YouTube Link for U19 World Championship Games.

[BigBird]

Overall quality of play in the game was only somewhat better than the stylings of the dude doing the PA. Yikes.

 

[Golden Husky]

Are these those tiny rattlers of the West or those great big Timber rattlers or Diamond backs from Ct.
Or the Canebreak Rattlers from Arkansas --stepping on one is like stepping on a log--kint walk in the brush without those fibre glass leg protectors in Ark or you git bit by Rattlers, Cottonmouth, coral, and those tiny orangie thingies in Arkansas. Right Magy??
In Virginia--we give those tiny western rattler their own drinking cup and invite those critters to lunch--they do make a good lunch.
If the team was helter skelter--blame the pg.

Snakes are no laughing matter to a man with eight dogs.

 

[Bajan Best]

They are players and then they are great players.
I'm a little concerned for both Megan and Crystal to be honest...
Great players shine when the lights are brightest, they don't need to be on a team where every thing is familiar and comfortable to show why they are considered the #1 player of their class. So please stop with the excuse of being on a put together team.

 

[eebmg]

It is true that MW is #1 but she is not like most of the other #1 players coming to UConn. Unlike Stewie, DT or Maya, she does not have the unique game that sets her above all her peer's. Even KLS, KLM had a skill that really set them apart from the field. I thought the Mali game was one of her better ones that I saw her play.

We need to view her as a player with good overall skills that needs to be developed over time and forget the #1 stuff. She is not Maya but it will be fun to see how she develops.

The only thing I worry about is how seriously she takes the #1 stuff. I seem to recall quotes that she is really proud of it which scares me a little. Confidence is good but taking yourself too seriously can be a big issue.

 

[DefenseBB]

Game 2 USA vs. China at 12 noon. Here is the FIBA main page for this event. Japan and Canada both won today(Hungary and France were the losers respectively). FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2017
Not sure if there must be a new link for this game or not- Anyone?

 

[DefenseBB]

Think Walker will eventually be a scorer for a number of reasons but it's not unfair to have some doubts. She has a long record of poor shooting numbers despite her talent. Her shot selection and lift on outside shots need work. It may take a year or so but I believe she'll be fine.

Well, the doubts could be said about anyone though. I have not seen her play other than the McDonald's AA game, however I have relentlessly reviewed all USA stats and she always has played the most minutes on the USA teams and in this case she is one of the younger players vs. college WCBB rising sophomores. The UConn players seem to adjust pretty well over the Fresh-Soph yr/ Soph to Junior yr/Jr to Sen yr, so if she is mentally committed, past evidence of any number of UConn players will dictate she will be highly successful. Again this not to knock your observation however I just dislike the "gut feel" perspectives within some basis for them. The #2 HS girl is Evina Westbrook now at Tenn so, for me, it will be curious to see that development comparison (AND I am not trying to start a bash UT development or HW thread). Similarly, this year, I will be watching Lauren Cox vs. Crystal Dangerfield development. Last point on #1 is I would say KLM while an outstanding 3 pt shooter has disappointed in more development of her game and while a very, very good College player, she's not been a stellar pro. Virtually all the other UConn #1 HS players have truly excelled.

 

[donalddoowop]

We must have watched two different games then. Then game I watched I saw a kid easily drop 15pts in 14 minutes of play while shooting 50% from the field. Walker has the complete game and there is no doubt in my mind that when it is all said and done she will have her number hanging on the wall in Gampel. You don't end up being the consensus #1 recruit in the country because there a lot of holes in your game,

Where in my post did I say she had a lot of holes in her game? Also, I was not commenting on one game. Her game is NOT complete. Dangerfield and Cox were the top two ranked players in their class and were thought by many to have an outstanding freshman year. Other freshmen had more success their freshmen year . I believe Walker will be an outstanding player by her sophomore year. By then her game should be at least close to complete and I believe by the time she graduates she will be an AA and her name will be on Uconn's wall..

 

[donalddoowop]

If I may ask, how or what is prompting this view-i.e. What are you basing it on? This tournament? McDonald's AA games, Jordan Brand game? Or something else? You know we what evidence or facts here, not conjecture, especially of the negative type. Let us know.

See Sluconn's post concerning this. Don't tell me about conjecture. You will find it throughout Boneyard's threads. You're not "confident this staff is keen on emphasizing ball movement or help defense". What is that?

 

[YellwJcket999]

No comments on the China game? In case you didn't get a chance to see it live:



I was a bit worried about China due to how tall they were down low. Plus China looked really impressive yesterday.
I must say the difference in athleticism showed today. We (USA) pretty much ran away with it very early.

Crystal looked really good out there today. The one-two punch of Dangerfield and Carter is lethal.
----------------
I am on the fence as to whether I agree with the sentiment - [we shouldn't judge a players performance based on a cobbled together team] and the other sentiment -[basically that the cream rises to the top no matter the situation].

These young ladies have been doing this sort of thing for years. All of the AAU/Travel teams and tournament select teams, they know how develop a rapport for another player's game quickly. With that being said, Walker is a heckuva athletic. It really showed in the way she rebounded throughout the game.

It appears she is a streaky outside shooter. She needs to find some consistency. Other than that she definitely can play well at the elite level.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Megan doesn't have KML's touch or even Maya's touch, but she has size, strength, and athleticism. In terms of her shooting ability, her FT shooting at about 80% is an illuminating metric. She's still raw, but look at what Pheesa and Gabby did to improve over the past year or two. Meg will be a great player.

Milford---No one to date could replicate Maya's frosh year or those 3 there after--
BUT ==KML???--She was always being prodded by Geno as a Frosh and Soph to "go to the basket::
Maya Too caught un-nice words from Geno as a frosh--for ONLY shooting the 3/outside shot.
S0 --as I see it--Megan is ahead of both KML and Maya (as a frosh) --so far in this tiny glimpse--she is not afraid to take it to the basket or rebound. TINY GLIMPSE-of Megan..
In terms of KML--about her 3'rd year--she became an all around BB players ---I personally tooted her horn for that accomplishment--

 

[DefenseBB]

See Sluconn's post concerning this. Don't tell me about conjecture. You will find it throughout Boneyard's threads. You're not "confident this staff is keen on emphasizing ball movement or help defense". What is that?

In my watching the games on the link and the highlights of the 3 exhibitions- I have already seen numerous instances of a player dribbling the ball the full length of the court and try to go to the basket with 3 defenders in the paint while 1 or 2 team mates were open on the wing. Most glaring was Joyner Holmes doing it (again) and not only did she not come close to scoring, it led to 2 easy points back up the court. I have seen numerous instances in yesterday's game where the ball handler dribbled a bit to much and the team did not move. China did far more back door cuts than the US did. USAs superior athleticism allowed them to dominate and the turnovers appeared down significantly from the first 2 exhibition games, though still should be better. Cristyn Williams play significantly better yesterday though still forced her shot at times. I noted the improved ball movement yesterday. I am very impressed with Chennedy and her game (her +/- points were phenomenal). With minutes being spread out over all 12 players, a consistent effort can be difficult. That said, I don't know why even token pressure isn't given on the opposition team bringing he ball up. Crystal Dangerfield knows this as Geno has asked her and given her 21 min per game, she won't be exhausted. You even noted defense in a prior post that had perspective, though not specifically pointing out a player who was deficient. That is my supporting of my views. Sluconn correctly commented on their views with perspective, you did not. Sluconn's comments and observation do not support your view on Walker, who by the way, had a very good game yesterday and looks every bit qualified as her ranking suggests. You have made many great posts in the past and have given me reason to think, which is good. All I asked was what reasons or observations led to your rather "down" comments on Walker. I wasn't asking for a battle. Maybe I have missed something in my analysis that you could provide insight on. That's all. Humbly submitted.

 

[JordyG]

Megan doesn't have KML's touch or even Maya's touch, but she has size, strength, and athleticism. In terms of her shooting ability, her FT shooting at about 80% is an illuminating metric. She's still raw, but look at what Pheesa and Gabby did to improve over the past year or two. Meg will be a great player.

I agree. There's no doubt she's going to be an excellent player. But to all those who think she'll be a transcendent player, I just don't see it. I've seen her in a bunch of games this year and I've yet to see her hit 3 shots in a row. I know she's done it, but not before my eyes, and certainly yet in this tourney.

 

[AfroQueen]

They are players and then they are great players.
I'm a little concerned for both Megan and Crystal to be honest...
Great players shine when the lights are brightest, they don't need to be on a team where every thing is familiar and comfortable to show why they are considered the #1 player of their class. So please stop with the excuse of being on a put together team.

Crystal and Megan will be fine. They are athletes. Don't get things twisted.

 

[YellwJcket999]

So far M.Walker has proven that she is an elite athlete. Her physicality is impressive. She has all of the tools. I think that we are looking for her to be instantly an expert shooter like the Mater Dei ladies or a dominant presence on the low block. Or dare say the second coming of MM23.

I think that Walker hasn't had to specifically focus on any one area of her game. In high school she has pretty much done it all. Bring the ball up, play the post, shoot from the outside, defend the better players-jack of all trades not quite a master of them all.

I think she will go through what every single player goes through at UCONN - any weakness in her game will be relentlessly pointed out and the expectation for improvement will be set AND MET by the player to get PT.

Taursi, Moore, Delle Donne( ), KML, Stewart, Samuelson. So far I believe all of the UCONN players who were the National Player of the Year are pretty successful at the basketball thing.

I don't expect M.Walker to buck the trend.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Milford---No one to date could replicate Maya's frosh year or those 3 there after--
BUT ==KML???--She was always being prodded by Geno as a Frosh and Soph to "go to the basket::
Maya Too caught un-nice words from Geno as a frosh--for ONLY shooting the 3/outside shot.
S0 --as I see it--Megan is ahead of both KML and Maya (as a frosh) --so far in this tiny glimpse--she is not afraid to take it to the basket or rebound. TINY GLIMPSE-of Megan..
In terms of KML--about her 3'rd year--she became an all around BB players ---I personally tooted her horn for that accomplishment--

Kaleena came in with the Lewis Launch. Meg doesn't have that. Even Maya doesn't quite have it. I was limiting myself to Megan's shooting in that post.

In terms of overall basketball skills, no freshman can match Maya. She was second in the AP NPOY voting behind Parker. Her career was as good as anyones. Though Kaleena became a better baller in her 3rd and 4th years, shooting nearly 50% from the arc on a lot of attempts was a key in her making All-American as a sophomore. She repeated as a senior and probably would have as a junior if not for her elbow injury.

If Meg does what KML did--lead the team in scoring in 2 seasons, become a 2x All-American, and win 3 NCAA championships, that would be a rather nifty career.