USA Basketball 16u Trials

[nmolly]

Yeah that was a nice write up - only thing is there's academics and then academics - I watched a video where she said her GPA was 3.7 now if she was at Rosary or Troy I would be excited but she's not - other thing which was interesting is UCLA - now by all accounts she is very good friends with Jaz Dixon so there could be some pull but I've also learned that she is friends with Lauren Englein so that could seal a deal for Uconn. All great things to think about keep it coming SCF.

[StanfordCardinalFan]

UCLA has enough power on the wings with Markel and Jaz and maybe Kaleena in 2011, the Bruins need to score some BIGS!

[Mike Flynn]

This post will be my response to rock33 as this individual is somewhat perplexed as I was with some ofthe final selections. I noted in my blogs and in some of these posts that it was easy getting to the first eight-nine players, it was the final three-four that would be come the problem of the selection committee. I noted that who they selected for those spots would tell you more about how the Committee viewed talent and composition which would speak volume to their viewpoint. Puzzlement sits on my mind as I had Graves from the get go as this team needed agile and quick small forwards who can score (which is the perfect college three-player). Stantish was on my first day list but was moved off as the more quicker, physical guards didn't give her spacing to shoot or be effective. To her point she did have a strong last session where she was more visible getting her shot. I also thoguht that Tuck deserved to be on this team by the third day along with Graves. As this would be a strong next thee forward mix. Hartman made the team on her ability to score, something that no one could do consistently except for Breanna Stewart and Kaleena Lewis. I thoght there were other bigger, more athletc, up-side players but they just didn't score. In the post it was easy to select Stewart who was the most effective player at the event, even as a 2012. The next spot went to Kiah Stokes whose long reach and footwork gave her the second spot next to an unimpressive Elizabeth Williams who showed up in the last two sessions. Hollivay had a dismal first two sessions, quite in the next two and then showed her future up-side turing it on in the final two sessions, too late to displace the three already spoken for. Look for her to force the Committee to take four posts next year and slide off one of those players the Evaluators were scratching their heads about. Oh yes, I tied to post this last night but I lost it and had to re-do this comment again.

[Mike Flynn]

And here's for the rest of the post.... I got a number of calls the next day after this original post. I said it was a RUMOR and not a definite situation. But, as with all things, I'll stand by my post as being pretty close to the mark as written. I heard about the TN comment and the list of school here but, in the end, UConn fits the mold and eveyone knows they want the committment as fast as they can get it. Today, more calls about this from interested parties who didn't want to hear this RUMOR. It's not good business for a rumor today to be truthful until the summer observation period is over. As for the other schools on that list, I think they're good chocies but don't match all the critical points that would make it a lock like UConn. Kalenna Lewis is the Class of 2011 POY as she has shown through the body of her work so far inlcuding her representation on the USA 16u National Team.

[nmolly]

Hey Mike I also was intrigued and after I read some of the other blogs and I got on the phone and have spoken to 2 sources today who said exactly the same thing you said, so I'm inclined to feel that it is a done deal but that it won't be announced until a day when it will make an impact - I also heard another part to it but I'm going to save that until I see if it comes true but I'll remind you of my post if it does.

[Mike Flynn]

Thanks for the back-up on this RUMOR. As you know the business of basketball today is three-fold, from the college side, get the athelte to commit as soon as possible, on the athlete side get to enjoy the recruiting process and go where you want (choices) until the pressure becomes so much that you fall back on the first part of this while the third and final piece is the travel team coach who wants their star to stay uncommitted until the end of the summer so it birngs the coaches to view the rest of the team's unsigned players and to attend the events they compete in. This is the process and that's just how it is - the triangle of youth girls basketball. The boy's side is really a pentagon with the two additonal sides of copporate shoe apparel involvement and the agent-runner system for both the colleges and the pro game.

[shnicker44]

I hear that Stewart 2012 kid was great - how can we get to watch this kid this summer?

[Mike Flynn]

Breanna Stewart will be playing with the Philadelphia Belles-Creech at the Blue Star / USJN Tournament in Las Vegas July 9-11, USJN Washington DC, July 22-25 and Nike Nationals July 27-31. People better catch her this year and next spring if you want to see her in travel basketball as the USA 17u team will compete in France at the FIBA 17 World Championships in July and won't be around next summer until the end of it.