Observations from the FIBA Americas U18 Final
By Chris Stone
The 2016 FIBA Americas U18 championship game took place on Saturday evening in Valdivia, Chile as Team USA pulled out a 99-84 victory over Canada to take home the gold medal. It’s the United States’ fourth straight title in the biennial event which features some of the best young players America has to offer. Obviously it’s just one game and it would be irresponsible to draw too many conclusions from such a small sample, but here are a few things that stood out from Team USA’s title-clinching win.
Markelle Fultz put on a show
Markelle Fultz (Washington) — along with Texas commit Jarrett Allen — was one of two incoming college freshmen to play in the event for the United States. The 18-year old led the way for Team USA in the final, finishing with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting while dishing out five assists and grabbing five rebounds. Fultz’s impressive ability penetrate against defenses and finish at the rim was on display as he converted six of his eight shots inside the painted area on Saturday:
The 6-4 guard also flashed potential from beyond the three-point line, knocking down three of his six triples on the day. Fultz doesn’t generate a ton of lift from his actual jump, but the mechanics of his shot look nice as he releases the ball above his head, gets an excellent arc on the ball, and puts plenty of rotation on it as it travels through the air:
Playing in Washington’s uptempo offensive system next season should allow Fultz’s full skill set to shine as he will likely be handed the keys to the offense on day one. He has an excellent feel for the game and is able to probe defenses with his dribbling and passing, but Fultz has also shown promise as an off-ball scorer like in the catch-and-shoot situations above.
Michael Porter’s jumper needs refining
Michael Porter Jr., another Washington commit, finished with 15 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field. Porter is one of the most highly regarded recruits in the class of 2017 and it’s easy to see why. He’s a fluid athlete with excellent size for the wing position who can create offense with the ball in his hands. The 18-year old is still developing, though, and one of the areas that could use some work is his shooting form.
Porter finished 1-of-5 from beyond the three-point line in the final and according to D1 Circuit made only 14 of his 47 (29.8 percent) three-point attempts during Nike EYBL competition this summer. One of the issues with Porter’s jumper is that he gathers the ball at his knees before shooting, allowing defenses extra time to close out and a longer motion that give defenders more time to swipe at the ball. In the above video clip that features four of Porter’s five three-point attempts on Saturday it’s easy to see the gather in the final three shots. The first attempt in the clip is one of Porter’s shots off the dribble, which is likely the cause of his catch-and-shoot gather as he feels more comfortable bringing the ball up and into his motion as he does when shooting off the bounce.
Hamidou Diallo is a potential defensive terror
Hamidou Diallo, a 6-5 guard out of Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut, added 14 points and six rebounds to the box score in Team USA’s win, but what caught my eye was his defensive upside on the perimeter:
Diallo has the potential to be a lockdown wing defender because of his lengthy 6-11 wingspan and impressive athleticism. If the hand clap in the middle of the above possession is any guide, he enjoys the challenge as well. The 17-year old has a good feel for playing defense, moves well laterally, and can fight over screens to stay in front of his man. As the above clip shows, though, he still needs to work on staying with his man off the ball as he ultimately allows an open jumper from the corner after forcing a pass from his man and getting caught ball watching.