U16 FIBA Americas: Team Canada

[Hair Canada]

After quite a bit of uncertainty and postponements, the U16 FIBA Americas are back. Not at all obvious. In Europe, the age championships were canceled this year (they had a couple of limited regional tournaments instead).

In tradition, I'll dive here a bit into the Canadian team and try to assess its strengths, weaknesses, and prospects (which I find especially challenging this year.

Let's start.


CHAMPIONSHIP LOCATION, DRAWS, AND SCHEDULE

The championship this year will be in Xalapa, Mexico (June 3-9) and, as usual, the four top teams will qualify for the FIBA U17 World Cup next summer.

Without knowing much about the other teams and who they are bringing this year, it seems Canada got the tougher group this time, with hosts Mexico, as well as probably the best two teams in South America in Argentina and Brazil. The problem here is that just one loss and you’re likely to have a meeting with the US in the semis. That said, the real key game, as always, will be in the QF, because a win there means guaranteeing a spot in the U17 WC next year.

We’ll play three games in the preliminary group stage: Argentina (August 23), Mexico (August 24), and Brazil (August 25). Then there’s a one-day break before the quarterfinals (#1 against #4 from the other group; #2 against #3), the semis, and the final on the 27th, 28th, and 29th respectively. Altogether, 6 games in 7 days. All games are streamed on the championship website:

http://www.fiba.basketball/u16americas/2021


A BIT OF HISTORY

This will be the 7th tournament in the bi-annual edition of the U16 FIBA Americas. Canada has won silver or bronze in all of the 6 previous tournaments but never won the gold. Still, in the last three tournaments, it has taken over from Argentina as the second-best team in the Americas and as tournament finalist. But this does not mean that our talent level has become consistent and there’s still quite a bit of fluctuation in the quality of teams we put up in these events.

In the first three championships, we had some strong individual performances (Pangos in 2009; Murray in 2013). But we were not able to translate it into team success, losing to Argentina and to Puerto Rico in the group stages, which led to inevitable meetings with the US in the semis.


Jamal was not enough to bring Canada to the finals in 2013


The 2015 cadet team for the FIBA Americas championship was one of the deepest and most talented youth teams in Canadian history. It included RJ Barret, Simi Shittu, Iggy Brazdeikis, and Andrew Nembhard, as well as Marcus Carr, Noah Kirkwood, and Jaelin Llewellyn. That team easily won its four first games by an average margin of about 40 points. Then it stunned the US team (Wendell Carter Jr., Kevin Knox, Tre Jones, Gary Trent, and Markus Howard) with an early 19:3 lead at the end of the first quarter and continued to lead through the end of the third quarter. But eventually, the US size and mainly its depth were too much in the fourth and the Americans finished with the gold.

The 2017 U16 FIBA Americas Canadian Team was much weaker, due to a mix of less-talented classes and some significant no-shows (mainly Patterson and Alexander-Moncrieff). That team (their best player was Cashius McNeilly), seriously lacked size, athleticism, outside shooting, and perhaps most of all shot-creators. What we had was still enough to reach the gold medal game, but some of the games were uncomfortably close. And then, in the gold medal game, Canada was destroyed by a much bigger, much more athletic, and MUCH more talented US team (which included guys like James Weisman, Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, Scottie Barnes, and RJ Hampton). The game ended with a margin of 50, but it was an unpleasant experience, and felt like the Americans could have made it +80 if they really needed to. In all likelihood, none of the players from that Canadian team will eventually make it to the league.

Two years ago, in 2019, we again had a strong team, led by Ryan Nembhard, Houstan, Sharpe, and Boakye. Nembhard and Houstan played especially well and Sharpe had his first breakout tournament, with Boakye making some noise in the paint. It was again enough to win all the games up to the final by a comfortable margin. But like in 2015, the Americans, led by future leaguers like Jalen Duren, Jabari Smith, Amari Bailey, AJ Griffin, and Chris Livingston were again bigger, more athletic, and deeper. So although it was not a blowout and we managed to keep it fairly close with strong games from Houstan and Nembhard, the eventual winner of the gold medal was never really in doubt. Still, that team will likely generate 2 to 4 NBA players, which is all you can ask from a Canadian cadet team (especially since you can’t always identify the best talents this early on).


Sharpe had his first coming out party in the 2019 U16


SO WHAT ARE WE GETTING IN 2021?

It’s always hard to be sure at such an early stage, as players are so young and haven’t been tested. But this time around there’s even more uncertainty (for me at least) since COVID meant no regular high school season in Canada last year and no provincial nationals for the last two summers. This means that some of the players on this team I’ve only seen very sporadically. So I’m certainly willing to be pleasantly surprised.

Still, if I had to guess, I would probably wager that this young Canadian team is going to look closer to the one from 2017, not the ones from 2015 and 2019, with the caveat that I still think there might be more long-term potential on this team than in that 2017 team.

How come?

First, like in 2017, we’ll be missing a couple of key players and unfortunately, most of them appear to be playing in similar positions, the ones where we don’t have much depth. In particular, this team might be vulnerable in terms of shooting guards and wing players with some size. From what I’ve heard, the two best wings in the class of 2024 – Jalique Dunkley-Distant and Jovan Milicevic (maybe I’ll write a bit more about these two later on) – were both excluded from the roster because they did not (or perhaps would not) take the vaccine. If that’s indeed the case, it’s quite a shame. And they might also not be the only ones excluded for this reason.


Jovan Milicevic will be missed this summer


Other forwards who didn’t make it to the final roster (I’m not privy to the reasons why) include interesting prospects like Jordan Atahir (2024), Brayden Jackson (2024), Chris Tadjo (2025), and Jacob Hammond (2025), all at least 6’6 and lengthy. With all of these out, this team doesn’t seem very balanced and lacks size on the wing. By my count, there are 6 point guards or combo guards on the roster, most of them 6’3 or shorter. But there are only two or three shooting guards/wings. So while we have a 7’5 guy (not sure how much he’ll actually be able to play), we might be quite vulnerable against teams with big guards and SFs (did anyone say the US?).


The full roster from Basketball Canada (some of the heights and positions seem a bit off to me):

Taj Au-Duke
Point Guard
6'2”
Scarborough, ON
Undecided

Jaeden Brooks
Power Forward
6'7”
Calgary, AB
Edge Prep

Stefan Jimenez-Vojnic
Power Forward/Centre
6’9”
Toronto, ON
United Scholastic Academy

Baraka Okojie
Point Guard
6’0”
Caledon, ON
Undecided

Efeosa Oliogu
Small Forward
6’7”
Oshawa, ON
United Scholastic Academy

Stephan Osei
Power Forward
6’9”
Toronto, ON
RSL Academy

AJ Osman
Guard
6'3"
Ottawa, ON
Dream City

Olivier Rioux
Centre
7’4”
Anjou, QC
IMG Academy

Ishan Sharma
Shooting Guard
6’5”
Milton, ON
Fort Erie Int. Academy

Jacob Theodosiou
Guard
6’4”
Waterloo, ON
Western Reserve Academy

Mikkel Tyne
Point Guard
5'10"
Brampton, ON
Huntington Prep

Char Yeiy
Centre
6'8"
London, ON
Blair Academy


I’ll dive a bit into the roster specifics later on.

[coolbyme]

Great post, thanks for the info. Olivier Rioux looks huge for a 15 year old, but a bit slow footed.

[Hair Canada]

NOTABLE PLAYERS

I have no inside info from the training camp, so I don’t really know who’s going to get extended minutes or how the starting-5 is going to look like (though I would guess Theodosiou, Tyne, and Rioux are going to fill out three of these spots).

Instead, I’ll just speak about some of the prospects I know a bit better and that I’m interested in watching and seeing how they developed since I last saw them play.

Jacob Theodosiou. 15.5yo 6’4 combo guard. Jacob first caught my eye as a small skinny 11yo. He played in a Canadian youth league that included 2023 guys like Elijah Fisher and Jahsemar Olembe, who are nearly two years older than him. He still led that league in scoring, somehow managing to score consistently over much bigger kids... At the time I remained a bit skeptic that a 5’2 100lbs skinny kid would amount to anything. But then, about two years ago he finally started to grow and he now stands at around 6’3 or 6’4 with a nice developable frame. And he might not even be done growing, as he’s not yet 16 and his dad, who’s a basketball coach, is quite tall.


Jacob Theodosiou

While he still has a fairly light frame and is not a high flyer, I think Jacob is just a unique basketball talent. He has great feel for the game, is ambidextrous with a tight handle, and is one of the better shooters I’ve seen at such an age from all ranges. Just a guy who has a natural touch and knows how to use it well. Also a fantastic scorer. Super competitive and always on attack mode with a wide variety of moves and shakes, using a mix of quickness, savvy moves, breaks, and toughness to finish at the rim or score from distance. His great mentality and feel also show up on the defensive end, where despite average tools he’s a pesky defender with a good nose for steals.

Right now, Jacob is a better scorer than he is a playmaker, but I’m not concerned about it given the scoring demands from modern PGs and his high basketball IQ. He really reminds me of Kevin Pangos when he was his age (though Jacob is already taller) and I think he’ll also work out the right balance between creating for himself and for others, and the scoring threat will help open up passing lanes for him. Obviously, there’s Still a long way to go to get there. But now that he’s caught up physically, I really like the potential. He moved to play at a US high school this year, so he was able to maintain a competitive environment and keep working on his skill while also competing and honing his game skills.

In terms of the current tournament, I expect Jacob to start alongside Tyne and he would be my best bet to be Canada’s leading scorer.

Mikkel Tyne. 15.5yo; 5’10 PG. 3 years ago, when Tyne was 13yo and already around 5’7, he looked like a truly unique talent on both ends of the floor, with skill, maturity, athleticism, and strength that are rare at these ages. He’s still a very good athlete with fantastic speed and hang time, a great handle (killer crossover), and the ability to finish with both hands and change speeds. He also sports a smooth shot with very good elevation and form. On the defensive end, Tyne is a pest, with great strength and lateral movement, who can really stay with opposing guards.


Tyne

But the bottom line when looking at the long range is that he’s no longer as promising as he appeared to be a few years ago. Because he pretty much stopped growing at age 14, and eventually, size really matters in basketball. Even if he does get to around 6’0, there are just very few players this size who make it to the highest levels of basketball. And although his shot looks good, right now he too often doesn’t make it. In addition, while he has nice playmaking skills, he also coughs the ball too often and has a hard time against long defenders. Without a couple more inches, his margin of error will be very thin and he’ll need to become an elite shooter and playmaker to make it to the highest levels.

Still, at this point he’s an excellent player for his age. I expect him to play big minutes in this tournament and this team to go as far as he and Theodosiou can take it

AJ Osman. 16yo; 6’3 combo guard. Osman has very good size and strength, as well as a good athletic profile and burst. Also has pretty good speed and a nice handle, with good craftiness and the ability to finish with both hands. Already shows some signs of being able to create separation and shoot step backs. Has a good motor and plays unselfishly with good vision. That said, most of the times I’ve watched him play against kids a bit older than him, he seemed to blend into the background and certainly did not dominate, despite the apparent potential. He mostly looked a bit hesitant and had a hard time to really make a mark on the game. The potential and physical tools are certainly there but I’m curious to see if he’s made some additional steps since I’ve last watched him.


YOUNGER PROSPECTS (BORN IN 2006):

Efeosa Oliogu. 15yo; 6’6 Guard. From what I’ve seen, he might be the guy with the highest ceiling and best long-term potential on this roster, possessing some real NBA upside, though it’s really too early to say anything with confidence. Although he just turned 15 a few months ago, Oliogu already has a very smooth game, to go along with great size and an impressive physical profile that you can see keep growing with the years. He’s an excellent high flyer athlete, with speed, body control, and toughtness. A he also has a great handle and shows flashes of good vision and passing skills. I’m not so sure if he can shoot much at this point (though he’s not afraid to try). But he’s one of the guys I’m more looking forward to watching in this setting. I think he can make a real impact, even though his position is quite packed with older and more experienced players. This might be a breakout tournament for him.


Oliogu

Char Yeiy. 15yo; 6’8 combo forward. A lefty who often played on the perimeter when playing on his youth teams. Very lengthy and a good athlete. Shows some craftiness with the ball, though the handle is limited and not yet strong enough for a perimeter player. But he’s Very fluid. Not exactly a high flyer at this point, but still dunks easily off two leg from standing, showing good bounce. Can also shoot it a bit, but his shooting form is a work in progress (shoots a low ball with a very high arch). Overall, one of the more interesting long-term prospects on this team, given his young age and great physical profile. And though he’s quite raw and unpolished, given how thin we are in the front court and on the wing, I think he might still get a good chance to show what he can do.


Yeiy

Olivier Rioux. (15.5yo; 7’5 C; from Montreal, QC). Rioux’s older brother, Emile, was part of the Canadian U16 team four years ago. But the younger brother is something very different. He’s already familiar to many in the basketball world because of that viral video of him that spread like wild fire two years ago, where he dunked everything without even leaving the floor over poor kids on eight-foot nets.

Okay, so you can’t teach size. But what can he do except for being very (very) tall? Is he the next version of Zach Edey, who was magnificent for Canada just two months ago at the U19 WC and didn’t even play basketball when he was Olivier’s age? It’s not unthinkable, but to be, honest, I would lower my expectations. Edey is significantly stronger, much more aggressive, and moves much better than Rioux (though it should be noted that he’s also almost four years older). Rioux has decent lower body strength for his age and he’s not a skinny push-over, like some other super-tall teenagers. But he also moves heavily and slowly and seriously lacks athleticism. He can hardly leave the floor and from what I’ve seen still has a hard time dunking or finishing efficiently with even the smallest challenge. On top of that, he looks very stiff and doesn’t seem to have great hands of coordination. And maybe most worrisome for me (and very unlike Edey), he’s quite soft and often shies away from contact, sporting both a weak upper body and a lack of aggressiveness.

Watch on YouTube

All that might well change as he continues to grow, mature, and develop his body and skills. He really needs to learn how to play with his size and that often takes years. With bigs you really have to be patient. It’s not like Edey looked any better when he was that age. And the size is rare. But he’ll need to make substantial progress over the next few years to be able to play professional ball (at almost any level), even if he manages to stay healthy, which is often not easy at this size.
As for this tournament, I expect him to perhaps start on this team, as he can be a threat in the paint even without being able to jump much. But I also expect that he gets rather limited minutes and have little real offensive impact. I’m certainly willing to be pleasantly surprised though.


THE REST OF THE ROSTER

As I said, quite a few of these I don’t know very well, so I’ll keep it short.

Baraka Okojie. 16yo; 6’1 G. Younger brother of Ose, who’s a nice prospect in his own right in the class of 2022. Baraka is one of the better athletes on this team from what I’ve seen. Very quick and crafty, with a good handle, strong frame, high activity level, and impressive maturity. Managed to get minute and carve a role playing 2 years up with Canada Elite this summer. The guard spots are quite packed on this roster so he’ll have to carve a place for himself, but I wouldn’t bet against him and he might just be able to do it with his toughness, mental maturity, and strong defense, especially if he can hit his perimeter shots.


Okojie

Stefan Jimenez-Vojnic. 15.5yo; 6’9 PF, 220lbs. A big with some size, along with pretty good mobility and a nice motor. Not a high flyer, but has can make some crafty moves around the basket and can also shoot it a bit. Should be an important piece for this team and I think he gets a good amount of minutes given the lack of interior size and experience for this group.

Jaeden Brooks. 16.5yo; 6’7 wing. One of the only two non-Ontario guys on this team (together with Rioux from QC) Brooks is from Calgary and is a bit of a mystery man for me. I didn’t really watch him play so far and don’t know much about him. Could be an important player on this roster, given that he might be the only wing with some size on this team (though the Canada roster release says he’s actually a PF). So let’s hope he can hoop.


JC Brooks

Ishan Sharma. 16yo; 6’4 SG. A sniper. Probably the best shooter on this team, alongside Theodosiou. Can also create some off the dribble. Has a pretty skinny frame and average athleticism, so I’m not sure how he’ll do against size, but his shooting might be important given that this looks like a weaker point on this roster.

Stephen Osei. 16yo; 6’9 PF. A big with good physical tools – long, athletic, with Good mobility and good defensive awareness and presence. But he only started playing basketball a couple of years ago and it shows. Very raw offensively and has a fairly skinny frame at this point, so he kind of gets pushed around. In the games I watched him (though it’s been a while back) he also didn’t seem to have great hands. This team is pretty thin in front, assuming Rioux won’t play big minutes, so Osei certainly might get some minutes, but I think he’ll mainly provide defensive presence and I don’t expect much from him on the offensive end.


Osei

Taj Au-Duke. 16.5yo PG; 6’1. A light-weight PG with good handle and some shifty moves, but nothing really jumped out at me when I watched him play. Didn’t look like a special athlete or sharpshooter. Perhaps he proves me wrong, but I can’t really see the professional need here behind guys like Tyne, Theodosiou, Okojie, Osman, and Oliogu, who can all handle the ball. And I also don’t quite get having him on this team from a long-term potential point of view instead of someone like Hammond or some other wing with more potential, like Brayden Jackson who was on the training camp. Guess I’ll have to trust the coaches that they know what they’re doing here and he’s there for a reason.

[Psubs]

What's Elijah Fisher up to?

[Hair Canada]

What's Elijah Fisher up to?

What do you mean by that?

[mojo13]

What's Elijah Fisher up to?

He is 17 and 8+ months and too old for this if that is what you are asking.

[Nature]

And1 for effort alone - this is awesome!

[Hair Canada]

Okay, last part of the preview: Some notable omissions from this roster and a tentative projection.

NOTABLE OMISSIONS

As I noted above, this team is quite deep in the guard positions, but rather thin on the wing and in the paint. And that’s too bad, because it’s not for lack of talent on the wing among those born in 2005 and 2006. So quickly, here are 5 guys with some intriguing potential. I hope that at least some of them might be able to join the team next year if we make it to the U17 WC.

Jalique Dunkley-Distant. 16yo; 6’6 wing from Stoney Creek, ON. A nice talent who would probably be a starter on this team if not for the COVID situation. Has a decent handle and is able to attack either side of the rim. Can create for himself, but is not selfish. Also a good and motivated defender who sits in position and moves his feet well. Not a great shooter, but has made some nice strides over the last couple of years, though his shooting form still looks a bit awkward. The decision making is also not very good right now and the finishing touch under the basket could use some fine tuning. But he’s a versatile all-around scorer, with length, very good athleticism, and a good motor, which we could really use in this tournament.


Dunkley-Distant

Jovan Milicevic. 16yo; 6’8 G/F; 220lbs from Toronto, ON. Played really well in AAU this summer, playing a year up. A sharp shooter who’s also very skilled. Heard some comparisons to a young Bogdan Bogdanovich (but that’s probably because of the Serbian decent). Beyond the shooting, he uses his size and strength to score in the paint. Not a high flyer, but a decent athlete and exactly the type of player that would really help this team and bring size and shooting to the SF position (or could also play some minutes as a small-ball PF).

Jordan Atahir. 16yo. 6’8 combo forward from Windsor, ON. Haven’t watched him play much, but from the very little I’ve seen, he has excellent size, with a solid physical frame to go with a good athletic profile. Also very fluid and agile and the skill level is quite advanced, showing some decent handle and signs of a good shooting touch around the basket. The perimeter skills and feel for the game are work in progress, but there’s certainly potential there for more.

Chris Tadjo. 15yo; 6’7 combo forward; from Montreal, QC. Although he’s only 15, Tadjo already has the physical profile of a high school graduate, with a unique blend of strength and explosiveness. Yet, he’s also very agile and fluid. At 6’7 and 200lbs, he moves like a wing, dunking with authority and showing some nice ball handling skills. Even if he’s a guy who finished developing early, there’s still lots to work with here. Plays at the NBA South America Academy, where Ben Mathurin and O-Max Prosper played before going to college.


Tadjo

Jacob Hammond. 15yo 6’6 SF. Another kid with an excellent physical profile, to go along with some perimeter skills. A smooth and fluid athlete, Hammond has some nice ball skills (though he relies a bit too heavily on his right hand), combined with impressive agility and strength. A very good slasher who gets to the paint with ease and finishes above the rim with authority, already able to absorb some contact. Also shows initial signs of a nice shooting touch. I think he almost made it to this team but was one of the last ones to be cut, which is understandable given his age. Maybe next year.

A couple of other interesting prospects who didn’t make it:

Arden Begaj. 6’10 C. Was part of training camp but didn’t make it to the final roster.
Brayden Jackson. 6’6 wing with a 7’0 wingspan. Another wing with interesting poternail who was also on the training camp roster but didn’t make the final cut. Can shoot it but still figuring out his game.
Jacob Antchak. 6’7 wing from Vancouver, BC. A fairly good athlete who can also shoot it.
Liam Dayco-Green. 6’3 combo guard, also from BC. One of the better guards in the class of 2024 in my opinion. Good shooting. But the position is loaded.
Tyrus Rathan-Mayes. 6’4 guard. Brother of… Only turned 15 two weeks ago. Waslso invited to training camp. Might get a chance next year or with an older age group.
Josiah Sutton. 6’0 PG; also born in 2006. The closest thing I’ve seen on this age group to Mikkel Tyne, but probably would be redundant here.



BOTTOM LINE: ANY CHANCE FOR GOLD?

I have to start with a disclaimer here: there’s usually quite a bit of mystery around U16 teams before the first game, but this time around I really know nothing about the other teams this year, so it’s really hard to assess. Is Argentina continuing on the declining path with the end of its golden generation? Is this the year where Brazil starts to tap into its endless potential, in a country of more than 200 million people (including a Black population of 13 million, more than 10 times that of Canada)? And how does the hosting Mexico look like this year? Despite its fountain of basketball talent, Canada cannot afford to look down on any of these teams. We’re not the US and, as I said above, I also don’t think this is the strongest team we’ve brought to this competition. So any of these teams could probably beat us on a given night and make the path to the medal game much more complicated.

Without knowing anything about the other teams, I would still think that Canada is the favorite to finish first in Group A, but it’s not guaranteed and probably not going to be easy.

One thing is almost certain – the US team, as usual, comes to this tournament as the overwhelming favorite. You could say that’s true for just about any tournament that the Americans participate in, at any age group, but probably it’s even more so at this age group. Seems to me that in recent years, the Americans have been taking these championships more seriously, making every effort to closely select the best young prospects, prepare them well, and come with the will to completely dominate the competition. And in this age group, American players still seem to be very motivated to come and represent their country (naturally, there’s also a lot for them to gain in terms of exposure and status), and you don’t see many cases of players refusing to come.

Consequently, they are able to bring in their best players before these go to college and before the crème of the crop joins the NBA at 18 or 19, which usually means that almost all of them miss the U19 WCs. When Canada comes with a star-studded team, like we did in the U16 two years ago (Houstan, Sharpe, Nembhard, and Boakye) or in the U18 in 2016 (SGA, NAW, and Brissett), we are sometimes able to at least be competitive and occasionally give them a run for their money. But even then we usually end up short-handed against the US size and depth. Unfortunately, when we’re a bit less talented (as I’m afraid might be the case with this team), things can get ugly.


The US U16 Team

So I think the gold medal is probably out of reach this year, and that’s fine. The most important goal in this championship is to win on the fifth day of the competition (the QFs) and get to the semis, securing a spot in the U17 WC next year in Spain. That we should certainly be able to do. We are probably also the favorites to get to the gold medal game, but will need to win all of our games in the group stage for this to be a realistic scenario and then of course also beat whoever we meet in the semis.

GOOD LUCK!

[Hair Canada]

Ouch, that did not look good. Team Canada falls in the first game 70:81 to a mediocre Argentinean team.

I'm afraid my first impression is that this team is even weaker than what I thought, perhaps even weaker than our 2017 U16 team. I watched the US team earlier and unlike two years ago, the gap is painfully huge. There's not a single guy on the Canadian team (including Tyne I would say) who could find a spot on the American team, and that's after they left quite a few of their best eligible players at home.

With that, it was still a winnable game, and to be honest I thought the coaches did a pretty poor job in giving us a chance to win it.

First, Theodosiou for some reason is not getting much credit. He only played 11 minutes in this game, though I thought he did a pretty good job in the minutes he did get (especially on the defensive end, with nice containment and a big block). And even when he played, he hardly got the ball from his teammates (only two shots), which is pretty strange given that he's clearly one of this team's better shooters.

And it's not like those who took up most of the minutes at the guard position played well. Osman, Au-Duke, and Okojie played together 54 minutes. They finished these with 3 points (together!), hitting none of their 16 mutual shots from the field... I really don't quite get it.

I also didn't get benching Osei in the final moments when the game was on the line. He might be limited offensively but was clearly our best big today, hitting a couple of surprising 3-pointers and doing a pretty good job in the paint. Yeiy is probably more talented long-term, but he's very raw and had some bad decisions and defensive lapses.

In short, I was left scratching my head at the end of the game.

Anyway, a couple of brief individual impressions:

Tyne was our best player today, with a very good first half. The shot was mostly falling and he also facilitated. But his weaknesses were also exposed: the height limit makes it harder for him to finish in the paint and the decision-making is not good enough (7 TOs).

I still think Oliogu might be the best long-term prospect on this team and he had flashes that showed it (impressive athleticism). but he's also very raw offensively and the shot looks particularly bad (form, leg alignment, very low release point; it actually looks broken), which is not very encouraging, though he's young and has plenty of time to work on it.

Rioux is quite a frustrating player at this point. Soft, slow, and plays much smaller than his size. A mix of the fact that he can't really jump, poor timing, and his unfortunate tendency to almost never fully stretch out his arms. and though he still manages to be a threat simply by standing in the paint and lifting his arms (even if not fully), he is completely unable to stay with the P&R and quickly becomes a defensive liability against guards or forwards who know how to expose him.

Okay, that's probably more that I wish to say about this fairly disappointing performance by the team and the coaching staff. Let's hope for a better performance tomorrow.

[Cross-over]

Going to put this one on coaching . There didn't seem to be any game plan and a definite lack of in game adjustment. I don't know how Au-Duke got on this team but in every single way he was a detriment when on the court.

[Hair Canada]

Going to put this one on coaching . There didn't seem to be any game plan and a definite lack of in game adjustment. I don't know how Au-Duke got on this team but in every single way he was a detriment when on the court.

Ye, as I said I kind of agree with this. They might be working with a less talented group than previous U16 coaches but they could have done much more with it. Hopefully, they shake things up a bit and make better decisions today against Mexico. The U17 WC next year is on the line now.

[Danny1616]

Thanks for the in depth analysis.

[TheLP]

Mikkel Tyne is actually nuts. I think he might be the most complete offensive player I've seen for Canada U16s since Jamal Murray. It's so unfortunate that his height will be a reason to doubt him

[Hair Canada]

Mexico is one of the weakest teams in this competition and Canada used it to bounce back in an easy 85-49 win.

More than anything, this game was a coming-out party for Efeosa Oliogu (get used to saying the name), with an astonishing array of dunks (he had 6 of them in the game), including put-backs, a couple of contested finishes, and even a completely ridiculous windmill for a 15yo.

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The thing about Oliogu is that at 6'6 I think he can actually develop into a PG or at least a combo. He has very good vision and good passing skills and the handle, while it still needs work, is also quite advanced. Now, if he can only revamp his broken shooting form, we've got ourselves a really interesting prospect in the making.


Beyond Oliogu, Tyne was very good again and showed his handle, shooting touch, and body control. But for me, the biggest difference from the first game was that Theodosiou got more minutes and, not surprisingly produced very well (excellent defense, 15 points, and 4 assists). Together with Tyne, he completed the 1-2 punch that I thought this team needed to build on from the very beginning (and not doing that might have cost us the game against Argentina). I hope the coaches realize now that this is their best backcourt duo and give them more minutes together when things are tighter.

Was also nice to see some signs of life from Okojie and Vojnic in limited minutes, though we'll need to see both bringing this game against tougher competition.

And not a word about Rioux.

Brazil is not much better than Mexico (lost to Argentina today by almost 50 points). So I expect to see more of the same tomorrow before the big game on Friday that would determine whether we're going to the U17 WC next year.

[Cross-over]

Yup that trio of Theodosiou , Tyne and Oliogu needs to be out there as much as possible. You know Rioux needs a LOT of work but at this age level his lane intimidation is pretty handy. I love OLiogu's attack mentality.

[TheLP]

I want to get excited about Efeosa Oliogu but it feels like déjà vu.

Great athlete, high flying highlight reel dunks that look amazing in a mixtape or Twitter clips, but then you watch the game and see the jumpshot and you almost vomit. I feel like this description could have applied to Andrew Wiggins & RJ Barrett when they were young or even recently with Elijah Fisher. And it's kinda painful to watch when they're this young because it really feels like it should be their main priority.

It'll be interesting to follow for the next couple years because the rest of his game looks really really promising and he's obviously only 15 but until that jumpshot is cleaned up, I don't want to put myself through it again where I'm excited about a player with a fatal flaw in their game.

[mtr15]

I want to get excited about Efeosa Oliogu but it feels like déjà vu.

Great athlete, high flying highlight reel dunks that look amazing in a mixtape or Twitter clips, but then you watch the game and see the jumpshot and you almost vomit. I feel like this description could have applied to Andrew Wiggins & RJ Barrett when they were young or even recently with Elijah Fisher. And it's kinda painful to watch when they're this young because it really feels like it should be their main priority.

It'll be interesting to follow for the next couple years because the rest of his game looks really really promising and he's obviously only 15 but until that jumpshot is cleaned up, I don't want to put myself through it again where I'm excited about a player with a fatal flaw in their game.

I accidently deleted my previous post.

What are your thoughts on DJ Burke? He's in the class of 2024 and he could have been in the conversation for the U16 team. He's a very intriguing prospect. He was the best player for the 15U Northern Kings AAU team this summer and he also plays for DC (Durham City) United.

[TheLP]

I accidently deleted my previous post.

What are your thoughts on DJ Burke? He's in the class of 2024 and he could have been in the conversation for the U16 team. He's a very intriguing prospect. He was the best player for the 15U Northern Kings AAU team this summer and he also plays for DC (Durham City) United.

HairCanada might have a better response, I haven't watched him

[TheLP]

I wish this tournament happened before the U19s, it would have given me an even bigger appreciation for Zach Edey.

Rioux is going to be a notable prospect because of his size but it really looks like that size is going to limit any chance he has of being a legit NBA prospect. He has no feel for the game of basketball, that can be somewhat coached into him. I don't think you can necessarily coach hustle and he has none. But the biggest thing is he almost looks like he's in pain running up and down the court. It gives me flashbacks to Sim Bhullar.

The fact that there are people who look at Edey as "just big" and "slow" ... man they have no idea what that looks like.

[Hair Canada]

I wish this tournament happened before the U19s, it would have given me an even bigger appreciation for Zach Edey.

Rioux is going to be a notable prospect because of his size but it really looks like that size is going to limit any chance he has of being a legit NBA prospect. He has no feel for the game of basketball, that can be somewhat coached into him. I don't think you can necessarily coach hustle and he has none. But the biggest thing is he almost looks like he's in pain running up and down the court. It gives me flashbacks to Sim Bhullar.

The fact that there are people who look at Edey as "just big" and "slow" ... man they have no idea what that looks like.

It's really not just that he's (very) slow. As you say, he's very soft (and Edey not at all). I feel there's something incredibly frustrating watching someone so big who can't (won't?) impose himself. And today was actually his best game (though vs. very weak competition). If we get to meet the US in the semis (PR are no slouches), don't think he'll be able to stay on the court.