Big East U19 World Cup Recap

We’re in the heart of a pretty fun time for absolute basketball sickos. The U19 World Cup just concluded, with the US Team defeating Germany in the Championship Game, and the NBA Summer League and Peach Jam (and various other AAU Tournaments) soon getting underway. 

We had four Big East players competing in the U19 games, so let’s look at how they performed.

Eric Reibe, UConn, Germany

15.4PPG, 5RPG, 1.6APG, .7SPG, .7BPG

Reibe was a standout for the silver medalist German team. Joined by stars Christian Anderson (Texas Tech) and Hannes Steinbach (Washington), Reibe made his presence known in multiple games. He showcased his inside-out game, shooting 58.7% from the field and 33.3% from three, notably shooting 2/2 from distance in the German victory over Slovenia in the semifinal game.

Reibe was also particularly excellent in Germany’s win over Serbia, where he had 25 points (9/11 FG, 1/13PT) eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks in a 92-83 Germany win. Reibe’s skill level was on full display, with Germany using him a lot in that high post area, where he was able to initiate plays by either hitting a short jumper, finding an open teammate or even putting the ball on the floor himself. For a big man, his skill level is through the roof.

One area where I think Reibe could struggle as he adjusts to Big East basketball is in physicality. I’ve heard from some local DMV people who are worried about his adjustment to a more physical brand of basketball initially, and I think his game against Team USA is a testament to that.

Reibe put up 17 points, but on 16 shot attempts, and eight (!!) three-point attempts. In no other game did Reibe attempt more than three shots from deep. The more physical Morez Johnson/Koa Peat/Tyran Stokes, etc. USA frontcourt clearly gave Reibe problems and made him settle more than anyone prior. Reibe also only had three rebounds in this game, which tied for his fewest in the tournament.

Still, it’s hard not to be optimistic about Reibe’s skillset, as he grows and matures into his frame, and see the vision for how he could be a monster in a year or two.

Jacob Furphy, UConn, Australia

16.7PPG, 4.4RPG, 2.4APG, 2.1SPG

Furphy was a standout for the Australian team, particularly early in the tournament. In his first game against Team USA, he made a statement with 24 points on 9/18 shooting. He followed that up with an 18-point performance against Cameroon, 19 points against France and then 24 points against the Dominican Republic.

Furphy was the second-leading scorer on the Australian team (behind Roman Siulepa), a team that featured touted NBA prospect, Dash Daniels. Furphy impressed as a pick-and-roll ball handler, taking everything the defense gave him. He was getting to the bucket and finishing with either hand, taking a push shot in the lane, or knocking down the open three if the defense went under the screen. Furphy isn’t the most athletic guy, but his ability to play with pace and under control at all times. His outside jumper looked as advertised, and all this combined could see Furphy playing more minutes this season than UConn fans might have initially expected.

Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor, Butler, Canada

12.9PPG, 3.4RPG, 2.6APG, 1.1SPG

Most guys who transition from high school ranks to the college game will have to work on their bodies, getting stronger, faster, etc. as they adjust to the High Major level. Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor will not have that problem whatsoever. He’s listed at 6’6”, 200lbs and is a bruising guard. Oliogu had multiple highlight reel finishes, en route to being Canada’s second leading scorer this tournament.

Oliogu proved his athleticism was off the charts, and performed well in some of Canada’s biggest games, headlined by his 21-point performance (8/10 FG, 1/2 3PT, 4/4FT) against Germany. Oliogu attacked the rim with force too, and that led to him shooting 33 free throws in this tournament, knocking down 28 of them (84.8%).

Where Oliogu might need to adjust in Big East play is learning what to do once he’s going up against guys that can near/match/exceed his physical game. Oliogu’s jump shot didn’t look great in this tournament (2/15 3PT, very flat off the hands), and he doesn’t play with many changes in direction; he’s a very linear driver. Some of his defensive instincts aren’t great, but you can see how in due time he could be a plus defender. He’s got a very physical game and elite athleticism, which is something that Butler hasn’t had in quite a while. 

It may take some time, but Oliogu will work his way into the Butler rotation with some minutes in those 2/3 spots. I think this tournament showed he can play legitimate bench minutes this season. Just needs to be locked in on his skill development to round into that final form, which once saw him a five-star recruit.

Julius Halaifonua, Georgetown, New Zealand

10.6PPG, 5.4RPG, 2APG, 1SPG, 1.6BPG

It understandably took Julius Halaifonua a few games in this tournament to settle in. Halaifonua missed most of last season due to an ankle injury, and missed a lot of valuable offseason time leading into his initial campaign due to injury as well. In that time, Julius lost 50 pounds, and is now playing much lighter than his 7’0”, 270lbs when he first walked onto campus. After he settled in and got valuable experience playing at his new frame, Halaifonua averaged 16PPG, 5.6RPG. 1.6APG and 2.3BPG in the final three games of the tournament. Halaifonua was much more aggressive in the later stages of this tournament, getting to the free-throw line much more often, and demanding the ball on the post and going up, rather than deferring to teammates. His vast skillset was on display, using nifty footwork around the bucket and setting up teammates very well, or converting himself. He has a jumper which extends out to the three-point line too, but the New Zealand coaches had him much more locked onto the interior, though he did hit a couple jumpers from that high-post area in the tournament.

Georgetown could really use another offensive threat, given how many players on that roster are defensive-minded. It may take the Hoya redshirt-freshman some time, but he has the ceiling to be one of the better offensive centers in the conference and achieve such a title pretty quickly.

Rim protecting and aggression on the glass will both be areas for improvement for Julius, who will be fighting with Vince Iwuchukwu for Georgetown’s starting center spot. If Julius can emerge and hit his ceiling (a tall task, no doubt), he could be a really impactful piece. The last three games of this tournament showed the high ceiling that Juice has, and it will be very fun to see how he progresses through the offseason and his evolution during the season as well.

Aleksa Dimitrijevic, Creighton, Serbia

2.2PPG, 2.3RPG

We didn’t get to see much from Dimitrijevic as he was more of a depth piece on this Serbia team. It’s pretty clear that Creighton sees him as more of a long-term project, and that it will take time for him to develop into a legitimate college player.

His best game was the opener against Mali, where in 16 minutes, Dimitrijevic had six points, five rebounds and two blocks in Serbia’s 72-70 defeat. He’s got good hands around the bucket, and there is some skill to work with, but for now, I view him much more as a depth big, who might get spot minutes here and there, but not much more in the short term.

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