U19 World Cup - August 7-15

[Sluconn Husky]

Link for Sunday's afternoon Game 2:

 

[BobbyJ]

Surprisingly Yes. I really thought she would let the game come to her more in a 60+ pt blowout. But I guess she only plays at one speed. I think Cori was not to happy and yanked her pretty quickly each time she came in.

No surprise here. That’s what chuckers do. She found the perfect coach right in her backyard in Iowa to let her do whatever she wants. And in international play, the flops don’t work as well either.

 

[oldude]

No surprise here. That’s what chuckers do. She found the perfect coach right in her backyard in Iowa to let her do whatever she wants. And in international play, the flops don’t work as well either.

I wouldn’t go quite that far. Coach Bluder at Iowa is an outstanding coach who’s built an offense around her freshman star who not only scored 27 ppg, shooting well over 50%, but also contributed over 7 assists per game to the best shooting team in the nation.

The problem for Clark on the U19 team is that she’s playing with an all star team that hasn’t been together long enough to play off each other effectively.

 

[hoophuskee]

Disappointed with Azzis demeaner though, not aggressive at all. When she received a pass she took one look and got rid of it, not even looking to make a play. The others had no problem doing their own thing, so Azzi was hardly noticeable to anyone who didn't know her.

I don't agree with anything regarding this.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

The problem for Clark on the U19 team is that she’s playing with an all star team that hasn’t been together long enough to play off each other effectively.

While this may be true, I'm not sure how it accounts for her forcing numerous shots without looking for her teammates or attempting to set up offense. Noticed one really good decision and play on a pass to Betts, but otherwise I'm not a fan of her style of play, talented as she is.

 

[DocStressor]

Did Azzi get into the 2nd half at all? The little bit I saw showed a team-first player that will fit in at UConn very well.

She may still be nursing an injury.

 

[BobbyJ]

I wouldn’t go quite that far. Coach Bluder at Iowa is an outstanding coach who’s built an offense around her freshman star who not only scored 27 ppg, shooting well over 50%, but also contributed over 7 assists per game to the best shooting team in the nation.

The problem for Clark on the U19 team is that she’s playing with an all star team that hasn’t been together long enough to play off each other effectively.

Slight exaggeration here. Clark shot 47% from 2 and 40% from 3. And if you eliminate her stats from the team stats, the rest of the Iowa team still led the nation in shooting. They actually shot better from 2 at 53% compared to 51.5 with her. From 3 they were identical at 40%. I'm glad she's at Iowa and not UConn.

 

[eebmg]

Did Azzi get into the 2nd half at all? The little bit I saw showed a team-first player that will fit in at UConn very well.

She may still be nursing an injury.

Yes, she was a major player in the second half. Played about 22 minutes which is about the same as the starters. She looks fine physically and even if the offensive stats were limited, it is clear she knows how to play which is particularly evident with the way she defends.

 

[Amashutcha]

After watching the game I can see why Paige's 'recruitment video' worked on Azzi. I saw at least two plays when she got open on the wing but the ball doesn't get to her. Perhaps they're saving that for the game against the Aussies.

 

[eebmg]

After watching the game I can see why Paige's 'recruitment video' worked on Azzi. I saw at least two plays when she got open on the wing but the ball doesn't get to her. Perhaps they're saving that for the game against the Aussies.

I would not hold my breath about too many skip passes to the wings. I am sure most passes will be directed inward to Betts. Not to many players like Paige who appreciate the need to distribute evenly and feed the open players with the right passes.

As Paige said, no one knows Azzi's game like her.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Clark's "problem" is that she knows she can score from anywhere so she shoots from anywhere....

 

[Bald Husky]

No surprise here. That’s what chuckers do. She found the perfect coach right in her backyard in Iowa to let her do whatever she wants. And in international play, the flops don’t work as well either.

Actually I think she played a pretty benign game until the fourth quarter, then she went into her usual undisciplined play. As in the olympics, except for Bird there is nobody willing to play PG.

 

[oldude]

Slight exaggeration here. Clark shot 47% from 2 and 40% from 3. And if you eliminate her stats from the team stats, the rest of the Iowa team still led the nation in shooting. They actually shot better from 2 at 53% compared to 51.5 with her. From 3 they were identical at 40%. I'm glad she's at Iowa and not UConn.

I would argue that Iowa had some very solid players who were all given a lot more room to shoot because opponents were focused on containing Clark. I would also belabor the point that Clark dished out 193 assists to her teammates. The idea that Iowa would have been a better shooting team without Clark is a heck of a stretch.

 

[Bigboote]

No surprise here. That’s what chuckers do. She found the perfect coach right in her backyard in Iowa to let her do whatever she wants. And in international play, the flops don’t work as well either.

To me she looked much more under control at the end of the Iowa season than she did at the beginning. I expected that on the National team: a) she'd realize that most of the players are better than her Iowa teammates; and b) that the coaching staff would drill that into the heads of all the players. Clark was not alone in forcing things when there were other options available.

 

[Charliebball]

As far as I can see, Azzi is really on top of the defensive calls and guiding others. Her one drive into the mid range was sweet. She is a perfect UConn player I give her my seal of approval.

On the other hand, I was really surprised Caitlin seems to force so much.

DeBerry did not look good on defense to me. I do not see quick lateral movement. She got taken by one of their players in the post way to easy.

But there is some real talent. PaoPao has improved alot , Citron looks like a stud. ND is going to be much improved, Johnson and Ware are tough as advertised and Betts is frighteningly good.

Somebody noted after the last game that Clark was reticent to shoot......I think i commented that surely Clark would be back to her hypershooting ways soon enough.............case closed........

 

[Charliebball]

Fudd played well. She can do everything within reason.
She can't get the ball enough however when also playing with Johnson and Clark.
The only way she can make a big impact when playing with both of those players is for every time she touches the ball - just go one-on-one. But that's not what she wants to do - she wants to move and knock down shots or have other team over commit and take a few quick dribbles.
She also likes to pass and does it well.

DeBerry is young.

agreed...............Fudd seems to be playing under control at all times with very little wasted movement............in some ways she's a real throwback kind of player.......

 

[MilfordHusky]

Actually I think she played a pretty benign game until the fourth quarter, then she went into her usual undisciplined play. As in the olympics, except for Bird there is nobody willing to play PG.

Sue for Six! Paris 2024!

 

[hoophuskee]

Slight exaggeration here. Clark shot 47% from 2 and 40% from 3. And if you eliminate her stats from the team stats, the rest of the Iowa team still led the nation in shooting. They actually shot better from 2 at 53% compared to 51.5 with her. From 3 they were identical at 40%. I'm glad she's at Iowa and not UConn.

Yeah but other teams are more focused to stopping her. So she gets the better defender. She gets the team focus.

Tamika Williams shot better than DT. That doesn't make DT a ball hog.

 

[Heytherego]

Just watched the game. The player that impressed me the most was Citron, she was always active on defense, made (most) of the easy shots and got the other team in foul trouble. She’ll be a nice addition to ND. Betts was impressive too, a kid who makes the bunnies, doesn’t force much/makes nice passes out of the post and does what a 6’7 player needs to do on defense.
Azzi was quiet, but played a lot which is telling. She always plays so smart and never is out of control. She had one nice jump stop, shot. Her teammates missed her a few times on the wing. Deberry clearly has a lot of work to do, she looked the weakest. But hey she made the team, so she’s clearly got potential and doing something right, may take a year or two to really develop though.
Clark seems to struggle on a team where she isn’t dominating ball possession. She looked a bit out of control and tried forcing things in the lane too much. She did not look like the same player from Iowa, maybe just a bad night though.