Mobley continues to shine for USA in FIBA U17 World Cup

The Americans continued their breeze through the competition at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Santa Fe, Argentina on Wednesday night, defeating the Dominican Republic 103-60 to advance to the Quarterfinals. Evan Mobley continues to be the standout for me, I just find my eyes always gravitating towards him when watching these games. He’s already enjoyed an incredible rise this summer up recruiting boards and has solidified his #1 overall ranking in the class of 2020 at least by ESPN as far as I’m concerned.

Mobley finished with ten points, six rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals in the victory on Wednesday. He showcased every possible skill you’d want to see from an elite prospect, effecting the game on both ends of the floor, displaying the potential to be a seven-foot Swiss army knife. I was beyond impressed with the California native’s playmaking ability at every level, Mobley showed he’s an efficient passer not only out of the high post but also can create off the dribble some.

Below you’ll see Mobley on a baseline drive draw in the second defender to come over to help and then deliver a beautiful bounce pass to the cutting Wendell Moore Jr. His handle is obviously a bit raw and needs some polish but the ability to create for others is crucial nowadays at any position really in the modern age of basketball. His efficiency as mentioned earlier as a passer out of the high post mainly, makes Mobley a dual threat as a playmaker. Mobley throw’s dart’s for entry passes and can even make some things happen in the open floor at times as well, finding teammates on the break frequently.

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Mobley showed off some off his low post scoring ability in this one as well, even given his rather thin frame currently. Even though he’s barely 200 pounds, Mobley doesn’t seem to fear contact and has the elite length to finish over or through most defenders. He does a good job of utilizing his body to shield off his man and just staying low enough to gain position and even when he can’t gain ground, Mobley still has the touch in the paint to be effective from 15+ feet as you can see on the touch he displays his right hook shot. I’m not sure about his shooting range currently, but Mobley clearly shows the touch to be a dominate scorer in the paint and as he gains strength, it should only extenuate his dominance there.

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It’s Mobley’s ability and potential on the other end of the floor though that has me the most intrigued, defensively he already impacts the game so much and has been dominate in that regard during the FIBA U17 World Cup so far. Mobley’s already an elite shot blocker and one of the best I’ve seen coming out of high school in recent memory, probably since the likes of Anthony Davis and Nerlens Noel. He’s obviously got elite length sporting a seven-foot-four wingspan, but it’s his foot quickness and movement skills that make him such a tremendous weapon on the defensive end.

In the win against the Dominican Republic, Mobley showcased it all defensively from defending smaller guards or wings in ISO situations to blocking down shots in transition. He’s flashed the potential to be a stalwart on the defensive end, Mobley’s anticipation and timing is second to none as a shot blocker, he rarely mis-times his jump on a shot attempt. Mobley’s also an ambidextrous shot blocker, showing effectiveness with either hand to knock down shots only adding to his rarity as a defensive weapon.

But as I mentioned earlier, even more impressive than Mobley’s length and shot blocking ability is his movement skills as a seven-footer. He can switch onto guards or wings seamlessly and usually has quick enough feet to stay in front. But even if he gets beat off the dribble by elite speed, Mobley has his elite length in his back pocket to help him recover and still alter the shot attempt. The quick feet that Mobley shows on the closeout below and then the recovery to beat his man to the spot on the drive, is just something you don’t see from most big men even in the current day of “Unicorns” in the NBA.

On a roster filled with an abundance of talent and future NBA pros, again Evan Mobley has been the star who’s shined brightest for me. The offensive potential combined with the physical profile and defensive versatility make me giddy about Mobley’s future as to me, he looks every bit of a future number one overall pick. The Americans move on to the Quarterfinals tomorrow to take on Croatia, looking to move one step closer to their fifth straight gold medal at the event.

Big’s Highlight Team USA’s Quarter-Final Win over Ecuador

The U18 american team started their quest for yet another gold medal in FIBA play, dominating Ecuador 132-55 during the quarter-finals of the FIBA U18 Americas Championship. The defense and length of the US team dictated a majority of the game, forcing multiple shot clock violations for Ecuador and never allowing them to find a rhythm offensively. The front court dominated for the american’s, getting stand out performances from big men Matthew Hurt, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

Cole Anthony has garnered much of the headlines for this group and has seemingly become the leader for Bill Self’s roster, but Matthew Hurt for me has been Team USA’s best player so far through the tournament. Hurt once again showed off his offensive repertoire and versatility against Ecuador, scoring 19 points and knocking down four three point shots.

His form is beautiful, sporting textbook mechanics with a high and quick release, he’s been virtually automatic from beyond the arc, shooting 69.2 percent from downtown in tournament play. While it’s far from a perfect comparison and possibly even a very basic one, Hurt’s shooting ability reminds me of Dirk Nowitzki even if there is clear differences with their form. Hurt can shoot it from anywhere seamlessly, you’ll see him hit a elbow jumper off the dribble, showing tremendous fluidity and consistency already as a shooter.

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Hurt’s play-making ability was on full display in this game, he made plays out of the post and in transition. He’s got the habit of initiating fast breaks consistently, a trait that is valued enormously at the next level for big men. Not many center’s or forward in today’s modern NBA can start, let alone make positive plays out of fast breaks. You’ll see below one of the best plays of the game and passes Hurt’s made this tournament, was a late full court pass to Mark Watts for the easy lay-up in transition.

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From the post Hurt was as effective with his passing, mainly picking apart the Ecuador defense from the high post. Hurt had no problem firing passes out of double teams in timely fashion and had a nice chemistry going with Trayce Jackson-Davis, connecting multiple times with the Indiana big man. Hurt has blown me away as much as any player on this roster and looks every part of a future top ten, possibly even top five selection.

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As great as Hurt was, the best player in the win over Ecuador was probably forward Trayce Jackson-Davis. The currently ranked 24th player in ESPN’s Top 60 players of the class of 2019, had a personal dunking contest and dominated the offensive glass against the Ecuadorian team. Jackson-Davis finished with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists, two steals and a block, oh he also didn’t miss a shot going 10-of-10 from the field. He finished with five offensive rebounds and I’m pretty sure he scored on them all, turning each one into a highlight putback dunk. Jackson-Davis has a nose for the ball, good hands, good motor and does a really nice job of rebounding outside of his area.

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Jackson-Davis showed off much more than just his athleticism and offensive rebounding though, his passing from the post was also phenomenal. Like Hurt, Jackson-Davis did most of his damage out of the high post against the Ecuadorian team. But he also made some great passes off second chances caused by his offensive rebounding, displaying some phenomenal ball placement on these passes to Kamaka Hepa.

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I was lastly really impressed by Jackson-Davis’ length and athleticism obviously, but it’s his potential as a shot blocker that excites me. His timing is pretty poor currently as a shot blocker, he missed way too many lay-up attempts in this game that should be freebies for him in terms of blocks. But he does have the motor and athleticism to protect the rim and has no problem defending in transition, possessing good speed for a big man and easily be able to run the floor.

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It was nice to see a player who’s averaging the second least minutes per game on the team at 13.5, have such a breakout performance. I hope to see Coach Self play Jackson-Davis more in this evening’s semi-final match-up against Argentina and see him hopefully build some confidence from this outing.

The last performance I wanted to touch on was Jeremiah Robinson-Earl’s, who’s versatility shined offensively in this one. Robinson-Earl is currently ranked 34th in the top 60 players of ESPN’s class of 2019 and I’d only imagine that ranking to rise with more performances like this. He can do it all really offensively and did such against Ecuador, knocking down jump shots, making passes out of the post and some fancy plays in transition.

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Robinson-Earl’s performance might be overlooked or was quieter than Hurt’s or Jackson-Davis’ but he was still as effective to me. The play below where he reads the defender, jumps the passing lane, gets the steal and finishes the break off with a fancy behind the back dribble was one of my favorite plays of the game. He’s rated as the number one player coming out of Kansas for the class of 2019 and I’d be shocked if Bill Self doesn’t do all he can to nab him, after coaching and seeing him play at this level firsthand.

The US team will now move on to play a talented Argentina team in the semi-finals, led by guard Marco Giordano Gnass and center Francisco Caffaro. For the American’s that have won every game in the tournament by an average of 60.5 points per game, expect a much tougher outing tonight from the Argentinians.