Colorado Springs – The second viewable two-hour session of the 2022 USA Basketball Women’s U17s trials provided a few more clue as the assembled talent worked hard to defend, run the floor and make shots to create separation. Its apparent that the impressive players are:Juju Watkins, Mikaylah Williams, Jadyn Donovan, Jada Williams, and newcomers 6-5 Blanca Thomas and 6-3 Joyce Edwards.
Even though this is day two of six scheduled days, this event is longer and could have an added FIBA 3X component. Right now, by Sunday evening, the 10 returning and 30 invited players will all have seven sessions to separate themselves onto the roster or off. The team is expected to be selected by Wednesday June 1.
As the past, the U17s will overlap the U18s which has 31 invited players, mostly height with only four players 5-9 or under. In looking at this group roster, some talents U17s not selected could make that team easily. The U18s will compete June 13-19 in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the FIBA Americas Women’s Championship.
From possibly both camps, there will be a U18 FIBA 3X3 USA Team selected to compete in the FIBA U18 3X World Cup in August.
You can’t get to that until you finish these U17 trials, and the big cut comes Sunday evening.
Right now, it’s a mathematical equation – 10 returners (nine if you count KK Arnold medical) and 30 possible. If you add Mikaylah Williams (2021 USAB U18 3X gold medal team) and Blanca Thomas as a replacement for Margaret Mendelson (USA Volleyball team) you have your 12 player roster complete. Two openings, two fills.
But, many of those 30 invited players have somethings to say (and compete) about that. As noted above Blanca Thomas and Joyce Edwards have made it hard not to select them. And, looking at the returning players, after Watkins, Donovan and Williams, the other 7 returning players (KK Arnold, Madison Booker, Jaloni Cambridge, Breya Cunningham, Kendall Dudley, Olivia Olson and Delaney Thomas) face a tough challenge to retain their positions. I think four of these spots are vulnerable.
Who’s the challengers? At least a dozen players have had strong sessions of the ones available to view for all media. Sunaja Agara, Sienna Betts, Aailyah Crump, Milaysia Fulwiley, Hannah Hidalgo, Riley Nelson with possibly Morgan Cheli and Allie Ziebell could fight for between two to four possible roster slots.
Post & Forwards line up for drills on left, Guards and Wings line up for drills on the right
In the end, this was a very strong camp, and you can see a difference between great high school / travel team players and those will can get into the USA Basketball pipeline for now and the future. Everyone will get their scholarship of their choice. But, this is about selecting a roster now to beat the rest of the world (minus Russia). And, not everyone who makes a USAB Junior National team makes it into the USAB Women’s National Senior Team pool either. Many WNBA players never played on a USAB team either.
Let’s enjoy this moment of totally objective competition.
