U18 USA team set

[Fightin Choke]

LINK

Aijha Blackwell
Jenna Brown
Queen Egbo
Nazarah Hillmon-Baker
Rhyne Howard
Olivia Nelson-Ododa
Jordan Nixon
Anaya Peoples
Sedona Prince
Abby Prohaska
NaLyssa Smith
Christyn Williams

Surprising omissions include:
Shakira Austin (Maryland)
Breanna Beal
Kennedy Brown
Maori Davenport
Aquira DeCosta (Baylor)
Kaitlyn Gilbert (ND)
Zarielle Green (Tennessee)
Jazmine Massengill (Tennessee)
Sammie Puisis (FSU)
Honesty Scott-Grayson (Baylor)

 

[MilfordHusky]

Interesting! Thanks.

I’m not surprised that Liv and the Legend made it.

 

[Kaizen]

No Charli Collier too?

 

[Orangutan]

No Charli Collier too?

U18 team is for players born on or after 1/1/2000. Charli Collier's date of birth is 9/22/1999.

 

[MilfordHusky]

U18 team is for players born on or after 1/1/2000. Charli Collier's date of birth is 9/22/1999.

Thanks! I thought that might be the case.

 

[Charliebball]

hmmmm..........maybe a bit light on outside shooting other then CW and not a whole lot of bulk other then Egbo...........going to be interesting.......

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Blackwell making that team is very impressive. Still a player I wouldn't mind UConn kicking the tires on.

 

[SCspur]

Blackwell making that team is very impressive. Still a player I wouldn't mind UConn kicking the tires on.

Heard she’s heavy on Missouri and Louisville but she’s a very good player.

 

[JordyG]

I think Muffet is feeling very good right now.

 

[Charliebball]

Heard she’s heavy on Missouri and Louisville but she’s a very good player.

Raoul‏ @Raoul_000
Aijha Blackwell is the only uncommited player on the roster. At last word, Kansas, Louisville, Missouri, and Ohio State were among the numerous schools recruiting her, with Louisville perhaps at the top of her list.

 

[Dillon77]

Raoul‏ @Raoul_000
Aijha Blackwell is the only uncommited player on the roster. At last word, Kansas, Louisville, Missouri, and Ohio State were among the numerous schools recruiting her, with Louisville perhaps at the top of her list.

Interesting that Coach "He Who Must Not Be Named" (that would be Walz) is this particular national team's head coach

 

[Dillon77]

I think Muffet is feeling very good right now.

As should Geno, with Ms. Williams and Ms. Nelson-Ododa. As Charlie pointed out, looks like Christyn will be the main outside threat.
And Baylor also has two of its incoming freshmen, with forwards Queen Egbo and NaLyssa Smith.

According to Jen Rizzotti, the chair of the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee,
“We put together a very versatile, strong and mature team,” Rizzotti added. “There was a lot of depth at every position for this team and lot of players that can play multiple positions. We know the way that Jeff (Walz) wants to play, and so we tried to give him a lot of versatility.”

Re: the future Irish selections:
- Looking forward to seeing Anaya Peoples on an international stage. I think she fits the versatility Jen R. brought up.
- The point guards Jordan Nixon and Jenna Brown (Stanford, but had committed to ND) will be joined at the hip for the forseeable future. Both were chosen over Scott-Grayson.
- This is Abby Prohaska's second national team (also in 2016). She may not be rated highly by most services, but these coaching committees -- and MM -- see attributes that they think will benefit teams.

Congrats to one and all...go U.S.A.!

 

[SVCBeercats]

Maybe this will help relative to surprises and non-surprises.

 

[CocoHusky]

Maybe this will help relative to surprises and non-surprises.
View attachment 31691

Hillmon-Baker is committed to Michigan.

 

[CocoHusky]

Blackwell making that team is very impressive. Still a player I wouldn't mind UConn kicking the tires on.

Agreed! Also think UCONN should kick the tires on Rickea Jackson since both Amihere and Boston have scheduled visits to ND.

 

[skilz]

Aquira DeCosta missed a part of the tryouts due to her High School graduation. I'm assuming this hurt her chances.

 

[Charliebball]

Interesting that Coach "He Who Must Not Be Named" (that would be Walz) is this particular national team's head coach

sure would be difficult to cut a player that is contemplating going to your school...........that's why I don't like currently active coaches participating at the high school level........I'm sure there are plenty of ex coaches with international experience who could do this job.....

 

[Charliebball]

As should Geno, with Ms. Williams and Ms. Nelson-Ododa. As Charlie pointed out, looks like Christyn will be the main outside threat.
And Baylor also has two of its incoming freshmen, with forwards Queen Egbo and NaLyssa Smith.

According to Jen Rizzotti, the chair of the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee,
“We put together a very versatile, strong and mature team,” Rizzotti added. “There was a lot of depth at every position for this team and lot of players that can play multiple positions. We know the way that Jeff (Walz) wants to play, and so we tried to give him a lot of versatility.”

Re: the future Irish selections:
- Looking forward to seeing Anaya Peoples on an international stage. I think she fits the versatility Jen R. brought up.
- The point guards Jordan Nixon and Jenna Brown (Stanford, but had committed to ND) will be joined at the hip for the forseeable future. Both were chosen over Scott-Grayson.
- This is Abby Prohaska's second national team (also in 2016). She may not be rated highly by most services, but these coaching committees -- and MM -- see attributes that they think will benefit teams.

Congrats to one and all...go U.S.A.!

not sure if they picked the strongest team...........they left off some incredible athletes that can get their own shots if need be..........they lack some muscle at the post after Egbo who can get into foul trouble and other then CW who is a consistent outside threat? There are a few players that I don't know much about other then what I have read so hopefully they will pick up some of the slack against some very tough competition.........

 

[CocoHusky]

Interesting that Coach "He Who Must Not Be Named" (that would be Walz) is this particular national team's head coach

sure would be difficult to cut a player that is contemplating going to your school......that's why I don't like currently active coaches participating at the high school level...I'm sure there are plenty of ex coaches with international experience who could do this job.....

Not fair. Jeff has been involved with this USA basketball since 2014. Jeff promotion to head coach was a "natural" progression. Jeff has only had one Louisville players (Mariya Moore ) play on the USA teams he was coaching. By contrast , ND has had Marina Mabrey, Jessica Shepard, Brianna Turner, Jordan Nixon, Anaya Peoples, & Abby Prohaska commit to or play for ND from this age group without any involvement in the USA basketball coaching. All things being equal ( & I think they are) I would rather have the coaches that actually want to be coaching USA basketball-clearly Jeff wants to be doing this.

 

[Dillon77]

Not fair. Jeff has been involved with this USA basketball since 2014. Jeff promotion to head coach was a "natural" progression. Jeff has only had one Louisville players (Mariya Moore ) play on the USA teams he was coaching. By contrast , ND has had Marina Mabrey, Jessica Shepard, Brianna Turner, Jordan Nixon, Anaya Peoples, & Abby Prohaska commit to or play for ND from this age group without any involvement in the USA basketball coaching. All things being equal ( & I think they are) I would rather have the coaches that actually want to be coaching USA basketball-clearly Jeff wants to be doing this.

Time out.
My comment has more to do with possible output of the overall experience than input. We know there is a selection committee that makes the recommendations for the team and that's how these prospects, commits and current students are selected for the team, whether from Louisville, UConn or ND (BTW, how the heck did Hines-Allen ever not make a team?)

What I was making a slight dig at is how it's interesting that the head of coach of the u18 team to also be HC of one of the member's finalists.

Is that a fair situation or comment given how much time he has put into the process? You think so on the situation, but not so on the comment. Charlie thinks otherwise and I'm on the fence.

 

[UConnCat]

The U18 team will be playing in the 2018 FIBA Americas tournament which will establish the qualifiers for next year's U19 world cup.

Interesting that the site of the August 1-7 event has yet to be determined. For those concerned about the strength of this year's team, the toughest competition will be Canada. The rest of the FIBA Americas teams are not tough.

 

[Reypl21]

The U18 team will be playing in the 2018 FIBA Americas tournament which will establish the qualifiers for next year's U19 world cup.

Interesting that the site of the August 1-7 event has yet to be determined. For those concerned about the strength of this year's team, the toughest competition will be Canada. The rest of the FIBA Americas teams are not tough.

If we go back in time to 2015, the U16 team took a bronze medal in their torunament. Their team consisted of 2018 and 2017 (Walker, Westbrook, Carter, Cooks were too old to try out) kids. The u16 tournament fields the same teams the u18 does.
This team consists of 10 2018s and 2 2019s, so let's not overlook the competition just yet. This year will be the year to see if the 2018 class can produce a good medal. The U19 team will have a large pool of talent to choose from the 2018, 2019, and 2020 class. The 2019 and 2020 are more deep and higher quality classes than 2018 IMO.

 

[CocoHusky]

Time out.
My comment has more to do with possible output of the overall experience than input. We know there is a coaching committee that makes the recommendations for the team and that's how these prospects, commits and current students are selected for the team, whether from Louisville, UConn or ND (BTW, how the heck did Hines-Allen not make a team?)
What I was making a slight dig at is how it's interesting that the head of coach of the u18 team to also be HC of one of the member's finalists.
Is that a fair situation or comment given how much time he has put into the process? You think so on the situation, but not so on the comment. Charlie thinks otherwise and I'm on the fence.

Q: How the heck did Hines-Allen not make a team?
A: I'm not sure how or if Hines-Allen made a USA basketball team but I was thinking of teams coached by Jeff prior to the player committing to Louisville. Durr for example made the U23 team last year where Jeff was the HC but she was in college by then.
Q: Is that a fair situation or comment given how much time he has put into the process?
A: I think it can be fair. Like all subjective selection processes fairness is dependent on the people involved. The USA basketball selection committee and perhaps the HC will inevitably come across the potential of having to cut a player who is considering going to the school for which the committee member or the head coach is affiliated. Louisville was also high on Kennedy Brown's list. The U17 selection committee and Carla Berube for example will have to make some very tough choices from among several prospects that are considering UCONN. Fairness would dictate that you not take that (the potential of attending any specific school) in to consideration in making the decision. For the record, Carla Berube is most closely affiliated with Tufts University.

 

[UConnCat]

If we go back in time to 2015, the U16 team took a bronze medal in their torunament. Their team consisted of 2018 and 2017 (Walker, Westbrook, Carter, Cooks were too old to try out) kids. The u16 tournament fields the same teams the u18 does.
This team consists of 10 2018s and 2 2019s, so let's not overlook the competition just yet. This year will be the year to see if the 2018 class can produce a good medal. The U19 team will have a large pool of talent to choose from the 2018, 2019, and 2020 class. The 2019 and 2020 are more deep and higher quality classes than 2018 IMO.

The last time a USA Basketball U-18 team lost a FIBA Americas game was 1996. Two years ago the toughest competition was Team Canada and Team USA won that game by 47 points. In 2014 Team Canada came within 30 points with the other countries losing to the US by 40-50 points.

 

[Charliebball]

Not fair. Jeff has been involved with this USA basketball since 2014. Jeff promotion to head coach was a "natural" progression. Jeff has only had one Louisville players (Mariya Moore ) play on the USA teams he was coaching. By contrast , ND has had Marina Mabrey, Jessica Shepard, Brianna Turner, Jordan Nixon, Anaya Peoples, & Abby Prohaska commit to or play for ND from this age group without any involvement in the USA basketball coaching. All things being equal ( & I think they are) I would rather have the coaches that actually want to be coaching USA basketball-clearly Jeff wants to be doing this.

Nothing at all against Walz in particular...........my admiration for him has been previously noted.............it's simply a matter of perception............while the committee makes the player decisions, I have to believe the head coach has some input (and they should) .........and in this instance you have a potential recruit working with her possible future coach before making a final college decision............even if the coach is a straight arrow this appears to be an unfair advantage..... ...........I remember there were even comments like this when Geno took over as Olympic team coach and that's a far different situation where the players have either graduated or have become committed players in a college program............all things being equal I'd just prefer to see retired coaches or perhaps active DII or DIII coaches handle age groups where players are still in the process of choosing a school so there can be no inkling of recruiting advantage........I would assume there are plenty of qualified coaches with international experience out there that would love the opportunity..........