Jonas Sharp Against Americans at FIBA

[Tim W.]

Young is expected to be a lotto pick next year... DraftExpress has him going at 8.
http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2012/
No idea if that's warranted, this is the first I've seen him play.

I had no idea that was the same guy. I was intrigued about that guy a few months ago when I ran across his profile. For a guy who's supposed be a beast, he didn't do much to slow down Valanciunas. Good sign. Not for You, though.

[Tim W.]

They just showed a wave on their highlights. Lame.

[minks77]

Wow, 52-39 rebounding edge for the Lithuanians. Losing back to back games against the same team for a combined -62 point differential is NOT a good sign. How good is next years draft class supposed to be again?

[MyMomLovesMe]

BOX SCORE (LTU 108 - 75 USA)

J. Valanciunas, 25:20,PTS: 23 FG: 6/11(54.5%) FT: 11/15(73.3%) REB(O/T): 3/11 AST:1 TO: 3 BLK: 1

[Matt52]

Wow, 52-39 rebounding edge for the Lithuanians. Losing back to back games against the same team for a combined -62 point differential is NOT a good sign. How good is next years draft class supposed to be again?

This was U-19, the last game was USA U19 vs LIT U20. Also, the USA players were mostly just finished college freshman.

[octothorp]

nm

[ceez]

i don't think the American junior team usually does very well at these do they? i wouldn't put a lot of stock in this win, but it is nice to see.

[Prime]

Man is this kid active.
Scroll through the play by play and you'll see that there's some sort of activity by him every few lines in the 2nd and 3rd.

[Tim W.]

Wow, 52-39 rebounding edge for the Lithuanians. Losing back to back games against the same team for a combined -62 point differential is NOT a good sign. How good is next years draft class supposed to be again?

To be fair, there were only a couple of projected first rounders playing for the Americans. Young and Lamb, although Marshall may sneak in there, as well.

[Tim W.]

Plus, the Lithuanians have probably played together A LOT more than the Americans.

[MyMomLovesMe]

Some really young kids out there for Lithuania as well. One kid looked like he was 14. The size and positioning of the Lithuanians gave USA fits today.

They made almost no passes to get them out of place. Talent wise they looked superior to LTU (when one on one, they dominated), team wise, they had no game plan and very little ball movement. Often one guy would get stuffed by 3 LTU jerseys.

[grindhouse]

Ihope there is a you tube vid on this game

[ceez]

man, mini sabonis. awesome.

[matt]

Jonas was impressive today, the complete opposite of Bargnani; rebounds, hustles, wants contact, gives good screens, and most importantly, doesn't stand beyond the 3-point line. He should be a lock for Eurobasket 2011 with Lithuania hosting the competition this summer.

[matt]

Plus, the Lithuanians have probably played together A LOT more than the Americans.

Come on though, you got to give Jonas and his squad a bit more credit for blowing the Americans out of the building. Plus, I'm pretty sure he was the man of the match.

[Hotshot]

There was a lot of Lebron like attitude in the team US demenour " I am losing and I don't care".

JV needs to really put on some weight on his frame or he would be eaten alive in the NBA.

[minks77]

To be fair, there were only a couple of projected first rounders playing for the Americans. Young and Lamb, although Marshall may sneak in there, as well.

and to be fair how many of the Lithuanians who played will ever crack an NBA roster? I know it's a friendly, I know the Euros play together more etc., etc. I also know getting housed twice in a row for such vaunted "competitors" is never a good thing.

[Tim W.]

Come on though, you got to give Jonas and his squad a bit more credit for blowing the Americans out of the building. Plus, I'm pretty sure he was the man of the match.

and to be fair how many of the Lithuanians who played will ever crack an NBA roster? I know it's a friendly, I know the Euros play together more etc., etc. I also know getting housed twice in a row for such vaunted "competitors" is never a good thing.

I'm not taking anything away from the Lithuanian team. Just stating a fact that may explain the score a little.

I threw up a summary of my thoughts on the game, if anyone's interested...
http://www.wearingfilm.com/picketfen...-of-americans/

[minks77]

Nice write up and good catch on the typo!

You missed this slightly mangled sentence:
"The only time the Americans looked good when he was on the floor and when he came back out they looked lost again."

I only mention it because you threw out the typo edit so you may be one of the few bloggers I've read lately that cares about the legibility of his work.

I thought Young looked awful in this game. Kinda like Joel Anthony without the long arms. His FTs hurt my eyes!

[blaze89]

Many Raptors fans were in hysterics when Jonas Valanciunas’ name was called at the NBA Draft last Thursday because they had never seen him play.

A whole bunch of them got their first look at the big Lithuanian on Tuesday afternoon and it was hard not to be impressed, even if he wasn’t exactly going up against Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell.

Valanciunas was the best player on the floor as Lithuania humiliated the United States 108-75 in a tuneup for the FIBA under-19 championship, which gets underway on Thursday in Latvia.

The fifth overall selection by the Raptors imposed his will on the smaller Americans, compiling a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, along with two blocks and a steal.

Valanciunas is rail-thin and must pack on 15-25 pounds before he can compete effectively in the NBA, but against those his own age, he has consistently dominated.

Previously, Valanciunas was named MVP of FIBA’s under-18 and under-16 tournaments.

The Americans, including 6-foot-9, 220-pound Florida big man Patric Young — a potential lottery pick in 2012 — had no answers for his length and intensity.

Valanciunas constantly got under the skin of his opponents at both ends and drew a ton of free throw attempts, going 11-15 from the stripe.

Rusty since he had only been back in Lithuania for a few days since being introduced in Toronto on Friday, Valanciunas missed four of his first five shots from the floor before going 5-of-6 from the field the rest of the way.

While he badly needs to add strength — some of his layups need to be dunks at the next level and his post moves will improve with more bulk — he impressed with his positioning, willingness to mix it up, the chaos he caused inside thanks to his long arms and his ability to get off the floor quickly for second and third attempts at shots or rebounds.

Valanciunas calmly took — and knocked down — his only attempt at a mid-range jumper.

All in all, an impressive performance, considering how much of a whirlwind the past couple of weeks have been for him.



source: http://www.lfpress.com/sports/basket.../18347776.html


Looks we may have ourselves a good one after all