FIBA Americas U18 Championship

[Bob Green]

USA defeated Venezuela 82-73:

http://live.sportingpulse.com/matches/18/00/05/27/752vBxBbCOvKw/bs_t1.html?1216063819

Mason Plumlee scored 8 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. He was 6-6 from the FT Line. Travis Wear was the leading scorer with 15 points. Kemba Walker dished out 5 assists and scored 12 points.

Next game is against the Bahamas tomorrow.

[juise]

An interesting side note: Greg Echenique was Venezuela's leading rebounder (9) and he also chipped in 11 points (on low shooting percentages).

[roywhite]

http://usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=08_mu18_game_01

From the article:
“Yeah, coach wanted us to keep the pressure on them, ball pressure and stuff,” said Mason Plumlee (Christ H.S. / Arden, N.C.). “He said that eventually they’ll get tired. We’ve got 12 guys who can all play and we use all 12 of them...

[Smitty1911]

That's decent production given only 13 minutes of PT. Hopefully he'll get more time against the Bahamas. Anyone know if these games are televised?

[gw67]

USA was 1-16 from three-point land. If they run into a team who are hitting their outside shots, USA may be in for a tough game. It appears that Wear and Kelly are the starting inside players with Plumlee the first off the bench based on minutes.

gw67

[yancem]

USA defeated Venezuela 82-73:

http://live.sportingpulse.com/matches/18/00/05/27/752vBxBbCOvKw/bs_t1.html?1216063819

Mason Plumlee scored 8 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. He was 6-6 from the FT Line. Travis Wear was the leading scorer with 15 points. Kemba Walker dished out 5 assists and scored 12 points.

Next game is against the Bahamas tomorrow.

The discrepancy between the minutes/production of the two Wear twins is interesting. I thought they were pretty much the same in terms of talent and ability. I know that you can only gleam so much from one game but 25 minutes vs 3 is a telling sign.

[wisteria]

DBR headline news says "Miles" Plumlee.

[roywhite]

The discrepancy between the minutes/production of the two Wear twins is interesting. I thought they were pretty much the same in terms of talent and ability. I know that you can only gleam so much from one game but 25 minutes vs 3 is a telling sign.


Beware; they may pull that Hayley Mills (Lindsay Lohan in the more modern version) Parent Trap thing where they switch identities, confusing both coaches and opponents.

[stickdog]

That's decent production given only 13 minutes of PT. Hopefully he'll get more time against the Bahamas. Anyone know if these games are televised?

25 points, 25 rebounds and 16 free throws on a per 40 minute basis. Unfortunately, these games are not being televised.

[roywhite]

USA 59 Bahamas 11 after 2 periods

http://usabasketball.com/

[Bob Green]

USA 115 - Bahamas 51. Mason Plumlee scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in 19+ minutes of playing time:

http://live.sportingpulse.com/matches/18/00/06/95/72EOOdjNmh7dQ/bs_t2.html?1216150780

We were 6/20 from behind the 3-point line. Tomorrow's game is against Puerto Rico.

[nicktonyg22]

Looking at the shot chart, Mason hit a deep three, and the rest of his points came within a few feet of the basket. I know that the competition was really weak, but at least it looks like he has a versatile game and hopefully some sort of back to the basket post-up game.

[roywhite]

Looking at the shot chart, Mason hit a deep three, and the rest of his points came within a few feet of the basket. I know that the competition was really weak, but at least it looks like he has a versatile game and hopefully some sort of back to the basket post-up game.

Based on what I have seen and read:

Versatile game?---yes
Back to the basket post-up game---no, not really, or not yet

What he does well (among other things) is to get rebounds and put-backs; Mason is long, fairly athletic, and has good hands.

He also seems to have a signature move of sorts---he drives along the baseline, goes under the basket and then does a reverse jam over his head. Works for me. :)

[Bob Green]

USA 106 - Puerto Rico 64. Mason Plumlee scored 3 points and had 6 rebounds in 14+ minutes of action.

[roywhite]

USA 106 - Puerto Rico 64. Mason Plumlee scored 3 points and had 6 rebounds in 14+ minutes of action.

Thanks, Bob; that puts the USA into the semifinals vs the loser of Canada vs Argentina, which is the last game tonight. I believe Puerto Rico also goes to the semifinals and would play the winner of the Argentina/Canada game. Argentina may be the biggest threat to the USA here.

[Bob Green]

Argentina 74 - Canada 64. USA will play Canada tomorrow in the semi-finals.

[gw67]

The link for the box score is below:

http://www.usabasketball.com/men/2008/08_mu18_game_03_box.pdf

The Wear youngster continues to play well. Plumlee hit a three pointer but this team is not a good outside shooting team even against outmanned opponents.

gw67

[roywhite]

http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=08_mu18_game_04

USA team defeated Canada 82-66 in semifinals; will play winner of late game, Argentina vs Puerto Rico. Don't have stats for Plumlee; he is not listed as one of the leading scorers in this article.

[Bob Green]

USA will play Argentina for the Championship. Here is the box score from today's win over Canada:

http://www.fibaamericas.com/fnabox.asp?g=15&n=A&r=6506

Plumlee did not score in 5+ minutes of playing time. He grabbed two rebounds.

[yancem]

USA will play Argentina for the Championship. Here is the box score from today's win over Canada:

http://www.fibaamericas.com/fnabox.asp?g=15&n=A&r=6506

Plumlee did not score in 5+ minutes of playing time. He grabbed two rebounds.

Interesting that Plumlee and both Wear twins didn't play much. I wonder since the games seem to be close together if the coach is alternating who he's playing.

[Bob Green]

Argentina 77 - USA 64. I'm very proud of the young men who represented the USA and I'm sure they all gained invaluable experience in this tournament. The USA will travel to New Zealand next July to participate in the U19 FIBA World Championship.

http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/18/00/07/96/72W0pIal2iOWY/

[roywhite]

http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/18/00/07/96/72W0pIal2iOWY/

Argentina 77 USA 64 in final game

Strange looking boxscore; after balanced minutes and scoring in the other games, there were 6 USA players, including Plumlee, both Wears, and Leslie McDonald, who did not score.

Well, that international tournament is still good experience for Mason and the other guys.

[RainingThrees]

hope this is not a preview of the olympics.