U16 FIBA Americas: Team Canada

[Hair Canada]

Really not much to say about the game today against another very weak opponent in Brazil. Oliogu looked very good again (14 in 11 minutes without a miss and some nice passes). Need to see how he does against stronger opponents in the next 3 games. Sharma was also good. A true shooter.


Looking forward, this tournament has three very distinct tiers:

1. The US
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2. Argentina, the DR, Canada, and PR (perhaps in this order)
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3. Brazil, Mexico, and Chile

Unfortunately, losing to Argentina means that we (1) meet PR instead of Chile and will have a real challenge on the way to the semis and a ticket to the U17 WC in Spain next year; (2) if we get there, we'll have the "pleasure" of being blown away by the US and lose the second spot in the Americas after 3 consecutive tournaments.

[CrookedJ]

Cool thanks for all the details. Was hyped to see that Jacob Theodosiou made the team, and even more so to see that hes grown a bunch. My son and I say him play in the local finals here in KW when he was with WCI in 2020. He absolutely dominated that game but I would be surprised if he was more 6'0 at the time.

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[TheLP]

I know there's no reason to be overconfident after the Argentina game but shouldn't Canada still wipe the floor with PR?

For better or worse, it seemed like the coaching staff took the group stage lightly and didn't want to overwork anyone with the 3 games in 3 days. I'm also not so sure they had any clue what they were working with. All 12 players played 7-9+ minutes in every game.

Surely from here on out they should be running a tighter rotation with the best players carrying a heavier load?

If they fail to reach the U17 World Cup, it would be an even bigger disaster than the mens senior team.

[Hair Canada]

I know there's no reason to be overconfident after the Argentina game but shouldn't Canada still wipe the floor with PR?

For better or worse, it seemed like the coaching staff took the group stage lightly and didn't want to overwork anyone with the 3 games in 3 days. I'm also not so sure they had any clue what they were working with. All 12 players played 7-9+ minutes in every game.

Surely from here on out they should be running a tighter rotation with the best players carrying a heavier load?

If they fail to reach the U17 World Cup, it would be an even bigger disaster than the mens senior team.

I think not. I would still probably put Canada as favorites in this game, but it's far from a sure thing. PR is always dangerous and they seem to have a nice team this year. I watched them play and they have some size this time around, which has often been an issue for them, alongside the regular solid guard play. They beat Chile by like 50, and then lost to a good DR team in a pretty tight game. Our team is not above the competition this year and it could certainly develop into a tight game. And then who knows, as we haven't shown great poise under pressure against Argentina. Plus, we have a history of losing to PR in this age group in recent years, so I'd be particularly cautious with this game.

[Hair Canada]

The most important game of the tournament today for Team Canada against Puerto Rico at 18:30 ET. Win and we're in the U17 WC in Spain next year. Lose and we're out of this bi-annual WC for the first time since it started in 2010.

PURETO RICO

As I wrote above, I don't think it's a sure thing at all for our team, both because we're not above the competition this year and because Puerto Rico is a dangerous team this year, with atypical (for them) size -- four players who are 6'8 or more -- and some nice guard play.

They are also quite young. their two leading scorers, Aviles and Lee, did not yet turn 15 and a couple of other key players are not yet 16.

The guy who really stood out to me (literally) when watching Puerto Rico was their big man, Alejandro Aviles. He's 6'9 and as I said did not yet turn 15 but certainly plays like he's older. He was not bad against the US, though naturally, had a hard time against their size and athleticism. But he was really good in their other two games, with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 blocks (!) per game. Plays with patience and finds a way to get to his shot, while also showing great timing on the defensive side of the floor. Certainly, an interior presence to be reckoned with and an interesting long-term prospect for PR.

The other guys I would worry more about are their shooting guard Brandon Lee, who can put up points on the board, PG Keven Adorno, who runs the team (5.5 assists per game) and would be an interesting match-up with Tyne (they are about the same size), and their SF Louis Marin (6'5), who's a good athlete and their most versatile player (10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals per game).

Of note, PR is not a good shooting team (24% from 3 and 57% from the line). So we need to really tighten our paint defense, play tough, and not be afraid to foul.

TEAM CANADA KEYS

As for Team Canada, I hope the coaches realize that it's time to stop playing around and they should tighten up the rotation. No more room for experiments. So far, everyone has been playing at least 9 minutes a game, and 10 players got at least 15 minutes per game. Also, quite surprisingly, Osman has been leading the team in minutes despite very poor offensive production (1.3 points per game on an abysmal 5.6% shooting from the field, which has to be some kind of a record).

So if it was me, unless we're in foul trouble, I would tighten up the rotation to 8 players: Tyne, Theodosiou, Sharma, Okojie, and Oliogu in the guard/wing positions, and Osei, Yeiy, and Rioux as the bigs. There's a significant drop behind these 8 in terms of production, effectiveness, and plus-minus. And, as I said, we should be done with experimenting now.

[TheLP]

Well it's been a blowout so far

52-31 at half

But Canada is shooting 60% from 3 and 39% on 2s... A lot of those misses are just rushed possessions or totally ill-advised attempts.

[Hair Canada]

Well, that was much easier than (I at least) expected. Canada with its best game of the tournament crashes Puerto Rico with a terrific first half and a great shooting exhibition (44% from 3).

Tyne was again our best player and is having an excellent tournament (17 points and 5.5 assists). He was great not only on the offensive end but also on defense. Plays with a lot of heart and he's the kind of guy you really want to beat the odds.

Oliogu also with a good game. Even made two open threes, but mostly you have to love his attack mentality and tenaciousness, coupled with his great athleticism and body control.

Okojie had a very good game (10 points, 6 assists, and excellent defense), Theodosiou shot the ball very well, Osei was solid, and Rioux with another decent game completed 6 players in double figures.

The coaches also did a better job this time, tightening the rotation and letting our best guys do their thing.

Unfortunately, it's the US tomorrow in the semis and it's going to be very hard to keep up with them. But we've secured the ticket for Spain next year and now we just need to try to end things well with a bronze in this competition.

[TheLP]

If Canada doesn't take the top 3 players off the court and they all shoot 75% from the field, Canada might win this game tonight!

[Hair Canada]

If Canada doesn't take the top 3 players off the court and they all shoot 75% from the field, Canada might win this game tonight!

Wouldn't that be nice...

Seriously though, Anything but a blowout would be quite surprising to me. The US bigs are top-notch. In particular, Holland is a fantastic player. But Lewis is also really big and very skilled. They are both long, athletic, play with a lot of grit (especially Holland), and even shoot very well so far (made 7 of their 10 3-pointers so far). Also liked what I've seen from the young SF Tucker, who's a very nice shooter.

The US guards are athletic and talented. But they are not great shooters, so that might be the only silver lining and something we can gamble on a bit, though any one of them can catch fire. But you have to give something and that would probably be the one for me. And then we need to close like crazy for the rebound because they are a great offensive rebound team as well (and we haven't been great on that front so far).

The Americans also put a lot of pressure on ball-handlers. They have 22 steals per game so far (curry with 5 a game), and this fuels quick runs that teams cannot come back from. So this would be key. Tyne needs to play a lot and I would probably put another ball handler next to him (Okojie?) and have Oliogu also help break the pressure.

Honestly, I just don't see a real path for a win by our boys but would be very happy to be proven wrong of course.

[TheLP]

Pretty shocked it's tied at half, especially considering how poorly we're playing. The best players aren't shooting well, we're throwing quite a lot of possessions away whether it's a bad shot or turnover, and we haven't really tightened up the rotation as much as I had hoped.

But 47-47 at half, you can't complain.

[TheFutureMM]

Still competitive but with 3 mins left in the 3rd, it's starting to come apart at the seams. Canada can't seem to get the ball out of our end due to the full court press the US has decided to unleash.

[TheFutureMM]

Still competitive but with 3 mins left in the 3rd, it's starting to come apart at the seams. Canada can't seem to get the ball out of our end due to the full court press the US has decided to unleash.

When I posted that we were down 5 with 3 mins left. We're now down 16 going into the 4th. The tires just completely fell off the truck.

[Hair Canada]

So I was both right and wrong.

Right because eventually, we didn't have a real path for winning this game considering the US depth and talent.

Wrong because for 28 minutes or so it was a very close game and it really didn't feel like a blowout even if it did end in a 20-points loss.

This Canadian team keeps improving from one game to the next and today it showed that it can actually look the US in the eye, at least for stretches.

The coaching team did a much better job today playing Tyne and Okojie--our two best ball handlers--together for long stretches. I still thought that Theodosiou could have gotten some more minutes, but he admittedly had a hard time against the US athleticism and Sharma was shooting the ball well, so I get giving him more minutes.

The one mistake they made was putting Au-Duke and Osman on the court at the same time (at the end of the third). It was just for a few minutes, but these were enough to really kill our momentum and send the US on a run, building a comfortable lead and never looking back again. Can't fault the coaches for trying to give Tyne and Okojie a couple of minutes of rest. But Au-Duke and Osman looked bad throughout this tournament and playing both together was just too costly.

Anyway, let's leave the negative behind and focus on the positive, as there were quite a few encouraging things today. I'll focus on the four who I thought played the best today:

Tyne showed again he's an elite PG at this age in North America, despite the height limitation. At some point, the shot stopped falling, but his energy and tenacity on both ends, along with his dribble and vision were the main reason we remained close for nearly 3 quarters.

Oliogu (17 points) continues to impress. His athleticism and physical profile are really elite, but again the vision and pretty advanced handle (still room for improvement there) were there to show that he's much more than an excellent athlete.

Rioux with another best game keeps surprising. The many faults that I've mentioned earlier are still there. But he was disruptive on the defensive end (4 blocks) and the two US bigs, Holland and Lewis, actually looked a bit confused against his length at times (they are clearly not used to playing someone this big), though they did seem to find some solutions toward the end of the game. And Olivier even found a way to contribute offensively in this game. Seems like he's settling in as the tournament progresses and finds his footing a bit.

Okojie was also very good I thought, showing he can compete at this level (excellent defender) and create, though his offensive toolkit needs some improvement.

Tomorrow against the DR for the bronze. Hope we can bring the same energy and finish the tournament nicely.

[TheLP]

That 3rd quarter of basketball was pain.

Their full court press will get credit for the win but that wasn't even the painful part. When we'd get by them we'd still turn the ball over in silly ways like tripping while sprinting with the ball or throwing the ball over a 7'6" posted up center (which has happened way too many times this tournament for some reason) and then for some reason responding to this pressure by putting 2 of our worst players on the court together for 3 quick turnovers. I think there was a stretch of 5-6 turnovers in a row and the coaches seemingly forgot you can call timeout.

It shouldn't be that painful because I was expecting the L but it stings a little more seeing them throw it away in that 3rd quarter the way they did.

The day we start getting over this hump is going to be even more satisfying after all these "so close" tournaments. I'm going to have to rewatch the 2017 U19 World Cup game against USA to reset my optimism

[ruckus]

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I appreciate all the insight you bring to this board on the up and coming Canadian talent.

Any thoughts on the women's u16 team? They're playing US for the gold tonight.

[TheFutureMM]

Rioux with another best game keeps surprising. The many faults that I've mentioned earlier are still there. But he was disruptive on the defensive end (4 blocks) and the two US bigs, Holland and Lewis, actually looked a bit confused against his length at times (they are clearly not used to playing someone this big), though they did seem to find some solutions toward the end of the game. And Olivier even found a way to contribute offensively in this game. Seems like he's settling in as the tournament progresses and finds his footing a bit.

I didn't think it based on the YouTube clips and comments in this thread BUT there is a basketball player somewhere in that 7'5" frame. He's super raw, most likely isn't going to ever play NBA/EuroLeague/EuroCup, but I could see him playing and contributing to a D1 program somewhere down the road if he puts the work in. Bare in mind, I only watched the 3rd quarter on, but I watched him catch/dunk a ball off of a cut to the basket with contact and was surprised. His rebounding instincts looked awful (balls literally going right over his head before he could raise an arm) but I think there is a future for him. Very curious to see him in a year at the U17s.

[Hair Canada]

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I appreciate all the insight you bring to this board on the up and coming Canadian talent.

Any thoughts on the women's u16 team? They're playing US for the gold tonight.

Ye, I usually keep my thoughts on the women's competitions to myself cause I'm not sure anyone is actually interested. But I've watched the games and the team looked good. In particular, I like two of the youngster and think they have interesting potential:

The first is Cassandre Prosper, sister of O-Max. Great size for a wing (6'2) with length, great athleticism, and nice skill. The shooting is still a work in progress, though she has decent touch I think. But she can already do real damage in the paint and in the open court and I also liked that she's a good and willing passer. Definitely a WNBA prospect.

Also liked what I've seen from combo guard Delaney Gibb. Also has good size for the position (5'11) and a good athletic profile, which make her an excellent rebounder. A very good shooter who can also create for both herself and others. Both her and Prosper are also engaged and smart defenders, which is nice to see (about 6 steals and 2.5 blocks a game between the two of them). Gibb should be an excellent college prospect and can also make it to the WNBA if she keeps progressing (still has too many mental lapses and TOs).

I think these two look more impressive and promising than what Aalyiah Edwards (now at Uconn) and Merissah Russell looked four years ago in the same competition (though both were younger at the time). And definitely more impressive than anyone we had in 2019, which was a bit of a down year for the girls' side I thought.

Beyond these two, I've seen nice flashes from power forward Marina Radocaj (sister of victor I imagine) and center Jada Bediako (6'4; sister of the bediako brothers). But I don't think they have the size (Radocaj) or skill and fluidity (Bediako) to make it to the WNBA. I'm actually more intrigued by what I've seen from SF Kiera Pemberton, who has good size, athleticism, and good defensive instincts. But for some reason, she gets less than 10 minutes a game (the least in the team).

[TheLP]

I have checked the Canadian coaching staff multiple times this tournament to make sure Osman isn't one of the coaches son. I'm so confused why he's still being shovelled minutes and the only explanation I can come up with is his dad is someone important or significant within Canada Basketball

[casoldi]

I have checked the Canadian coaching staff multiple times this tournament to make sure Osman isn't one of the coaches son. I'm so confused why he's still being shovelled minutes and the only explanation I can come up with is his dad is someone important or significant within Canada Basketball

He's not THAT bad lol

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[TheLP]

I have checked the Canadian coaching staff multiple times this tournament to make sure Osman isn't one of the coaches son. I'm so confused why he's still being shovelled minutes and the only explanation I can come up with is his dad is someone important or significant within Canada Basketball

He's not THAT bad lol

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8% shooting averaging 20mins a game is exceptional.

He's athletic and can move real well but c'mon