2018 FIBA World Cup

[BabHorn]

That was a surprise. I had expected Canada to get into the semis at least.

 

[BabHorn]

Quite possibly a replay but Spectrum tv guide in Austin area showing the USA-Belgium semifinal game on ESPNews at 11:30 AM CST. I thought the game was scheduled for earlier per the AAS paper edition tv guide showing the game at 9:30 AM on ESPNU. That channel actually was a duplicate of ESPN with both showing the GameDay show.

 

[BabHorn]

Mystics teammates face off - Delle Donne and Meesseman. Meesseman is a great story - born with 50% hearing loss, drafted in the 2nd round at age 19 and has become an All-Star.

Doesn't surprise me that the hearing loss doesn't impede her. It's more like a team adjusting for a teammate who does not speak English. Tamika Catchings also had a hearing loss and did alright. I would think that her ability to play at a high level would have more to do her talent, work ethic than with her hearing loss.

After the Mystics’ success this season, I’ve been wondering if Washington doesn’t see if they can move her for either a high draft pick or a more traditional center. She and Delle Donne are both stretch 4s and while Sanders played well at the center position, I have doubts about a player her size (6-3, 170) holding up consistently, especially with some very physical bigs in the upcoming draft.

Actually, I wonder if the Mystics would play Meesseman, EDD and Ariel together with Sanders coming off the bench. It would be interesting to see how other teams would adjust to defending two posts (EDD & Meesseman) who can handle the ball and hit the three.

 

[BabHorn]

USA pulls away in the middle of the third quarter to win 93-77. USA will play for gold against the winner of Spain-Australia tomorrow.

 

[DFW_Horn]

Actually, I wonder if the Mystics would play Meesseman, EDD and Ariel together with Sanders coming off the bench. It would be interesting to see how other teams would adjust to defending two posts (EDD & Meesseman) who can handle the ball and hit the three.

I’d like to see them give it a shot. I think 1 of the lessons learned from the 2017 season vs 2018 was that EDD is much more effective as a stretch 4 than a 3. In 2017 they played Krystal Thomas at C, Meesseman at PF and EDD at SF - EDD seemed much more comfortable this season. Shifting to playing 2 4s (effectively what they did this season with Sanders) with Ariel at SF is a much more athletic, fast paced lineup.

 

[BabHorn]

USA Downs Australia to Claim Third-Straight FIBA World Cup Gold

Well, all the preliminaries are out of the way. Official practice has started for almost all college teams and the season is about a month away.