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Nixtreefan · Posted: 08/02/17 7:20 pm :::

I am with Art on this one. The drills can expose bad shooting technique, footwork and whether a player can actually lead a pass into the post or to the basket. They may be simple but a lot of players can't do it.

ClayK · Posted: 08/03/17 10:27 am :::

Nixtreefan · Posted: 08/03/17 2:49 pm :::

I don't paticularly think the drills are for development but more of an evaluation tool, some kids are athletic but have poor fundamentals which are exposed in the drills. If those fundamentals are not far enough along then USA does not have the time to develop them.

ClayK · Posted: 08/03/17 3:57 pm :::

ArtBest23 · Posted: 08/03/17 4:17 pm :::

I doubt they rolled Geno out and named him "Lead Clinician" unless they intended to teach improved skills and considered it necessary.

Good to hear though that Ionescu has no need of Geno's tutelage.

Watching basically a same age group USAB team lose in the Pan Am Games two years ago, I doubt I would conclude that fundamental skills are beyond need of improvement at this age level.

ArtBest23 · Posted: 08/03/17 4:36 pm :::

It's team 2 vs team 3 tomorrow for the championship.

Team 1 continues its winless streak.

https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2017/08/wu23-semis.aspx

ClayK · Posted: 08/03/17 5:41 pm :::

ArtBest23 · Posted: 08/03/17 5:48 pm :::

LibFan25 · Posted: 08/03/17 7:35 pm :::

Nixtreefan · Posted: 08/03/17 8:09 pm :::

It is a strange thing that the drills are not all about Ionescu, some of these players have not been in the system and evaluation to see whether players can also follow directions is important to USA, one can assume..

ArtBest23 · Posted: 08/03/17 9:39 pm :::

LibFan25 · Posted: 08/03/17 10:17 pm :::

ArtBest23 · Posted: 08/03/17 11:05 pm :::

If there's zero politics, I think it would be the first time in USAB history.

And I suspect this has as much to do with the powers-that-be's planning for the future as it does with "picking the best 12 players that are available to play."

Mitchell might be likely but I don't think she's at all a lock. Same with Canada although it looks like she probably played her way on this week.

Gaudy college numbers won't do it. Fitting in to the "system," playing the desired way, is more important.

Listen to the Geno video today. Everybody's good, everybody has the skills, it's about a bunch of vague stuff about the "traits and characteristics" that make the national team "special". In other words, they can pick whomever makes them comfortable. Typical standards of "best players" have little to do with it.

ArtBest23 · Posted: 08/04/17 9:54 am :::

Along the same lines as the above, Rizzotti, who chairs the selection committee, said:

“Obviously, everybody that is here is really good at basketball, so it’s not just about talent, it’s about how you adapt – to a new coach, to new teammates, to a new offense. Are you willing to be flexible? Because, when you play on a USA Basketball team, you have to be willing to give up your individual self to adapt to the situation. So, we evaluate everything, not just scoring and rebounding, but the intangibles and what they bring to the table in that regard.”

They'll fall back on "intangibles" if asked to explain their choices.

It appears they scrapped the idea of streaming the Bronze medal game, and seem to have deleted the entire schedule from their website. (USAB has one of the worst run websites imaginable). In fact, it's not clear they are even playing a Bronze Medal game.

But they still say the Gold Medal game will be streamed at 11:40am Eastern time.

ClayK · Posted: 08/04/17 10:41 am :::

The selection process is a black box, really, and it depends on what that particular committee -- and to some extent, the coach -- is looking for.

Most of the time, it's somewhat irrelevant, as any 12 of the top 20 or so are good enough to win gold. There's a few that seem automatic, and then a bunch that could be chosen depending on what the committee wants.

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myrtle · Posted: 08/04/17 11:33 am :::

'intangibles' may seem unfair, but I think it is somewhat legitimate WHEN it comes down to comparing two players who really appear to be comparable skill wise. And I suppose I could even see omitting a player who is highly skilled but who appears to have poisonous effect on team morale. If you're around enough kids, there are some who really stand out in that negative way, but I think they're relatively few among those who would be invited to try out. So, just as in life, kids who are outgoing, friendly, and encouraging to their teammates are more likely to get chosen than those who are withdrawn, morose, and/or always me-first. Where it starts to stink is when a borderline athlete appears to be chosen just because of the school they're attending. From the outside it's hard to see exactly what goes into the selection process so it's pretty hard to fairly judge what is fair or what is not. We all have our favs who we want to make the team and that also clouds objectivity.