U19 World Cup USA vs Spain Friday 2:30 PM | Page 2 | The Boneyard

U19 World Cup USA vs Spain Friday 2:30 PM

Mali shoots 17% from 3 and wins. Very springy and quick group defensively. Good at driving to the basket.
 
ochoopsfan said:
Mali was up 45-43 after 3, so they killed Russia in the 4th.

Interesting play by Mali player (#2). Russia shooting FT's with 17 seconds left in 3rd qtr. Instead of boxing out the Russian player after the FT, she(#2) blocked her down with a football offensive linemen block. She gets called for a foul, and goes to the bench.
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It was actually kind of funny. Not sure what the player from Mali was thinking - instead of turning her back to the Russian player and boxing her out, she faced her, crossed her arms, and did just what you said. The Mali player didn't exactly have a full head of steam, so even tho she knocked the Russian player over, it didn't look as horrible as if it had happened on the football field LOL...
 
EricLA said:
It was actually kind of funny. Not sure what the player from Mali was thinking - instead of turning her back to the Russian player and boxing her out, she faced her, crossed her arms, and did just what you said. The Mali player didn't exactly have a full head of steam, so even tho she knocked the Russian player over, it didn't look as horrible as if it had happened on the football field LOL...
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so you're saying the foul wasn't malicious?
 
Mali making it to the finals would be heart-warming, feel-good story. But not a very exciting game--they would be crushed by USA.

At the start of the tournament I was hoping for a USA vs. Australia rematch in the finals. The 2019 finals game was an absolute classic (you can find it on YouTube), Paige and the USA were very lucky to squeak out a win. Look at all the D-1 talent on the Aussie team that year:
www.fiba.basketball

Australia at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2019 - FIBA.basketball

The official website of FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and the governing body of Basketball. FIBA organises the most famous and prestigious international basketball competitions including the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the FIBA World Championship for Women and the FIBA 3x3 World...
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
This year's Australia roster is nowhere close to that level of talent. But they were embarrassed in the first game against us--I think they would play a much more competitive game in the finals (famous last words :))
 
Woa, everyone including Azzi starting to get very careless with the ball. Also, Spain should never get an offensive rebound.
 
f1f1ferrari said:
Not undefeated - they forfeited their opening game against the Czech Republic, but I haven't been able to find out why.
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I'm guessing that the nonstop flight from Timbuktu to Budapest was delayed. ;)
 
bloor said:
Mali making it to the finals would be heart-warming, feel-good story. But not a very exciting game--they would be crushed by USA.

At the start of the tournament I was hoping for a USA vs. Australia rematch in the finals. The 2019 finals game was an absolute classic (you can find it on YouTube), Paige and the USA were very lucky to squeak out a win. Look at all the D-1 talent on the Aussie team that year:
www.fiba.basketball

Australia at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2019 - FIBA.basketball

The official website of FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and the governing body of Basketball. FIBA organises the most famous and prestigious international basketball competitions including the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the FIBA World Championship for Women and the FIBA 3x3 World...
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
This year's Australia roster is nowhere close to that level of talent. But they were embarrassed in the first game against us--I think they would play a much more competitive game in the finals (famous last words :))
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Australia has a depleted roster because of injury and one turning proband one switching sporting codes.
Canada also had a few outs, olympics and injury.
france and russia had atleast 2 major pieces missing to injuries also.

when you look at the number of 2004 born players on rosters, 2023 might be a bit more competitive.
 
I watched the 2nd quarter. I hate to say it, but Azzi was anything BUT impressive. She looked very tentative. Made two really bad passes that ended up as lay-ups for Spain. Never looked for her shot, and blew a fairly easy layup. I hope it's just a case of her biorhythms being off today... :) But she looked a long way from earning a spot on UConn's starting five, as some Boneyarders have already penciled her in for. Still, it's 3 months until the season starts, and I've only seen her play for one quarter -- so what do I know? :)
 
Most of the US players have prioritized what to do when the have the ball in the front court:

A) shoot
B) dribble to a different spot and then shoot

Can't fault them since that's been their role on just about every team they have been on.
 
CTtoSanDiego said:
I watched the 2nd quarter. I hate to say it, but Azzi was anything BUT impressive. She looked very tentative. Made two really bad passes that ended up as lay-ups for Spain. Never looked for her shot, and blew a fairly easy layup. I hope it's just a case of her biorhythms being off today... :) But she looked a long way from earning a spot on UConn's starting five, as some Boneyarders have already penciled her in for. Still, it's 3 months until the season starts, and I've only seen her play for one quarter -- so what do I know? :)
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FWIW, I've watched all the games so far. I had an analysis of my opinion of Azzi and Amari so far as to what I've seen. My opinion has not changed.

What I would like to add are 2 things. First, I am of the opinion that Azzi will not start this season, and it won't even be a close decision. Nika gets the nod (and I get that about 40% of BY'ers disagree with me). But to add to your point, I agree this game is not Azzi's best. And keep in mind the competition - (Spain in this case). They are good BTW and play hard but...

These Spanish players are all young kids who would be freshmen (or sophomores) at best in the USA, and none of the players are good enough to be on a good college team, never mind being a starter. All IMHO but... I would suspect even the lesser Big East teams would beat this young U19 Spanish team. Point being, today is not Azzi's best day (she's played better), but if she's struggling against Spain, how does anyone really think she's ready for prime time against older, stronger, more experienced and better college players? Azzi is a very good ball handler and passer, a competent defender, and an amazing shooter. But she lacks and edge, not to mention any kind of physical toughness (from what I've seen over 4 games).

Second, Azzi is not a physical player, nor is she aggressive in looking for her shot. PaoPao and Johnson are also passing the ball, but pretty much every other player, once they get the ball, it's a black hole. Shoot, dribble to try to get open and shoot, shoot even if it's a bad shot, and as for the post, shoot even if you are smothered by defenders.

One other strength Azzi has is that she moves really well without the ball. The last play is a perfect example. Paopao drives into the teeth of the defense. the defense collapses on her, but she drives in anyway getting fouled. She completely missed Azzi moving to the corner as the defense left her alone, for what would have been a wide open 3. This will NOT happen at UCONN. The guards WILL find her on plays like that.
 
Just finished watching the US and Spain. Here is one person’s opinion


Spain played a good first half and was still down by 15.

Azzi didn’t have a great first half. Two sloppy turnovers and a close in miss.

Close’s plan to play zone in the first quarter didn’t last long.

Spain is a good passing team, often catching the US out of position.

Verhulst showed some signs of why she is a top rated 2021 recruit.

Diamond Johnson has point guard stature but she is scorer at heart.

Spain had no answer for Betts. Credit the US for feeding her the ball.

The Contell kid is a good shooter. Does she play somewhere in the US?

Feagins, unfortunately, has to be among tourney leaders in missed layups.

She is hardly shooting any but when she does, Azzi’s shot from 3 is fun to watch.

The US is just too deep and well coached for any of these teams. They played far from perfectly and still won big.
 
USA Wins 98-64. Easier Game then I thought it would be. I thought Spain would keep the margin around 20 points.
 
Here's what I love about Clark. US has a 35+ point lead with under 4 minutes to play and two kids who have sat the entire game come in for their token PT. A real teammate who has the ball a lot looks to get those kids involved and feel part of the team. Not Clark, she's still dribbling with her head down, firing 3s and looking for hers. Couldn't care less about those kids. She'd never be on my club, the stat lovers can have her.
 
A few more points.

- When Verhulst is in sync, she can pour in buckets. I like it when she's paired with Citron and defense is not optional. Then, she's more of a complete player. She and Van Lith will cause problems next year....dang.

- Citron, who Niele Ivey sees as a 3 or 2, is -- in effect -- playing the 4 here. While she's somewhat out of position, her basics are sound: she had 7 rebounds (one behind Betts' 8) and finished with 15 points, largely behind 7-7 FT shooting. What I liked most was her defensive play: excellent positioning, posturing and focus.

Makes me wonder why Maddy Westbeld -- a natural 4 -- wasn't available for this tourney. On the other hand, makes me very excited to see Citron team up with Westbeld.

- To paraphrase the recently retired Marv Albert, it was interesting seeing the extended "garbage time." Having Clark and Johnson in there is like telling sharks not to eat the chum: they can't help themselves!

- As @victor64 noted, too many weapons for the U.S. Fudd was relatively quiet tonight, but she might light it up against Hungary. Someone will.

- Close & her fellow coaches are doing a fine job.
 
A couple of additional points. If I was defending the USA and Johnson was on the court, I would open up the driving lanes and let her take layups w/o being contested. While I certainly haven't seen every minute of every game, I have seen her miss layup after layup after layup. Hard to understand.

On the other side of the coin, I haven't checked stats, but I know I have not seen Citron miss a FT. She is automatic .

If Feagins is SC's best recruit then we have nothing to worry about from them.

Verhulst will really help Louisville. Not as good as Citron, but close and still very good, Haley V. L. and Verhulst give LVL a really nice pair.
 
Bills Fan said:
A couple of additional points. If I was defending the USA and Johnson was on the court, I would open up the driving lanes and let her take layups w/o being contested. While I certainly haven't seen every minute of every game, I have seen her miss layup after layup after layup. Hard to understand.

On the other side of the coin, I haven't checked stats, but I know I have not seen Citron miss a FT. She is automatic .

If Feagins is SC's best recruit then we have nothing to worry about from them.

Verhulst will really help Louisville. Not as good as Citron, but close and still very good, Haley V. L. and Verhulst give LVL a really nice pair.
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Feagins is not SC's best recruit.
 
A quick stat. Azzi only took 1 x 3 pt shot today. Of course she made it. She is now shooting 61% from the arc on 11/18 shooting, leading all players in the tournament. After going 1/5 from the arc in her 1st game, Azzi has been red hot over the last 4 at 10/13 shooting 77%.

I promise that I will try to stay calm until November…….
 
Last edited:
Azzi had an off night, as others stated before. Some want her to be more aggressive, but I think part of the reason she plays so much is that she isn’t chucking up shot after shot (like most of them).
Citron and Betts, what else can I say that I haven’t already. They’re good. Betts had a phenomenal move off an offensive rebound where she spun to the other side of the basket to get a shot off. Citron is always moving and hunting for rebounds.
Clark needs to stop driving out of control to the lane and throwing a shot up in the hopes of getting a foul. It would have been nice for her to try to get the players with little time the ball during the end, but yeah that’s not her.
I’ve never seen someone miss so many open layups as I have Johnson. She’ll make the tough contested floater and then blow a bunny.
 
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