Latest news with #FIBAUnder-19WorldCup
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC women's basketball lands top recruit Saniyah Hall. Why she picked Trojans
Southern California women's basketball team has landed another top recruit. Saniyah Hall, the top female high school basketball recruit in the class of 2026, according to ESPN's rankings, has committed to play for USC after receiving offers from nearly 30 schools, including UConn, UCLA, South Carolina, North Carolina and LSU. The 16-year-old made the announcement on ESPN's "NBA Today" on Friday, saying, USC "felt like home." "It's such a blessing to be in this position, but I think I truly found my home, and I'm ready to tell the world where I'm going," she said before revealing a Trojans shirt underneath her jacket. "I am headed to the University of Southern California. Go Trojans! Fight on." Hall's announcement comes on the heels of her gold medal win with Team USA at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup. She was named MVP after averaging 19.9 points and 6.4 rebounds, shooting 52.6% from the field and 39.3% on 3-pointers. She scored 25 points vs. Australia in the gold-medal game. Her 19.9 points per game may have set a USA U19 record, but Hall said she's proudest of her defense: "I had a lot of steals that game and a lot of blocks." She'll join a Trojans squad that is assembling elite talent under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. McDonald's All-American Jazzy Davidson, the third overall recruit in the 2025 class, who competed alongside Hall on the USA U19 team, also committed to play for USC. The Trojans were 31-4 last season and lost to UConn in an Elite Eight game after superstar Juju Watkins went down with an ACL injury during the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Hall said Gottlieb and her teammates led to her choice to commit to USC. On Friday, she said, "I love all my teammates. The girls there are so fun to be around definitely Lindsay (Gottlieb)... she's definitely there to support me and I've built a relationship with her. She's a great coach." The Ohio native will finish her senior season of high school basketball at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio. Last season, she played for Montverde (Florida) Academy and averaged 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks. Hall signed an NIL deal with Jordan brand earlier this month. During her announcement, Hall said, "I don't have anything to prove. I just go out, play basketball. I let my game do the talking. Actions speak for themselves." The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Indianapolis Star
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana women's basketball coach Teri Moren joins elite list with 2nd gold medal for USA Basketball
Indiana women's basketball coach Teri Moren and an incoming Hoosiers player earned gold medals by winning the FIBA Under-19 World Cup. The United States beat Australia 88-76 in the gold-medal game Sunday, completing an undefeated run of seven games over nine days. Zania Socka-Nguemen made a brief appearance in Sunday's game, and she averaged 3.1 points and 3.0 rebounds in the tournament played in the Czech Republic. Socka-Nguemen, 6 foot 3, appeared in 16 games for UCLA in the 2024-25 season. Moren, who has been active in international U19 and U18 coaching the past several years, is preparing for her 12th season at IU. It's back-to-back gold medals for Moren, which put her on a list with coaches such as South Carolina's Dawn Staley, Louisville's Jeff Walz, retired DePaul coach Doug Bruno, Texas A&M's Joni Taylor, retired Miami coach Katie Meier, Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti and Notre Dame associate head coach Carol Owens. Staying 'true to the process': Former IUWBB star Mackenzie Holmes gets second chance with Seattle Storm Another pro: Former Indiana women's basketball star and Indiana Fever player Grace Berger signs with WNBA team
Winnipeg Free Press
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Howell, Swords power Canada past China at U19 basketball World Cup
BRNO – Avery Howell scored a game-high 26 points, Syla Swords added 20 points and nine rebounds, and Canada thumped China 115-52 in its final group-stage game at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup on Tuesday. Cearah Parchment also chipped in 17 points as Canada had six players reach double figures. Kejia Ran led China with 14 points. The win capped a dominant run through Group B of the competition, with Canada beating Portugal 88-49 on Saturday and Nigeria 113-42 on Sunday. The Canadians play Wednesday in the round of 16 against South Korea, which went 0-3 in Group A. Swords ranks seventh in tournament scoring at 17.0 points per game and leads Canada with 5.7 rebounds. Howell sits ninth with 15.3 points. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025.
Indianapolis Star
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Butler basketball freshman was 'putting on a show' before he got to campus, shows glimpse of what's next
INDIANAPOLIS — The play brought Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor's Canada Basketball teammates to their feet, hands on their heads in amazement at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup against Germany. Forward Onyx Nnani missed a 3-pointer from the left baseline and a crowd of players formed under the basket in anticipation of the rebound. From the far-right wing, Oliogu-Elabor flies into the paint, elevates over a German defender and palms the ball with his right hand, double clutches the ball and slams home the putback dunk with force over two defenders. The 6-foot-6 Oliogu-Elabor shined, scoring a team-high 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including 1 for 2 on 3s and adding 4 for 4 from the free throw line. He averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for the seven-game tournament. "I didn't really expect myself to do that, but the adrenaline and all of that played into that," Oliogu-Elabor said of the highlight-reel dunk. "People have seen me dunk all the time, but in the moment, no one really expected it. I was the most calm person about it, but everyone was screaming and yelling." High-level athleticism has always been a part of Oliogu-Elabor's game. He has a physical frame and shouldn't need much time to adjust to the speed and physicality of the Big East. In Oliogu-Elabor, Gonzaga transfer Michael Ajayi and freshman Jackson Keith, the Bulldogs have a trio of physical perimeter players who can play multiple positions. Oliogu-Elabor shot well from the free throw line going 28 for 33 (84.8%), but he struggled from deep, shooting just 13.3% from 3 on 15 attempts. He will be surrounded by capable shooters, allowing him to play to his strengths, attacking in transition and getting into the paint. Insider: 3 things that stood out during Butler basketball's summer practice "I wanted to show my playmaking ability, to show that I'm not just a downhill player who likes to get to the rim," Oliogu-Elabor said. "Being able to facilitate and show my shooting ability as well." Most explosive athletes aren't plus playmakers, but Oliogu-Elabor's passing is an underrated skill. He had at least one assist in all seven games and multiple assists in five of seven. Canada went 2-1 in the group phase and defeated Mali in the round of 16 before falling to USA basketball 108-102 in the quarterfinals. Canada placed fifth, and the U.S. won gold with a 109-76 win over Germany. Team USA won its seven games by an average margin of 34.5 points. Playing the U.S. to a two-possession game shows how far Canadian basketball has come. With fellow countrymen like Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning MVP and Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard going toe-to-toe with him in the NBA Finals, Oliogu-Elabor said Canadian basketball is up and coming.
Indianapolis Star
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Doyel: Unlike recent Boiler greats, Omer Mayer will come to Purdue with greatness expected
Normally we don't have any idea what's about to happen with the Purdue basketball team. Well, slow down. We know what's going to happen, in the larger sense: Purdue's going to win. That's just about all the Boilermakers have done under Matt Painter since 2006. We just don't know exactly how. Because most of the time, we don't know who. Painter tends to recruit players slightly off the beaten path, players with more game than name, players who come to Purdue with little fanfare and leave with school records or All-American honors or both. Some of these players tend to surprise Painter himself, recruits like Carsen Edwards in 2016 and Jaden Ivey in 2020. Painter liked both out of high school, obviously, but did he see Edwards scoring 1,920 career points in three seasons, or Ivey being a two-and-done lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft? No chance. Did he see current Purdue senior Braden Smith, mostly a mid-major recruit out of Westfield until Purdue offered a scholarship, becoming the best point guard in college basketball? Did any of us? No chance. Doyel: Meet the other Braden Smith: 'One of the most misunderstood players in college basketball' And don't get me started on Zach Edey, the No. 429 recruit in the high school class of 2020 who became one of the most decorated, most dominant players in college basketball history. All of this makes what will happen this season in West Lafayette so unusual. Because this time, we see the guy coming. This time we know how. This time, we know who. But in some ways, this is the most Purdue basketball story ever. Because until a few months ago, most people had never heard of Omer Mayer. Thing is, Omer Mayer might not even start for Purdue as a freshman. The Boilermakers are that loaded, returning four starters from last season's 24-win team, including the backcourt of seniors Smith and Fletcher Loyer, who have started since they were freshmen. Thing is, Omer Mayer could be gone after one season, a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The noise around him is that loud, and while I'm not calling that likely, I'm not calling it impossible either. I mean, did you see what he did at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup the last few weeks in Lausanne, Switzerland? These are the best young prospects in the world, from the United States and Germany, Slovenia and Serbia, Canada and France. And Omer Mayer was just about the best player there. Seriously. Did you see what he did? We were posting highlight links almost every time he played, because here at the IndyStar we couldn't believe what we were seeing and there on your cell phone, wherever you are, you couldn't get enough of … what's his name again? Omer Mayer. Big games: Omer Mayer showcased at FIBA U19 World Cup what he brings to Purdue basketball backcourt He's a 6-foot-4 guard for Israel, and it occurs to me that this is awfully late in the story for me to be telling you his height, position and nationality. But it also occurs to me: Most of you know who he is, now. Which is the point of this story. This is the first time Purdue has had one of these — a potentially great college player — show up with the name to match his game since … well, since when? Since Caleb Swanigan in 2015? Biggie Swanigan reported to Purdue with the highest of expectations. The Purdue greats who came after the beloved Biggie (Edwards and Ivey, Edey and Smith) had no such burden. They were able to catch us by surprise. Mayer won't surprise anyone. He's already done that. You see what he did in Switzerland? Mayer played just four games in the FIBA U19 World Cup, but entering his final game he was leading the whole tournament in scoring. Sixteen teams, the best of the best young players from around the world, and nobody was scoring as much as Omer Mayer's 23.3 ppg. Mayer injured his finger early in the fourth game, Israel's quarterfinal loss to Slovenia. He scored just nine points, dropping his tournament scoring average to third in the competition at 20 ppg — and then missed the next two games. X-rays were negative, so this doesn't sound like a major concern entering his freshman season at Purdue, with the first day of practice more than three months away. For the tournament Mayer averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2 steals. He also averaged 3 turnovers per game, but that was inflated by the six he committed against Slovenia, when he was 1 for 7 on 3-pointers. In the first three games, before the finger injury, Mayer committed six turnovers, total, and was 12 for 27 on 3-pointers (44.4%). These are small sample sizes, obviously, which is why — to get a better feel for Mayer — you need to talk with NBA scouts and college coaches who've seen him play. And here's what you'll learn: That he's a future pro. Gold in Switzerland: Sophomore returning to Purdue basketball as gold medalist after FIBA U19 World Cup After one year at Purdue? Nobody's saying he will do that. But nobody's saying he won't, either. He was that good at Switzerland, and he was impressive at the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland in April, when he had seven assists for the international team playing against top U.S. prospects. Before that Mayer was playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague, and he was playing more and more as the season went along. In the final game of the season, against Bayern Munich — led by Carsen Edwards, who set a EuroLeague record that day with eight 3-pointers in one quarter — Mayer had 11 points and three assists. Mayer's 18. That's the highest level of pro basketball outside the NBA. If you want a comp, this will have to do until we can see the 6-4, 215-pound Mayer with our own eyes: His production in the EuroLeague, and in FIBA age-group events, dovetails nicely with that of Kasparas Jakucionis. Ring a bell? Jakucionis was a freshman this past season at Illinois. He's big guard like Mayer — taller at 6-6, lighter at 200 pounds — and more reliant on strength and guile than explosion, and Jakucionis averaged 15 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 4.7 apg for the Illini before turning pro and being selected 20th overall by the Miami Heat in the 2025 NBA Draft. Is Omer Mayer on a similar career path? Probably not, no. Illinois needed Jakucionis, its best player, to play 32 minutes per game. Purdue will ask no such thing of Mayer, not with Smith and Loyer back for their fourth season, and with All-American candidate Trey Kaufman-Renn also back as a senior, and with 7-4 sophomore Daniel Jacobsen coming off his own standout performance at the FIBA U19 World Cup. Purdue was entering the 2025-26 season as a Final Four favorite, and that was before Mayer's play last week in Switzerland. Smith and Loyer are lineup locks, but you can see a scenario where Mayer eventually starts alongside them in a three-guard lineup, getting minutes that went last season to wings Myles Colvin (who transferred to Wake Forest) and Camden Heide (gone to Texas), and to returning sophomore guards C.J. Cox and Gicarri Harris. What you can't see, not anymore, is a scenario where Purdue has found its long-term replacement for Braden Smith. Perhaps in 2026-27, sure. Smith will be an NBA rookie next year. Mayer would be a sophomore at Purdue. Will he stick around for his junior season? That might be the only way Omer Mayer surprises folks around here. Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Threads, or on BlueSky and Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar, or at Subscribe to the free weekly Doyel on Demand newsletter.
