recognition of what is a good shot within the offense and what is just an open shot. And pretty poor defensive rebounding - with the physical mismatch, USA should not be giving up so many offensive rebounds. USA is playing a two line type of game pretty evenly distributed between eleven players and Cox not having gotten on the court. Is she injured?

 

[easttexastrash]

Cox with no minutes at halftime. Wondering if she is hurt.

 

[easttexastrash]

Ramirez 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Too bad she will toil away at TCU for the next four years.

 

[UcMiami]

To a large degree this looks sort of like either 'all star' games or typical overmatched AAU games. Almost half of USA points have come on fast breaks off turnovers and I doubt USA has completed more than two passes in the half court offense before some one jacks a shot.

 

[easttexastrash]

Booth looks good. Walker looks REALLY good. I like Cooks too, a big that can bring the ball up the court naturally.

We obviously vastly outmatch this Guatemalan team.. the USA is just so much bigger and longer than this team, but it's interesting to see how these girls play in a game vs. a team that just can't really compete. Who has the killer instinct, who's ready in relief, who sets their teammates up for the plays.. stuff like that.

Very nice game so far by SC commit Harris with 9 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. She is pushing for a triple-double.

 

[easttexastrash]

To a large degree this looks sort of like either 'all star' games or typical overmatched AAU games. Almost half of USA points have come on fast breaks off turnovers and I doubt USA has completed more than two passes in the half court offense before some one jacks a shot.

Harris and Carter seem to be passing with 6 and 4 assists, respectively. Maybe they're all off steals at mid-court?

 

[UcMiami]

Harris and Carter seem to be passing with 6 and 4 assists, respectively. Maybe they're all off steals at mid-court?

Quite a few are, but also any pass to an open Ramirez within 26 feet of the basket for example results in a shot and a possible assist. They have both done some nice dish offs on drives and I am not saying everyone is just jacking their own shots, but most of the time USA in the half court is shooting very quickly.

I hope this is the sort of thing the coaching staff can work on prior to the next game.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I've mentioned Walker's shooting woes before. It's very odd but still an issue even in this game.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Agree with most of the comments. However, did see more team BB then we did in the U17 tournament. USA plays Brazil tomorrow. Based on the talent USA should easily win this game. We shall see.

Stats" FIBA Live Statistics

 

[SCGamecock]

Harris and Carter seem to be passing with 6 and 4 assists, respectively. Maybe they're all off steals at mid-court?

I really wanted to see what Harris could do.. and from I saw I think Dawn can do a lot with her. I like that she looks for the pass and the set up but can score and is confident doing it. She knows she's a point guard, she had 8 assists to lead the team.

Definitely more team ball in general from this team in comparison to the U17 team.. but I guess that comes from having more mature point guards (Harris and Carter). Still saw a lot of individual play.. but at least this team attempted to play team ball.

 

[CocoHusky]

I really wanted to see what Harris could do.. and from I saw I think Dawn can do a lot with her. I like that she looks for the pass and the set up but can score and is confident doing it. She knows she's a point guard, she had 8 assists to lead the team.

Definitely more team ball in general from this team in comparison to the U17 team.. but I guess that comes from having more mature point guards (Harris and Carter). Still saw a lot of individual play.. but at least this team attempted to play team ball.

You haven't even touched on what I think is Harris' best asset yet which is her ability to defend big time on the perimeter. Bianca now has legit competition for starting PG spot and a Gray/Harris backcourt could be really dynamic. Did Bianca get married recently? She is now Cuevas-Moore. Or did I just not notice the Moore part before?

 

[SCGamecock]

You haven't even touched on what I think is Harris' best asset yet which is her ability to defend big time on the perimeter. Bianca now has legit competition for starting PG spot and a Gray/Harris backcourt could be really dynamic. Did Bianca get married recently? She is now Cuevas-Moore. Or did I just not notice the Moore part before?

No marriage for Cuevas.. She's just reclaiming a part of her name that was dropped along the way.

Same player, different name: Bianca Cuevas changes

 

[CocoHusky]

anxious to see if this team is more organized and better coached than the u17 were

Agree with most of the comments. However, did see more team BB then we did in the U17 tournament. USA plays Brazil tomorrow. Based on the talent USA should easily win this game. We shall see. Stats" FIBA Live Statistics

Hard to draw many conclusions from just the Guatemala game but this team has significantly better guard play than U17 and the best of Guards CD was not even there. Rellah Boothe has bulked up significantly. A summer ago she was a wing type player. She has move right pass power forward into center territory and I am just wondering how that will impact her recruiting prospects.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I've mentioned Walker's shooting woes before. It's very odd but still an issue even in this game.

I could mention Lou, Kaleena, Maya, Diana, and Sue as UConn products who can shoot, but Kia and Gabby may be better examples. I don't recall the exact numbers--and I'm too busy or lazy to look them up--but Kia's FT shooting was roughly 50% the first half of her freshman year and 75% the second half. Gabby went from about 45% as a frosh to 75% as a soph. And she added a reliable 15' jumper. If Megan comes to UConn, she'll be Steph Curry by the time she graduates.

 

[CocoHusky]

I could mention Lou, Kaleena, Maya, Diana, and Sue as UConn products who can shoot, but Kia and Gabby may be better examples. I don't recall the exact numbers--and I'm too busy or lazy to look them up--but Kia's FT shooting was roughly 50% the first half of her freshman year and 75% the second half. Gabby went from about 45% as a frosh to 75% as a soph. And she added a reliable 15' jumper. If Megan comes to UConn, she'll be Steph Curry by the time she graduates.

Those are FT percentages. Megan Walker's overall HS FG career shooting percentage which has been reported to be 40% ish. Not sure if this was ever verified but if true, it is a cause for concern and bears watching. In this game Megan shot 3/12 second worst on the team-cause for more concern.

 

[Kibitzer]

Megan Walker's overall HS FG career shooting percentage which has been reported to be 40% ish. Not sure if this was ever verified but if true, it is a cause for concern and bears watching. In this game Megan shot 3/12 second worst on the team-cause for more concern.

No way she gets PT at UConn if she can't shoot the basketball. Let's watch and wait.

 

[donalddoowop]

Is it rare when a player is rated as high as Walker is to have such a low FG shooting percentage? I don't remember a number one with such a low shooting%.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Those are FT percentages. Megan Walker's overall HS FG career shooting percentage which has been reported to be 40% ish. Not sure if this was ever verified but if true, it is a cause for concern and bears watching. In this game Megan shot 3/12 second worst on the team-cause for more concern.

Megan Walker's High School Girls Basketball Stats

 

[CocoHusky]

I like Cooks too, a big that can bring the ball up the court naturally.

I really really beginning to warm up to Cooks also. Great length, 3Pt range, functional handles, good post moves, good post defender. Very smooth in everything she does. SC is not on her list of schools but someone needs to peep Dawn about her. I'm not sure where ND stands with her but there is a Youtube video of Muffet watching her play in an open gym as an 8th grader. This is her list of schools from ESPN-literally coast to coast which might be an indication that she open. She may also be the only top 15 recruit in the class NOT holding a Louisville offer!
UCLA Bruins, Florida Gators, Maryland Terrapins, Michigan State Spartans, Michigan Wolverines, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Syracuse Orange, Penn State Nittany Lions, Pittsburgh