U19 World Cup USA vs Spain Friday 2:30 PM

[Charliebball]

A quick stat. Azzi only took 1 x 3 pt shot today. Of course she made it. She is now shooting 67% from the arc on 12/18 shooting, leading all players in the tournament. She is actually getting better as the tournament goes on. Over the last 3 games, Azzi is 9/12 from the arc, shooting 75%.

I promise that I will try to stay calm until November…….

unfortunately some folks are making decisions about players based on an all star team format.........Azzi Fudd could score twenty points a game any time she wanted in these games if she forced shots but that is not the way she was trained to play and that is not her role on this team which is full of me first shooters........I suspect those who are underwhelmed by Ms Fudd will be playing a different tune once the season begins.....

 

[oldude]

unfortunately some folks are making decisions about players based on an all star team format.........Azzi Fudd could score twenty points a game any time she wanted in these games if she forced shots but that is not the way she was trained to play and that is not her role on this team which is full of me first shooters........I suspect those who are underwhelmed by Ms Fudd will be playing a different tune once the season begins.....

I could also point out that I have lost count of the number of times during this tournament that Azzi’s teammates missed her standing all alone at the arc, locked and loaded. The good news is that Paige and her teammates at UConn will be firing passes her way until the dairy cows come home at Storrs.

 

[Wbbfan1]

FIBA Girls Rankings;

1 USA
2 Spain
3 France
4 Canada
5 Italy
6 Russia
7 Australia
8 Hungary
9 Czech Repub
10 China
11 Japan

Only USA, Hungary, and Australia have a chance to Medal. Mali is Ranked #16

 

[choochoo]

I could also point out that I have lost count of the number of times during this tournament that Azzi’s teammates missed her standing all alone at the arc, locked and loaded. The good news is that Paige and her teammates at UConn will be firing passes her way until the dairy cows come home at Storrs.

Johnson and Clark and Paopao never look left ,Azzi was wide open most of the game while all the ball hogs drove into traffic or passed it to the right. Azzi was so wide open on some plays it was ridiculous that she did not get a pass from the top of the key. Close needs to tell this team to make the extra pass and look to the left wing where arguably the best shooter on the team is standing wide open on most plays!

 

[Alydar]

I could also point out that I have lost count of the number of times during this tournament that Azzi’s teammates missed her standing all alone at the arc, locked and loaded. The good news is that Paige and her teammates at UConn will be firing passes her way until the dairy cows come home at Storrs.

Maybe UConn opponents will come to the same conclusion as some here have, that Fudd is less than advertised and will leave her alone on the perimeter. I hope so but I suspect that it won't last longer than 1 period.

So far I'd say that the US is playing little team basketball and Fudd has been playing on the weak side while the ball has stayed strongside. The last thing I worry about is her scoring. She is displaying the quickness that she had pre-injury. About 7 weeks till First Night.

 

[Bald Husky]

Lets face it, they won't pass the ball to Azzi. Azzi is playing the kind of game that we actually want her to play with UConn. I'm not talking about disappearing, I'm talking about good ball handling, good defense, and most of all, getting open for her shot. As someone already mentioned, Paige will get her the ball. I'm done getting upset over the way these players show how selfish they are, not really playing team ball, something that Azzi is showing us now. I've seen enough of her to feel very comfortable, and really excited for what she will bring to OUR team, the hell with the U19 team. We have her, and nobody else does. I am impressed with PaoPao though, looking forward to seeing her matchup with Paige later this year.

 

[eebmg]

FIBA Girls Rankings;

1 USA
2 Spain
3 France
4 Canada
5 Italy
6 Russia
7 Australia
8 Hungary
9 Czech Repub
10 China
11 Japan

Only USA, Hungary, and Australia have a chance to Medal. Mali is Ranked #16

Please explain how Mali cant get a medal if they make it to the finals?

 

[Mdoggie]

Well, if it ain’t Chennedy Carter type of playing, some people don’t appreciate the little things done right. Azzi will get you a quite 18-25 on some nights.

 

[cancontent]

Please explain how Mali cant get a medal if they make it to the finals?

I think the point is that out of that list, those three teams have a chance to medal. Mali isn't even on the list and they're in the hunt.

 

[MilfordHusky]

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.

Most folks think Feagin is good, but Johnson and Rivers are better.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Please explain how Mali cant get a medal if they make it to the finals?

I was talking about Teams in FIBA Girls that are ranked in the Top 10. Mali is Ranked 16th. I surprised that France and/or Spain are not in competition for a Medal.

 

[jdote33]

I'm cool with either starting but if anything watching Azzi play makes me less worried about her starting. She really plays fundamental basketball and tries not to do too much. At UConn she would be potentially playing alongside two senior guards and the reigning national player of the year. And she would probably handle the ball less than she's doing now, but be a tremendous floor spacer so I could see why it would make sense to start her. I guess I thought she would be like a Cappie or Zia Cooke, give me the ball and watch what I do with it type of player (respectfully), but she seems to really get hers within the flow of the offense. But it's exciting to see that she has space to grow. Like in each game, she's taken a pull up, or got to the whole off the dribble, so it's there. Geno just gets to spend the next 4 years (hopefully) pulling it out of her.

 

[Dillon77]

I could also point out that I have lost count of the number of times during this tournament that Azzi’s teammates missed her standing all alone at the arc, locked and loaded. The good news is that Paige and her teammates at UConn will be firing passes her way until the dairy cows come home at Storrs.

Johnson and Clark and Paopao never look left ,Azzi was wide open most of the game while all the ball hogs drove into traffic or passed it to the right. Azzi was so wide open on some plays it was ridiculous that she did not get a pass from the top of the key. Close needs to tell this team to make the extra pass and look to the left wing where arguably the best shooter on the team is standing wide open on most plays!

It wasn't just Azzi standing alone in the wilderness. After setting numerous high screens for said point guards, Citron would cut down the lane and head to an open area. Weakside passes? Nah.

However, both Citron and Azzi fired superb skip passes to people for open jumpers (Me thinks Verhulst was the benefiary of both passes).

 

[Charliebball]

Most folks think Feagin is good, but Johnson and Rivers are better.

Feagin appears very athletic but her offensive ball skills seem a bit limited at the moment.........

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

It doesn't matter what others are saying about Azzi. Coach Close clearly likes how she is playing and what she is doing, so she keeps Azzi on the floor a lot - have that rotation worked out.

FWIW, Azzi kept looking for and finding Citron. Can't wait to see UConn play ND this year.

 

[jonson]

It wasn't just Azzi standing alone in the wilderness. After setting numerous high screens for said point guards, Citron would cut down the lane and head to an open area. Weakside passes? Nah.

However, both Citron and Azzi fired superb skip passes to people for open jumpers (Me thinks Verhulst was the benefiary of both passes).

Well, PaoPao did have 7 assists and 0 turnovers, so someone must have been getting some good looks.

 

[Orangutan]

I didn't realize that Sonia Citron is actually younger than Lauren Betts until I was browsing the FIBA website today. Betts was born 7 days earlier on 10/15/03 compared with Citron on 10/22/03.

Per FIBA's stats - Citron is 1st on the team in "player efficiency" and plus/minus and is 2nd in points and rebounds.

Betts is second in player efficiency, 1st in rebounds, and 3rd in points.

For reference, Caitlin Clark is exactly 1 year and 9 months older than Citron.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I didn't realize that Sonia Citron is actually younger than Lauren Betts until I was browsing the FIBA website today. Betts was born 7 days earlier on 10/15/03 compared with Citron on 10/22/03.

Per FIBA's stats - Citron is 1st on the team in "player efficiency" and plus/minus and is 2nd in points and rebounds.

Betts is second in player efficiency, 1st in rebounds, and 3rd in points.

For reference, Caitlin Clark is exactly 1 year and 9 months older than Citron.

citron's performance compared to my expectation is easily the most impressive of the tournament.

I would have guessed there was an argument she'd been the most productive player on the team and there you go.

I'm not sure how that will translate to the circumstances at Notre Dame but can't see how it will hurt.

 

[Orangutan]

The two players that really stand out for the USA are Clark and Betts. They pop off the screen as the players with the highest potential.

Betts for the obvious reason of being 6'7 but also for being shockingly nimble for that height and having soft hands.

Clark can do it all - she can drive, she has a great 3-point shot with unlimited range, she has the ability to make spectacular assists.

The problem is that she tries to do it all at all times. In this game, she played the first half like her ponytail was on fire. She managed to both play very badly and end up leading scorer at halftime, which is impressive in it's own way. There's no need to take stepback 3s with 20 seconds on the clock and to barrel towards the rim and try to score over two defenders when playing for team USA.

If she ever figures out how to gain consistent command over her skills and calmly deploy them, she'll be unbelievable.

 

[Orangutan]

unfortunately some folks are making decisions about players based on an all star team format.........Azzi Fudd could score twenty points a game any time she wanted in these games if she forced shots but that is not the way she was trained to play and that is not her role on this team which is full of me first shooters........I suspect those who are underwhelmed by Ms Fudd will be playing a different tune once the season begins.....

Here's the distribution of FGAs for USA in this tournament:

Clark - 61
Johnson -52
Verhulst - 41
Betts - 35
Paopao - 34
Citron - 34
Fudd - 31
Feagin - 28
Ware - 23
Wolfenbarger - 11
DeBerry - 9
Spear - 7

Just a couple of names sticking way out above the crowd.

And Johnson is shooting 50% from the field, so I'm not inclined to criticize her too much. Clark on the other hand is shooting 39.3%...

Fudd is 2nd in minutes while being 7th in FGA. She's just not taking enough shots to put up numbers and part of that is simply not forcing shots. Another part of that is only having 2 offensive rebounds for the tournament so she's not getting putback opportunities either.

 

[bloor]

Semi-Finals tomorrow Sat. Aug. 14:

USA vs. Hungary 11:30am ET
Australia vs. Mali 2:30pm ET

Someone will post a link to the games later today

It appears FIBA is charging $2.50 (total) to watch the two semi-finals and the finals games live.
I assume the games will be available to watch for free on YouTube after the games are over.
Sign up here:

Basketball Streaming Plans – Courtside 1891

Stream basketball and watch live coverage of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and more. Subscribe to Courtside 1891 and watch basketball today!

www.livebasketball.tv

 

[cancontent]

It appears FIBA is charging $2.50 (total) to watch the two semi-finals and the finals games live.
I assume the games will be available to watch for free on YouTube after the games are over.
Sign up here:

Basketball Streaming Plans – Courtside 1891

Stream basketball and watch live coverage of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and more. Subscribe to Courtside 1891 and watch basketball today!

www.livebasketball.tv

UGH - I find this broadcast format frustrating.

Ironically, I had been planning on canceling this service. Thanks for posting this.