WHO SAYS THIS IS THE OFF SEASON? MAJOR THINGS ARE GOING ON ACROSS THE WORLD IN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL!!

In my most recent post, I covered our Under 16 girls team playing in the World Cup of the Americas in Mexico. The Gold Medal game with Canada was what a lot of the people were waiting to see. The undefeated Canadians seemed light years ahead of the kids on the other teams in the tournament who had been completely undone by Sue Phillips' (Archbishop Mitty H.S. in San Jose, CA) full court press.

But no, the kids from up north withered and wilted, as well. Cassandre Prosper, a 6'-2" forward, emerged, to me, as the MVP of their team. Turns out almost no girls on their team, or any of the other teams in the tournament, could handle the press executed by the kids who had USA across the front of their jerseys, who were quick as hell and could anticipate where the next pass was going. A few minutes in, the games all seemed to turn into a layup drill. 

Those two qualities pretty much defined the girls in red, white and blue. They ended up winning the Gold Medal game by 60, and Coach Sue shut down the press in the third quarter and played her least lethal players from there on. The quickest of our numerous quick guards was Jaloni Cambridge (#4), a 15 year old 5'-5" projectile who accelerates like something shot from an electric rail gun. She brings Aari McDonald to mind - how Aari must have played when she was 15.

At the same time, in Debrecen, Hungary the FIBA U18 3X3 women's World Cup tournament was happening. I was particularly interested in watching Kiki Rice ( #7.) She's the highest ranked point guard in the 2022 class and was locked in a series of six great basketball battles. 

Kiki is being as heavily recruited as Lauren Betts was by all the major powerhouse schools, including Stanford - but Kiki hasn't made her decision yet. My sources tell me that Stanford had a coach at that tournament and that her folks have deep ties to The Farm. She seems to me like a Kiana with a bigger frame. She's 5'-11", built strong, able to play through contact, and can shoot. Here's hoping Kiki picks up the Cardinal colored hat on signing day. 

The USA 3X3 team was made up of three of the top ranked recruits in the Class of 2022 and one in the Class of 2023. Only one of which has committed, to date. Ayanna Patterson (#4) has verbally committed to UConn. The other three were Kiki Rice, Janiah Barker (#11), and Mikaylah Williams (#12) (2023).  (Janiah is a beast!)

You should treat yourself to watching some of all the games our 3X3 team played this past week on YouTube. It was a brutal gauntlet - nothing like the cakewalk our U16 5X5 team enjoyed. You had the feeling, watching the USA/Russia 3X3 quarter-final contest that the Russian players' families might lose their homes or their careers, if they lost. It was no game for anyone with weak knees or a faint heart. The refs had to stop the play several times and warn the players to reduce the level of contact - and handed out technical fouls, as well, trying to moderate the level of physicality. Bodies were strewn about the tarmac now and again. The Russians won in overtime, but I think it took so much out of them they lost their semi-final game.

We played the Spanish team for the Gold Medal. They played great basketball and were the European 3X3 champs. Winning that Gold Medal was a massive accomplishment. My hat is off to those four brave indefatigable American warriors.  

Anyway, who says this is the off season?

COME TO STANFORD, KIKI, AND HELP US WIN!! AND TREAT YOURSELF TO THE BEST UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD (AND NEEDS A GREAT POINT GUARD!!)

        

THE USA U16 GIRLS TEAM IS CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THE FIBA AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP IN MEXICO.

The US players now competing in Mexico in the FIBA U16 Americas Championship are entering their junior year of high school. The coach is Sue Phillips, the head coach at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose. Besides helping to develop Haley Jones' skill set, her teams have won a number of California state titles and is a perennial powerhouse. 

I recommend watching a game or two on YouTube to gain familiarity with the next "generation" of basketball stars. None have yet committed to a college team - that's probably a year away. 

The most outstanding player is Judea "Juju" Watkins who is averaging 21 points in the first two games in limited minutes. She's also the number one ranked recruit in the 2023 class. For her first  year of high school she played for Vanessa Nygaard at the Windward School in Los Angeles. Recently, she transferred to Sierra Canyon ahead of her junior season. Last year she was named Los Angeles Player of the year.

Last season Coach Nygaard took a leave of absence from Windward to be the assistant coach of the WNBA Las Vegas Aces. From 1993 to 1997 she was a star player for the Cardinal. Seems like Stanford might have an inside track in recruiting Juju - with the help of Ms. Nygaard. 

Another key player for the US U16 team is Breya Cunningham, a 6'-4" player from La Jolla Country Day in La Jolla. Wonder if Candice Wiggins might be willing to take in some games at her old high school next season and talk to Breya about her years as a Cardinal. While she's at it, Jada Williams, a terrific guard prospect, is also a member of the current US U16 team and is Breya's teammate at Country Day.

While you're watching check out Delaney Thomas a leader in both scoring and rebounding, Margaret Mendelson, a 6'-6" post prospect, and Olivia Olson an all-around gifted player. The other teams in the tournament they've played, so far are weak, but Canada will provide more of a challenge. I haven't seen the Canadian team play yet, but hopefully we'll have a shot at some of their star players in a year, or so.

Anyway, its great to have a bunch of California kids playing for a great California coach and representing the USA. Do you think they know where Haley played in high school? And what team won the national championship last season? I think so, too.

STANFORD IS ON THE MOVE!! LET'S WIN IT AGAIN!!       

LAUREN BETTS IS THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE USA UNDER 19 FIBA WORLD CUP BASKETBALL TEAM!!

From August 7th to the 15th we were provided a glimpse into Stanford women's basketball future. The FIBA U19 women's basketball World Cup tournament was played in Hungary. You can still see some of the games on YouTube. 

Lauren Betts is 17 years old and 6'-7". She was the youngest player on the USA team, the number one ranked recruit in the 2022 Class, and as you know, she's committed to Stanford. The team had five post players, but two got 90% of the minutes - Lauren Ware, who will be a sophomore at Arizona next month and Lauren Betts, who will be a senior in high school. 

Sania Feagin got some playing time and is entering South Carolina as a freshman top five recruit. Amari DeBerry, also a top five recruit is entering UConn, and Jersey Wolfenbarger, a seventh ranked recruit that has signed with Arkansas, got into games once they were safely in the "win" column. The USA won all six of their games in the tournament, and beat Australia in the gold medal game 70 to 52.    

The level of competition was obviously challenging for Lauren.  Grandview High School in Centennial, Colorado doesn't play national teams like our U19 team faced last week - Australia, Italy, Russia, France, Canada, etc. In the first game she had 17 points and 15 rebounds in about twenty-five minutes. So, she's pretty good, even when she's playing against 19 and 20 year old college women. The age limit is nineteen or younger on January 1, 2021. Te'Hine Paopao, the US starting point guard, will be a junior at Oregon in September. That's a stretch for a girl like Lauren Betts, who just finished her junior year in high school.

As you would expect, her game shows room for improvement, but in her case it's called incredible upside potential! It will be interesting to watch her development during her senior season and the 2022 off-season. I get the feeling she's focused and motivated. 

She plays AAU basketball for the same team that Ashton played for - coached by ex-NBA All Star and versatile big man - Keith Van Horn. He's constantly pushing Lauren to new limits and already has her working hard on her perimeter shooting, dribbling, and passing - when she's not perfecting her moves in the paint. Lauren's dad has been her greatest source of inspiration to become a player. Andrew is 7'-1" and played for Long Beach State and professionally in Europe. 

She has friends on the Cardinal team in Fran Belibi and Jana VanGytenbeek, who come from the same area of Colorado. In fact, Jana's high school, Cherry Creek, and Lauren's high school, Grandview, could be battling next season for the state championship.

See what I mean, when in numerous blog pieces I've said the magnetic poles in the women's NCAA basketball world are reversing from the east coast to the west coast? All the powerhouse teams were recruiting Lauren Betts for all they were worth - UConn, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Louisville - but she chose Stanford before she'd even set foot on the campus. The best new coaches are coming to the PAC12 - and so are many of the best players.

In the 2022 Recruiting Class, as I mentioned above, Lauren Betts is ranked number one. Six of the top eleven ranked players are committed to PAC12 schools and three haven't committed yet. So six of the eight, who have signed, are coming to the PAC12. The tectonic plates of the WBB world of the NCAA are definitely tilting toward the west coast.

An interesting side note: the number one recruit in the nation for 2021, Azzi Fudd, who has signed with UConn, did not shine in Hungary. She started every game, played sound defense, made numerous turnovers, and was passive on offense. Caitlin Clark (Iowa) was the tournament MVP and Sonia Citron (Notre Dame) was named, along with Clark, to the All Tournament team. Lauren Betts, Payton Verhulst (Louisville), and Diamond Johnson (N.C. State) were standout players, as was Paopao (Oregon). 

If I was Geno - I'd be pondering several questions: Alright we got Fudd, but how did we miss out on Clark, Citron, and Verhulst? And Betts!! Yee Gads, she's going to make my life miserable until 2026!!      

LET'S GO STANFORD!!