A new dawn: taking a look at the Opals squad for World Cup qualifiers
The Opals need to start fresh after a tumultuous Olympic campaign in Tokyo and Sandy Brondello has selected a team that looks capable of doing just that.
The 12-woman Australian Opals squad for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournament in Serbia next week was recently announced and while there are some familiar faces who have worn the green and gold on many occasions, there’s also some exciting youth who will have a real chance to prove themselves ahead of the World Cup later this year in Sydney.
Image credit: FIBA
After an Olympic campaign that didn’t live up to expectations in Tokyo, the Opals will be out to show everyone that they’re still a threat.
“We were disappointed with our result obviously, and our performance [in Tokyo], but there’s an opportunity now to learn, to grow and move forward,” Opals coach Sandy Brondello said. “We need these quality games against really tough opponents to work out what we need to do to be better. I’m excited about that – we didn’t have that leading into Tokyo, so this is really crucial for our preparation.”
The team heads to Serbia with a completely different point guard rotation compared to the line-up in Tokyo, and I’ve got to say, I like the changes.
Brondello has pivoted from Leilani Mitchell, Katie Ebzery and Tessa Lavey to three young stars in Shyla Heal, Kristy Wallace and Maddy Rocci, while Sami Whitcomb – who starred for the Opals at the Asia Cup late last year and is very capable of running the point – also comes into the team.
Those four, along with Bec Allen at the shooting guard spot, create a five-woman guard rotation that has toughness, insane defensive potential and great outside shooting ability. Plenty went wrong in Tokyo, and employing fresh point guards to run the show breathes new life into the squad.
The story of Kristy Wallace is one that absolutely deserves to be spoken about. It’s been a bumpy road for the 26-year-old, who has endured multiple major injury setbacks across her career that includes a standout college stint at Baylor and then being selected 16th overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2018 WNBA Draft.
Wallace is the epitome of relentless. Every second she’s on a basketball court, she gives 100% effort – driving the ball with unreal speed, defending on the other end and just being a general nuisance to the opposition. After a strong Asia Cup campaign, along with really impressive form for Southside this season, she’s been able to find continuity in her body and is – deservedly so – reaping the rewards.
Wallace originally wasn’t selected to the Opals camp, but after an injury to Abby Bishop, Wallace got the call-up and clearly impressed selectors to come from the clouds to make the final cut. Following years of hard work and rehabbing injuries, Wallace might just be timing her run to make an Australian squad for a home World Cup. What a story that would be!
Sydney Uni is struggling this season, but Shyla Heal has been a shining light. Making the move from Townsville to Sydney Uni saw Heal take on more responsibility without Lauren Nicholson by her side in the backcourt. Despite just one win to the Flames’ name, Heal has been solid with averages of 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Her shooting efficiency isn’t where it needs to be, but it’s fair to say Sydney Uni’s overall play has been clunky at best and Heal has been hounded by defenders every game.
With four guards more than capable of orchestrating the offence, we should get a much better look at Brondello’s offensive schemes compared to those that were run in Tokyo, after Liz Cambage’s last minute omission meant the Opals were basically making things up on the fly.
With Heal, Wallace and Rocci, Australian basketball fans will get a great look into the future of the Opals, and with Whitcomb’s leadership and intensity setting the tone, it’s just a really exciting time for the Opals backcourt.
Australia was struck down by shooting woes in Tokyo. Some were self-inflicted with subpar ball movement, but two sharpshooters in Steph Talbot and Bec Allen both struggled with injury throughout the tournament. With those two now fully healthy – and in splendid form – they bring so much shooting prowess to the Opals line-up.
Darcee Garbin, who is leading the WNBL is three-point shooting percentage with a ridiculous 48% from deep, and Whitcomb, who is struggling from deep this season but we all know what she’s capable of, alongside Talbot (43% from deep for Adelaide) and Allen (48% for Valencia in Spain), Australia has bonafide shooters who stretch the floor and demand respect from opposition defences.
Speaking of shooting, the post players also provide valuable outside shooting, led by Cayla George and Sara Blicavs. Blicavs is in the top 10 for long-range shooting in the WNBL, shooting a healthy 36.4% from deep, while George isn’t far behind with 35.4%.
The loss of Ezi Magbegor, who was forced to withdraw due to injury, will definitely be felt but into the teams come Garbin, who has continued to improve each WNBL season and absolutely deserves this shot. As I mentioned earlier, she’s the most efficient three-point shooter in the WNBL this season and in a loaded Perth team, she’s a vital piece of the puzzle, playing the most minutes on the team (over 33 minutes per game).
With no Magbegor, perhaps the player with the most to gain and prove is Alanna Smith. She’s been on Opals teams plenty of times before, but has failed to really crack the rotation in recent years. You just get the feeling that this is her time.
She’s fully healthy and has dominated the WNBL this season, living up to the potential that Smith has displayed in limited flashes throughout her pro career. Consistency, in her play and body, has betrayed Smith throughout the early years of her career, but 2022 is shaping up as a game-changing year for the 25-year-old.
Smith brings a steely resolve to the frontcourt and when she is engaged on court, she’s a scary prospect to go head-to-head against on either end of the court. Her ability to get to the basket and shoot it from deep made her a college standout at Stanford and she’s rediscovered that with Adelaide this season. Brondello will be hoping Smith’s stellar WNBL play translates over to international play in Serbia.
If it does, the Opals will have another player with a true inside-outside presence, to compliment the play of veteran bigs George, Blicavs and Marianna Tolo.
Brazil and Korea don’t have the frontcourt depth to deal with those four firing on all cylinders, while Serbia will be without Jelena Brooks, who retired after the Tokyo Olympics having been Serbia’s power forward for the better part of the last decade.
When you look at the squad assembled, Brondello has a great mix of youth and experience, but one thing that is common among the team is a willingness to defend. From the guards to the bigs, I expect the individual and team defence to be much improved to what we saw in Tokyo. The youthfulness will bring energy and the likes of Allen, Whitcomb, Talbot and Wallace will stalk the opposition on the perimeter, while Garbin, Smith and George will hold things down in the paint.
“We want to be a defensive team first. The team is selected with that in mind – we’ve had a really good week with just getting that mindset back in and being aggressive. Just playing a bit more aggressive and making our defence create our offence.” Brondello said.
An Opals team fuelled by defensive intent is what every Australian basketball fan wants to see. Let’s see if the squad can deliver!
The Opals tip off their campaign against Brazil on Thursday 10 February at 10pm (AEDT).
Opals squad for FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournament in Serbia:
BEC ALLEN
SARA BLICAVS
DARCEE GARBIN
CAYLA GEORGE
SHYLA HEAL
TESS MADGEN
MADDY ROCCI
ALANNA SMITH
STEPH TALBOT
MARIANNA TOLO
KRISTY WALLACE
SAMI WHITCOMB
Would have had Maley over Blicavs personally