Hoops

BA names Opals 2016 squad

Seebohm and Goorjan please.

Button and Lavey might well be able to run, but so can the opposition, as was proved in the WNBL season. Burton in particular still had little to no effect on the opposition, so what the hell is she going to do against even stronger international opposition...... You need to be able to do more than run for goodness sake.
Agree with above, hopefully this will be the last we see of joyce after Rio.

Can't wait till they get rid of Joyce and lemanis...
Pisses me off.

"When people look at the most talent, unfortunately people look at the leading scorers. But some of those players can't defend, or they don't rebound, or they don't run hard enough the whole game," he said.

Burton has already made the side; he is always talking about how she runs well.

Its seems that fiba.com are happy to put out these propaganda puff pieces for Joyce.

The last one on Burton evolving into one of the most important Opals and this most recent article on the speed needed to keep in front of a player like Lindsay Whalen (probably more justification on the upcoming selections of Burton and Lavey).

"Joyce thinks he has a long run-and-gun team. Does he not realise his team has a core of Phillips, Taylor and Cambage?"

He certainly didn't say that, I'd say it's more a case that he realises he needs length and speed around his stars for them to be effective and for the team to defend at a high level. It's always that balance between picking the best 12 players and the best 12 for the team. Hopefully he gets it right.

Taurasi at 6'2? Man this guy talks some bs.

http://www.fiba.com/news/joyce-we-want-to-beat-the-best

Joyce thinks he has a long run-and-gun team. Does he not realise his team has a core of Phillips, Taylor and Cambage?

Correct. She was a pretty efficient scorer for the Mercury, but her D was a glaring weakness.
It seemed to me that she had been working on that aspect of her game since returning from Phoenix, and her boxing out & rebounding has gone up a level, but the one-on-one coverage and also general awareness of who is where on the court is still a worry for me, and is the reason I didn't name her in my preliminary 12.

"Cayla George can probably hang with Charles and compete with her inside, but do we really want her getting drawn out to the perimeter to guard a Delle Donne or a Parker?"

She didn't prove she could effectively guard any of those players last WNBA season though.

I agree, Charles doesn't offer much from distance but she's great on the boards.
i would put penaluna, George, griffin and even tolo out there on della Donne. away from the basket she's a spot up shooter or has the 1 dribble pull up.
Parker is harder to guard because she's a combo forward. Much better ball handler and has descent first step, less of a threat from long distance but gets to the hoop and stretches defences.

Absolutely. But as opponents get harder to guard, that's not just a problem for Hodges. That's a problem for anyone we put out there. Cayla George can probably hang with Charles and compete with her inside, but do we really want her getting drawn out to the perimeter to guard a Delle Donne or a Parker? Yikes.
There's no complete answer, which is why we need some flexibility in our lineup. That's why I think we can probably only afford to take 3 of the 4 big bigs mentioned earlier. Not because all 4 aren't good enough to be there, but because we should leave a spot for a more mobile option.

The front courts of other teams have completely changed since the 2014 worlds.
Hodges will have to come further away from the basket and guard much longer, taller stronger opponents.

japan, Canada, USA, Spain, Serbia, Brazil etc..

To use Canada as an example...
At the 2014 worlds they had ayim at centre(starting), the plouffe sisters at 6'3 and boogaard at 6'5 in the front court. No one else..

Now, they have 6'4 achonwa and 6'4 Alexander, both wnba.
6'4 superstar senior bulgak who can play 4 or 5
2 quality young 6'6 centres in hamblin and Potter.
Add 6'3 ayim who's a fantastic 4.
Potentially Add some young Canadian guards... Nurse, fields, Weisner, crozon.

USA go from 6'2 Dupree, 6'2 ogwumike who both can't shoot from the 3... an inexperienced 6'4 Stewart.
Now they have 6'5 della Donne, 6'4 Parker(who can play 3),a much more rounded Stewart..
Potentially Charles over to the 4 with 6'8 Griner and 6'6 Fowles at centre.
A plethora of others not to count out..

"I think hodges is done, a 6'3 pf (almost undersized now) without a solid permiter game seems poor in today's international game."

After Rio, for sure. But I'm not so sure she's out of the equation right now.

6 months ago she top scored for us in one of the Oceania qualifiers.
At the last worlds she started for the Opals, averaged 18 minutes and matched up pretty well against most 4's. If the USA puts Tina Charles at the 4 then she'll struggle, but against Dupree she's not a bad matchup, and against Parker or Delle Donne I give her a better chance of slowing them down than a "twin towers" type 4 like Francis. (This is where Joyce chimes in with "Burton would shut the lot of them down!!)

Purely speculation on my part, but based on recent history... I reckon Joyce may have Hodges in his default 12, and would need to see someone at the camps / friendlies step up and prove they're more deserving of the spot. If it comes down to a tight call it may be a case of going with the proven option.

Personally I'd love to see Penaluna in that spot, but she has really never been given much of a go for some reason, and time is running out, so I think her chances are slim. To me she'd make an excellent international 4. Same height as Burton and similar build, but a far better rebounder and also a solid jump shooter right out to 3 point range.

I think hodges is done, a 6'3 pf (almost undersized now) without a solid permiter game seems poor in today's international game.

I think George and batkovic is a nice combination upfront. Familiarity... fire teammates.

I also think Penaluna and cambage would work well together(like when they played at bulleen)

So you have 2 mobile 6'4 pfs (George, penaluna) is who can shoot from distance who are mobile, can also defend, rebound and block shots.

2 solid bodied centres, 1 6'8, 1 6'5, (ca,babe, batkovic) both who of whom can step away from the basket and post up, bang bodies whilst also providing rim protection and cleaning the glass.

Leaves 1 spot left for Jackson, tolo or griffin.
Basically a centre, a c/pf or a combo forward. Tough choice...

George being a capable centre also, I would lean towards tolo or griffin.
The international game seems to focus on transition, not sure..
Mitchell and tolo or Mansfield and griffin.

No surprise Snell didn't make the camp, the writing was on the wall when she didn't make the Rio test squad.

O'hea not invited to camp for not making selection criteria? Taylor hasn't attended anything since Worlds '14 - make your requirements standards for everyone.

It means she chose WNBA over the Opals this year


Boti's 12:

Phillips, Mitchell, Lavey
Jarry, Taylor
Allen, Talbot
Hodges, George
Cambage, Tolo, Batkovic

Looks around the mark to me. My only criticism is that it's a bit top-heavy I reckon, considering Joyce wants to run & press.
I had a similar selection issue ... the last 4 names listed are all worthy but I reckon we only need 3 big bigs.

Ohea has not met selection criteria.. What does that mean exactly?

Article didn't make sense to me.
It says Griffin to be the replacement option to Taylor after rio...
Lol, their game is nothing alike and they play different positions.

http://www.botinagy.com/blog/polishing-opals-for-rio/

After rio.. I see us falling back a few spots. The following tournament in 2019 will be a rebuilding phase I think.

Phillips, Mitchell, Wilson, Taylor, ohea, snell, griffin, hodges, Jackson, batkovic pretty much all guaranteed to not be there and not a whole lot of experienced talent to replace them.

The next crop.. Leading up to 2019...?
5'7 Mansfield/5'7 lavey
6'1 jarry/6'1 Allen/5'10 ebzery
6'2 Talbot/6'2 Blicavs
6'4 George/6'4 penaluna/6'3 bishop
6'8 cambage/6'5 tolo
On the cusp...
Cole, Garrick, seekamp, madgen, cumming, kunek.

Bright future...? U22 2020 and beyond...
5'10 wehrung/5'9 Molloy
5'11 Wallace/6'1 horvat/5'9 yaegar
6'1 sharp/6'1 bibby
6'4 smith/6'3 froling/6'5 mijovic
6'5 scherf/6'5 bunton
Many others in contention...

I agree. I wouldn't put her up against della Donne or Parker as a pf. Other teams I would.
Brazil, France, Serbia, turkey, China, Belarus yes.. I would
USA, Spain, Canada, Japan no... I wouldn't.

That's a handy 12 you listed btw.

They're both 5's to me. I listed them that way because I could see a lineup of Cambage + Batkovic working, since Suzy can step out and score away from the basket, whereas Tolo can't.
Defensively I don't particularly like the idea of either of them guarding PF's.

Doesn't make sense to me..
You put tolo at centre.. and batkovic at pf.
It's definitely the other way round.
Tolo has mobility, consistent mid range shot, but a poor rebounder and a smaller body. Batkovic is the opposite.

Starting 5.
Pg/sg Phillips 5'8
Sg/sf Taylor 6'1
Sf/sg Talbot 6'2
Pf/sf Griffin 6'2
C Cambage 6'8

2nd unit.
Pg/sg Mansfield 5'7
Sg/sf Jarry 6'1
Sf/sg Allen 6'1
Pf/c George 6'4
C Batkovic 6'5

Extras.
Sg/pg Ebzery 5'10
C/pf Tolo 6'5

Reserves(next in line)
Pg/sg Lavey 5'7
Sf/sg Blicavs 6'2
Pf/c penaluna 6'4

I would too, but I'd also still have Mitchell in my team. If I decided that we had sufficient ball-handling capability in the event of an injury then Mansfield would be the unlucky one to miss out.
I'll add that although Penny is capable of advancing the ball, we need to avoid her needing to do that. She'll need all the energy she's got at the offensive end without wearing her out with ball carrying duties. (I'll also add that Allen should not be listed as a guard even for those who want to pick a team of giants. Jarry is more a guard than Allen.)

With Erin's fairly injury-plagued last few years I'd be very tempted to take 2 genuine PGs alongside her, or at very least a combo like Ebzery as insurance. With a squad of 12 you get 2 bonus players in addition to a backup for every position. In the past we've always used one of those bonus spots for a ball handler (2014: Lavey, 2012: MacLeod, 2010: Bevilaqua, etc.) and I think that is wise.
It would not surprise me if Ebzery got in as a SG and we had 3 other PG options. The SG spot is our clear weakness IMO. And I'll bet Joyce was thankful he had Ebzery for that Rio test event when Lavey was unable to play, and that was only 3 games.


I'm thinking something like:
Mitchell, Phillips, Mansfield
Taylor, Ebzery
Jarry, Allen, Talbot?
Batkovic, Penaluna?
Cambage, Tolo

Those ? spots ... could easily be Hodges, George, Blicavs, or even Griffin/Bishop.
In all honestly I doubt Joyce will omit Hodges, and I couldn't blame him. She's a proven international performer. And I'm guessing that means Penaluna, Bishop & Griffin will miss out.
If any doubt about Tolo's ability to survive the tournament then George is an automatic in.

I'd actually scrap lavey also and add ebzery as a combo guard.

5'8 Phillips/5'7 Mansfield/5'7 lavey
6'1 Taylor/6'1 allen
6'1 Jarry/6'2 Blicavs or 6'2 talbot(tough call)
6'2 griffin/6'4 George/6'5 tolo
6'8 Cambage/6'5 batkovic

If Mitchell gets the nod and griffin booted, I'd take penaluna as a pf.

Personally I probably wouldn't have picked Snell in my final 12, but she's had an excellent WNBL season and her experience would likely have kept her in my mix down to the last few cuts.
I agree with most of your other cuts too.
Your final list of "which leaves..." is virtually identical to the one I've been contemplating.

PG I would take Mansfield but her health is obviously a big concern at this point.

Wings & forwards are tough. Complicated a little by Tolo. Tolo of 12 months ago would be in. Unknown Tolo coming off an ACL? That's risky.
I think in the last month Suzy has played her way into my 12 probably at Cayla's expense, but then again if Tolo doesn't play we could really use Cayla's rebounding.
I'd love a healthy Penaluna in my Opals 12, but again the fact that she can't participate in camp works against her.

Snell shouldn't have even made the world's last time.
No longer can you be a specialist. Like burton...
Garrick is a potential opal of the future and I think this was Wilsons last chance.
Imo i would also take out kunek, madgen, cumming, bishop and mijovic. No way are they making the squad.

Which leaves..
Pg/Sg 3 out of Phillips, Mitchell, lavey, Mansfield.
Sg/sf 4 out of Taylor, Allen, ebzery, jarry, Talbot, blicavs.
Pf/c 5 out of George, tolo, Hodges, griffin, penaluna, cambage, batkovic, Jackson.

Squad for the March 29 camp:

Rebecca Allen
Suzy Batkovic
Sara Blicavs
Abby Bishop
Natalie Burton
Elizabeth Cambage
Stephanie Cumming
Katie Rae Ebzery
Cayla George
Rachel Jarry
Alice Kunek
Tessa Lavey
Tess Madgen
Carley Mijovic
Leilani Mitchell
Erin Phillips
Stephanie Talbot
Penny Taylor

Injured/unavailable List:
•Laura Hodges
•Marianna Tolo
•Lauren Jackson
•Kelsey Griffin
•Lauren Mansfield
•Elyse Penaluna



Therefore it looks like the following have been dropped from the original list:
- Madeleine Garrick
- Belinda Snell
- Kelly Wilson

Must say I am particularly surprised about Snell. I thought that due to her experience she's be right in the mix down to the final handful of cuts.

Do you people not read the propaganda oops I mean articles on the FIBA website? She's one of the most important Opals so of course he is going to pick her. He'd be mad not to!

Being real for a moment .. I have nothing at all against Nat. She started with the Waves, and is now an integral player in the Lynx post rotation. She's a crucial part of our title aspirations, and I'm looking forward to tuning in to support her and the team tomorrow.
So I don't mean anything negative towards her personally when I post criticisms of her selection in the Opals team. But from a purely playing perspective I just don't see how she gets a spot. And that's as a Perth fan who would love to see a Perth girl there if it is justified.

Tomorrow will be a great test for her actually. Last round she was soundly beaten in the paint against Townsville, but only the people in the stadium were there to observe it, and there was also very little at stake in the game so I don't read too much into how the game went.
This time there is a lot on the line, and it's also on YouTube for everyone to view, analyse, and make their own assessments from. If Nat can break even with Suzy/Cayla it will go a long way towards winning the game for the Lynx. In her battle of contrasting styles, if Nat can demonstrate that she's able to exploit her advantages while limiting her opponent's then I'm quite happy for my opinion to be shifted when it comes to Opals selections.
She's going up against 2 players who are very strong candidates for Opals spots themselves, so you couldn't ask for a better test than this.

ADoJ ?

Most of the underperforming opals coaches had their "captain's (non)Picks"

Cadee = x Sporn
Graf = x Philips
Joyce = x O'Hea ( but in compensation +++ Burton)

Wow, FIBA be trollin'

Are you permitted to take dummy's to training camps in case you can't see the funny side of a joke? (& need to have a spit)
"Hey Erin, your Dad wore footy boots!"

Looks like a great group to choose from and let's hope they bring home the Gold after being so close.

Taylor and Phillips are playing WNBA this season with Joyce's blessing

I know that in 2014 she chose her WNBA team over the Opals qualifying commitments and it cost her a spot. I remember at the time thinking there was something a bit shady about the way it all went down, but I don't recall the details.
It seems that there is more compromise being made by the Opals so I would have thought Jenna might have been considered again, but on the other hand I also get the distinct impression that Jenna isn't on Joyce's favourite players list.

As I said above, my curiosity is about what the real deal is, as opposed to the official statements from both parties, and I know I'm unlikely to ever find that out.
And yes, in my limited interactions with her she has always come across as pretty down to earth and amiable.

Lucky they have a sports psych helping them as there is every chance Cambage and Kunek will be in training camp 1!

Didn't O'Hea make herself unavailable internationally or something, or am I making that up (and no, I'm not confusing her with Bishop)?

27 really seems quite excessive to me considering the games are now only months away.

And yeah I too am curious to know what the real deal is with Jenna O'Hea. On playing ability there's no way she's not in our best 27. Ditto when it comes to experience with and against elite players.