Final GB Eurobasket Squad

[Sam]

Chris Finch's squad currently is sitting at 20-

Kieron Achara
Ogo Adegboye
Robert Archibald
Devan Bailey
Eric Boateng
Flinder Boyd
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
Dan Clark
Luol Deng
Laurence Ekperigin
Joel Freeland
Kyle Johnson
Mike Lenzly
Andrew Lawrence
Alex Marcotullio
Nate Reinking
Justin Robinson
Ryan Richards
Andrew Sullivan
Devon van Oostrum

That means position battles are along the lines of-

Point Guards-Ogo Adegoye, Andrew Lawrence, Devon Van Oostrum, Devan Bailey, Flinder Boyd
Shooting Guards-Nate Reinking, Alex Marcotullio, Kyle Johnson, Justin Robinson, Mike Lenzly
Small Forwards-Luol Deng, Andrew Sullivan,
Power Forwards-Kieron Achara, Ryan Richards, Laurence Ekperigin, Dan Clark, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Joel Freeland
Centres- Eric Boateng, Robert Archibald

Obviously a few of these guys can play multiple positions.

Finch needs 12 for Lithuania. Two warmups down, which have only made things more difficult as a number of the younger guys have done well.

Who goes?

[John]

It's going to be a tough call as so many of these guys have done well at some point recently. If I was Finch I'd take...

Guards: Reinking, Robinson, Van Oostrum, Boyd, Adegboye
Forwards: Deng, Richards, Achara, Bryan-Amaning
Centres: Freeland, Clark, Sullivan

Good mix of young and old (with emphasis on the young). Pretty athletic and strong, good shooters and good decision makers.

[edd]

Little bit surprised by Achara being cut...not that i'm saying it was the wrong decision but he has had a pretty decent season. I thought Richards may have been cut in favour of Achara's experience.

Not really surprised by the others, glad Boyd was cut and Devon was kept.

[Sam]

Link to cuts and squad left standing here-

Great Britain Men Cut to Fifteen ? Hoopsfix.com

I'm glad Finch isn't afraid of going with youth.

Based on just the games in Cobham (which doesn't say a lot because they've had two weeks of practices too) I’d say that it’s Ryan, Laurence Ekperigin, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Andrew Lawrence, Devon Van Oostrum and Kyle Johnson battling out for those last three spots.

[Matt]

I'm a bit surprised by the cuts of Achara and Boyd in particular. I assumed Finch would go with experience. Not sure whether I think it's a good idea or not I haven't watched the whole of the Netherlands game yet and haven't seen the Nigeria one at all, so don't know how the younger guys have performed.

Of course, there are three cuts still to be made before Eurobasket, so the squad may end up not looking that different to last year anyway.

[edd]

I thought Ekperigin was a dead cert for being cut this time around tbh....having watched the Netherlands game he didn't seem to do much. How did he play against the Nigerians?

Pretty much agree with that Sam...I think Ryan, DVO will make it and Andrew Lawrence will be cut. SO that leaves MBA and Kyle Johnson fighting for the last spot....Don't get me wrong i like MBA as a player, but i can't see him fitting into the rotation...and i have a feeling(based on nothing)that Finch isn't really that high on him. If Ryan goes we will be pretty covered for bigs. Johnson could bring that extra scoring punch and energy off the bench...so i think he makes it and MBA will miss out.

Just my opinion, like.

[Matt]

Ok, having watched the Netherlands game I have a better sense of who is likely to make the final 12 (and why so many young guys have made the cut).

I would say Ogo, Lenzly and Reinking pretty much have their places set. Kyle Johnson was hugely impressive, not only can he knock down threes but he can handle the ball, defend, rebound and is bigger than our other guards. I reckon he'll make it, which leaves Lawrence and DVO fighting for the third point guard spot. I would probably take Devon but it's pretty close; I could see either of them making it.

Deng and Sullivan have small forward covered, so Ekperigin will miss out.

Up front Clark, Freeland and Archibald are locks. The decision to cut Achara says to me that Finch feels Boateng is going to be the man to fill that defense/rebounding off the bench role, so I think he makes it too. That means the final big man spot is MBA or Richards, which is a really tough choice - MBA is the better defender and rebounder in my opinion, but Richards has more to offer offensively. I think Finch maybe goes with Richards, just because he has the potential to provide that offensive X-factor.

Of course I may go back on all of this after watching the Nigeria game and test event!

[Matt]

Here's how I see the state of the team with the final cuts due to be made soon:

Point guard: Before yesterday I had Ogo ranked #1 here, with Lawrence right behind and DVO a clear third. It's probably not wise to do this based on one game, but I think my opinion's flipped around completely.

Devon's talent has been clear for the whole week, but yesterday he seemed to have shedded any remaining nerves and he played a mistake-free game. He made some tremendous passes, ones that no other player on the team would have made.

Maybe starting him is asking too much in terms of pressure but I certainly would prefer him over Ogo or Lawrence at the end of a game.

I'm just not convinced that Ogo does anything better than the other two guys. Andrew is a better shooter and defender (he has better hands and doesn't pick up so many fouls), while Devon is more composed on the ball and has the ability to make that killer pass.

So in terms of who is better and who I want to be playing more minutes, right now I have them ranked 1. Devon, 2. Andrew, 3. Ogo. But it looks like we'll be taking all three to Lithuania anyway as we need five guards.

Shooting guard: Based on his performance in the Netherlands and Nigeria I would have liked to see Kyle Johnson make the team, but clearly he's either injured or has fallen out of favour as he hasn't played all week. Reinking is obviously a lock, and with no other two-guards available I guess Lenzly is going to see most of his time at this spot, even though I'd like to see him play the point - he and Nate are our two best guards, so why not play them together?

Small forward: Not much discussion needed. Provided Sullivan is recovered I think he should back up Deng ahead of Ekperigin.

Power forward: Dan Clark is obviously the starter here, so it's all about Richards or MBA as the backup. Richards hasn't had a major impact when he's come on this week but he looks to have embraced his role, and I think I would take him over MBA due to his better offensive skillset. It never hurts to have a big guy who can stretch the defense.

Obviously if Clark is injured you take both of them and play Freeland a lot more at the 4 spot. And Deng or Sullivan can play there in a small lineup (as Deng did yesterday).

Centre: Joel has been great and he will obviously play a big role in the team's success. Archibald probably just has the edge over Boateng for me, they both provide defense and rebounding but Archibald is slightly better offensively I think. But I would take both and give Freeland some time at the 4.

[twopointgeezer]

Hand the reins over to Devon now. He is the most talented PG, he just needs more experience of running the team.

My depth chart:

Devon/Ogo/Lawrence
Nate/Lenzley/Lawrence
Deng/Sulivan/3 guard lineup
Dan Clarke/Joel Freeland/Ryan Richards
Joel Freeland/Robert Archibald/Eric Boateng

Cuts:

Matthew Bryan, Laurence Ekperigin, Kyle Johnson.

Tough call between Bryan and Boateng, but Boateng has impressed me lately.

So full squad:

Devon Van Oostrum
Ogo Adegboye
Nate Reinking
Mike Lenzley
Andrew Lawrence
Luol Deng
Andrew Sulivan
Dan Clarke
Ryan Richards
Joel Freeland
Robert Archibald
Eric Boateng

[twopointgeezer]

I'm a bit surprised by the cuts of Achara and Boyd in particular.

Really? Achara was easily the worst big on this summers roster stacked with bigs. And Flinder Boyd has been very lucky to last as long as he has over the years. He isn't capable of playing at this level at all.