Jonas Sharp Against Americans at FIBA

[Tim W.]

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!

Thanks for the catch. Fixed.

As for Young, I also wasn't very impressed. He didn't look at all like the player I'd read about.

[matt]

Does anyone know when's the next game going to be?

[Mack North]

Anybody have a link for some highlights?

[charlz]

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

15 trips to the line on 11 FGA is remarkable even I have to admit that - USA had no one who could contain him on pick'n roll. I am still grumpy until I see him do it against legit talent and size....

[matt]

Hopefully he remains healthy throughout the tournament and his team goes far. To me, I think his real test will be after this tournament when he should be a lock to make the roster for the men's team in the upcoming European championship held in his country. Lituania will be in the same group as Spain and Turkey so you know he'll be playing against real competition.

[WJF]

15 trips to the line on 11 FGA is remarkable even I have to admit that - USA had no one who could contain him on pick'n roll. I am still grumpy until I see him do it against legit talent and size....

So Jonas goes out and abuses a guy who is projected as a top 10 player in the LOADED 2012 draft and you are still grumpy?

[stretch]

It's curious that the Raptors first round draft choice has made himself available to his country's under 19 team when so many of Canada's most notable U19 players are missing from the Canadian U19 World Championship team.

Tristan Thompson is 20 and not eligible but Cory Joseph is 19 and not playing. The NBA is headed for a lockout so this tournament could be a chance to play in lieu of a summer league. Also missing are Myck Kabongo, Khem Birch, Kyle Wiltjer (he's from Portland, Oregon, but has dual citizenship and has played for Canada before), Anthony Bennett, Nik Staukas, Duane Notice, and Andrew Wiggins who is only 17 but played on the U17 team in 2009 as a 15 year old.

Perhaps one or two are injured but still why haven't the best players made themselves available as they are for many other countries? I am not waving the flag here, per se, but I am interested in seeing Canada compete with their best, especially when the talent is out there.

[ceez]

Yeah it's really disappointing

[Hotshot]

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.

Good summary.

My concern is his lift when he jumps, can it be improved on or is this it?! If he can't jump higher then he won't be able to finish his dunks and instead of Bargnani 2.0 (what most Raptor fans feared at the begining) he could be a young Rasho 2.0 instead (not worthy of a 5th pick).

[MyMomLovesMe]

It's curious that the Raptors first round draft choice has made himself available to his country's under 19 team when so many of Canada's most notable U19 players are missing from the Canadian U19 World Championship team.

Tristan Thompson is 20 and not eligible but Cory Joseph is 19 and not playing. The NBA is headed for a lockout so this tournament could be a chance to play in lieu of a summer league. Also missing are Myck Kabongo, Khem Birch, Kyle Wiltjer (he's from Portland, Oregon, but has dual citizenship and has played for Canada before), Anthony Bennett, Nik Staukas, Duane Notice, and Andrew Wiggins who is only 17 but played on the U17 team in 2009 as a 15 year old.

Perhaps one or two are injured but still why haven't the best players made themselves available as they are for many other countries? I am not waving the flag here, per se, but I am interested in seeing Canada compete with their best, especially when the talent is out there.

U19 is probably not the sort of reps you want to go through to prepare for the NBA. If the guys drafted this year can get into some sort player organized league where they are competing against other NBA ready players and NBA vets, than by all means that would be preferential. These guys need to gain experience and do so fast, there will be a steep learning curve when they see action. So playing against guys that have 5-6 years on them is the best thing they can do.

U19 is better than nothing, but if I got my named called, I would no longer practice to age restrictions.

(Notice none of the players that played for team USA, just got drafted... instead its the guys from the next draft.)

[stretch]

Kabongo and Birch might be in the next draft and Bennett and Wiggins have a shot at getting drafted further down the line. The Americans don't put much stock in these international tournaments and as evident, some Canadians players don't either. The focus is going to be the NBA and NCAA first. I understand that. Here's hoping that Thompson and Joseph accept an invite to the National team's camp in July.

[zazinteractive]

Hes looking good

[Prime]

So Jonas goes out and abuses a guy who is projected as a top 10 player in the LOADED 2012 draft and you are still grumpy?

To be fair he has 3 inches on Young and Young was no where near as motivated as he would be in the regular season.

[matt]

The full game for anyone who wants to watch it:

[Gman]

U19 is probably not the sort of reps you want to go through to prepare for the NBA. If the guys drafted this year can get into some sort player organized league where they are competing against other NBA ready players and NBA vets, than by all means that would be preferential. These guys need to gain experience and do so fast, there will be a steep learning curve when they see action. So playing against guys that have 5-6 years on them is the best thing they can do.

U19 is better than nothing, but if I got my named called, I would no longer practice to age restrictions.

(Notice none of the players that played for team USA, just got drafted... instead its the guys from the next draft.)

He's doing what he should be doing and he dominated a very strong American team...and yeah the draft picks from next year are supposedly infinitely superior to the ones this year. Not that it's just you, but the glass half empty schtick is getting kind of tired.

[WJF]

Kabongo and Birch might be in the next draft and Bennett and Wiggins have a shot at getting drafted further down the line. The Americans don't put much stock in these international tournaments and as evident, some Canadians players don't either. The focus is going to be the NBA and NCAA first. I understand that. Here's hoping that Thompson and Joseph accept an invite to the National team's camp in July.

I spoke with Leo earlier this month and if insurance issues are not a problem both Thompson and Joseph will be invited to the senior camp with a chance to make the team. As for Kabongo, Birch and Wiltjer they are at school getting a jump on early credits to make their freshman year easier for them. Remember these school are investing in these players and some of the big schools put a great deal of pressure on the recruits to get to campus as early as possible. As for some other you mentioned, I don't think Notice would have beat anyone out of a roster spot. Staukas duplicates what Scrub brings, Phil Scrub was a NCAA D-1 recruited athlete that chose to play for Carleton in the CIS, he has a title under his belt and ready to show what he can do. The last I head about Wiggins was that he was going to play on the U16 team and then fly to Latvia to join the U19 team, I don't know what happened with the U16 team, but he could still make it to Latvia before the opening of the tournament. As far as Bennett goes I have no idea about his availability.

[ceez]

i just hate hearing from all these canadian ballers who claim canada needs support for basketball blah blah blah but never help out the fiba/olympic teams. whats going to make young players want to support canada? i get why nash hasn't the past few years but if these young guys want the country to do something they have to give us something to root for.

[LeeZ]

Good summary.

My concern is his lift when he jumps, can it be improved on or is this it?! If he can't jump higher then he won't be able to finish his dunks and instead of Bargnani 2.0 (what most Raptor fans feared at the begining) he could be a young Rasho 2.0 instead (not worthy of a 5th pick).

A few days ago I posted that this kid reminds me of Rasho; well, at least the lack of hops and athleticism. Mind you, the kid can at least dunk, something Rasho, for all his qualities, was barely able to do. If this kid turns into the next Rasho? You'll hear no complaints from me. It was the fifth pick in an ugly draft, and Rasho had a long career as a steady defensive presence with a decent (if underwhelming) offensive game.

[MyMomLovesMe]

Tomorrow against Croatia.


Thursday June 30th, 2011
-----------------------------
Croatia v Lithuania
Korea v Canada
USA v Egypt
China v Serbia
Russia v Brazil
Argentina v Australia
Latvia v Chinese Taipei
Poland v Tunisia

Friday July 1st, 2011
-------------------------
Lithuania v Korea
Canada v Croatia
Australia v Latvia
Brazil v Poland
Serbia v USA
Chinese Taipei v Argentina
Egypt v China
Tunisia v Russia

Saturday July 2nd, 2011
-------------------------
Canada v Lithuania
Argentina v Latvia
USA v China
Brazil v Tunisia
Croatia v Korea
Chinese Taipei v Australia
Serbia v Egypt
Poland v Russia

[WJF]

A few days ago I posted that this kid reminds me of Rasho; well, at least the lack of hops and athleticism. Mind you, the kid can at least dunk, something Rasho, for all his qualities, was barely able to do. If this kid turns into the next Rasho? You'll hear no complaints from me. It was the fifth pick in an ugly draft, and Rasho had a long career as a steady defensive presence with a decent (if underwhelming) offensive game.

Not a bad comparison, although I do think his upside is better than that of Rasho as I think his mobility much better than Rasho's. The added mobility should allow him to grab an extra rebound or two and snag an easy put-back or two as well. Rasho best year statistically was his last in Minnesota where he put up 11 points 6.6 boards and 1.5 blocks while shooting 52.5% from the field, his next year at San Antonio he put up better blocks and rebounds but his scoring dropped to 8.6 ppg on 46% from the field. I do expect Jonas to have better career years than that when all is said and done.