AUS U16s Champs Recap

The AUS U16s Champs held in the Sunshine State Queensland, 6-13 July, served as another great opportunity to watch and scout global talent. The best players across the country battled for selection and the opportunity to represent their state in the Championships. Players not only hope to play for the bragging rights of taking the trophy home but also hopeful for a call up to the National team as this event is a pivotal part of the selection process.

Many of the states have 2 teams representing their respective states (Metro and Country). In essence, using New York State as an example, players coming from the New York City area would represent the Metro area and the remaining players outside of New York City would represent Country. Each team has the top 10 selected players.

Pre tournament reports and social media hype pinpointed some key teams and players but having just spent four days at the prestigious 3rd Blue Star 30 Camp in Las Vegas it was going to take a high level of play to turn the heads of Blue Star Europe and Blue Star Basketball Asia.  No doubt spending time in the gym is invaluable to evaluate players over several games and days; lets just say the true talent always rises to the top!

Many of the top teams had solid players with good fundamentals and a high basketball IQ that many Division I schools would appreciate. Another re-occurring sight throughout all games was the fact that each team was physical and played every possession like it was the last. This combination of basketball IQ, team basketball, solid fundamentals and effort reinforces why Australia is one of the top youth countries that does well in International Championships.

Whilst the guard play was impressive at both ends of the floor what was noticeably lacking at this year’s event was size!  Piper Dunlop was one of the most efficient post players throughout the tournament but the undersized post at 6 foot is going to have to further develop her face-up game to be a contender for significant NCAA recruitment.  Some other bigs listed at 6’4 have some further development to be able to make an impact at the mid major levels but with Australia’s somewhat confusing education system a few players may have extended graduation dates and this information will be available to subscribers of Blue Star Basketball Asia (click here) or the Platinum Plus Blue Star Europe package (click here).

The final was a matchup between the two teams from Victoria. Guard play was the deciding factor between the two teams with victorious Vic Metro edging Vic Country 65-57, it was pleasing to see Paige Price elevate her game in the final, she features amongst a dozen other top guards listed in our reports.