I haven't been able to see them yet, but according to many guys I talked to at the FIBA U-18 games, this is the most talented U-17 squad ever.
http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/u17/roster.html
The USA defeated Argentina 82-70 in their first game at the FIBA U17 World Championship being held in Hamburg, Germany. Here is the game recap and box score. The recap credits stifling defense including a full court press as the difference.
Mike Gilchrist led the way with an impressive 22 points and 15 rebounds.
Bob Green
I haven't been able to see them yet, but according to many guys I talked to at the FIBA U-18 games, this is the most talented U-17 squad ever.
http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/u17/roster.html
USA improves to 2-0 with a 102-66 shellacking of Lithuania. Brad Beal and James McAdoo were the leading scorers with 16 points each. McAdoo led the team in rebounds with seven, while Quinn Cook dished out eight assists.
Our next game is on Monday against China. The game starts at 1645 Central European Time which is 1045 Eastern or 0745 Pacific.
Bob Green
USA is up on Egypt 38-16 at the end of the 1st Quarter. Quinn Cook has six points and four assists. Brad Beal (Florida commit) is the leading scorer with 13 points. USA was 7/10 on 3-pointers during the first quarter.
Bob Green
Brad Beal is the real deal. Florida could have been really good in the next few years if Austin had decided to stay with his original commitment. After watching Pat Young dominate in San Antonio, put him with Beal, Rivers, and two other 2010 commits Casey Prather and Cody Larson. That is a stacked squad for the 2011-2012 year.
Quinn Cook ended up dishing out 10 assists in the USA 132-64 victory.
Bob Green
There doesn't seem to be much interest in discussing the U17 World Championship on the board, however, I'll bump it back to the top once again. USA plays Australia in the Quarterfinals on Friday morning at 1045 Eastern. Our semi-final opponent will be the winner of the Canada/China game (yes, I'm guaranteeing a USA victory over Australia).
Quinn Cook averaged 7.8 assists and 9.2 points per game over the five games of the preliminary round. He is the starting point guard. Brad Beal (Florida), James McAdoo (UNC) and Michael Gilchrist (Kentucky) are the leading scorers.
Bob Green
Thanks for the reports. I am curious that M. Teague hasn't been getting more playing time and production for the U-17 team. I was under the impression that he was a top-5 recruit and some people ranked him ahead of Rivers in the backcourt. After hearing of Austin's outstanding performance at the U-18 championships, I would have expected Teague to be dominant at the U-17. Is he just not getting the playing time on a stacked team? Or...?
Quinn Cook is the starting point guard and has played 110 minutes in five games. Teague has played 94 minutes. A comparison of key stats:
Cook: 9.2 points, 7.8 assists, 2.8 turnovers, and 3.2 rebounds per game
Teague: 7.2 points, 5.4 assists, 2.8 turnovers, and 2 rebounds per game
Here is a link to the USA Cumulative Stats. I believe Teague has been getting significant playing time, and he was instrumental off the bench against Serbia when the USA fell behind in the 1st Quarter, however, Quinn Cook is a dynamite point guard.
Edit: 3-point field goal percentages: Cook is shooting 52.9% on 3-pointers (9/17), while Teague is 0.0% (0/8).
Last edited by Bob Green; 07-08-2010 at 10:09 PM. Reason: Add 3-point field goal percentages
Bob Green
USA will face Canada in the semi-finals after disposing of Australia 105-70. Quinn Cook finished with 2 points and 7 assists in only 16 minutes of action. Andre Drummond had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds in 14 minutes. The big scorers were Brad Beal with 25 points (22 mins) and James McAdoo with 17 points (18 mins). Justin Anderson played 7 minutes and scored 5 points.
Bob Green
Maybe he gets to keep his frequent flyer miles.