World Cup qualifiers January 2027 tbd
World Cup finals February 2027 tbd
World championships June-July 2027 Budapest
Panams date and location tbd
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Iām not on Instagram, but I do think he will be on the LA28 team. Iād rather have him than one of the high schoolers.
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I agree. Plus the team needs his age, experience and offensive skill. He is head and shoulders above any of the attackers-outside of the Olympians-who have been playing with this team. And the only one with actual European experience. Of all the ānewā players-he is the only one who has the potential to be a difference maker, imho.
To be fair, he did not play that well against Montenegro and Italy. I remember one great direct shot and a few good LEs but also several mistakes and blocked shots.
That being said, he could help USMNT a lot if he elevates his game.
It was a funny piece of Kirkās commentary during the Berkeley game when Everist mentioned that, to Calās fortune, Saveljic would make a pass too often instead of shooting at college.
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Definitely fair points, I was not impressed at all with him in the exhibition games this summer.
I did watch several of the Italy series A1 games where he was playing for Telimar and he was very impressive in those gamesā¦ constantly scoring against Recco and Brescia. He was the best player on Telimar this past season.
I believe that if he was on a better USA team (more experienced players aside him) he would shine more and play more to his potential.
I do think he has plenty of room to improve though before LA.
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What games are you watching? He can score for sure, but his defense hasnt been very good at all and some decision making has cost them. He is not chosen to be in after time outs for defensive plays and often offensive plays, He definately could make it but after the Montenegro and Italian series he needs to improve in the total game IMHO.
You coached him so I take your word for it.
Iām personally more concerned about our non existent center play going into LA2028.
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so wrong, never coached but i did play, but not at a UC school.
Non existent center play? DId you see the Italian game we won and the production Dom, Pete, Ben L put up, and a game winner natural goal from center? Next two games they adjusted and dropped and we didnt convert shots. Montenegro was similar. I think for a couple centers who have completed sophomore and freshman years they are improving. If you want Hallock level performance from anyone right now besides, you need Ben H in his prime.
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Are you joking? None of those players are centers who can remotely compete against the European defenders. As a former player you should recognize this? Do you really think any of those guys are on the level of Kakaris? And since when is the lefty a center? Iāll take an out of prime Hallock any day of the week.
For those of us that are not experts on world class center play, would someone mind expanding on what we should expect from a high level international center in the modern game?
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No, in no way joking. Never dinged Hallock who is the best i have seen. Those centers have been productive at every level they have played on (U20, NCAA,and recent games vs Italy and Montenegro) and will be with time and maturation at this level too. As far a disparaging Ben L the lefty who often posts up, he is incredbly effective on the perimiter and as a center when needed. You seem pretty quick to criticize, categorize and dismiss a group of youngr guys who have won a ton at most levels and are improving. Give them a season or two over seas and they should grow into the role IMHO. Seen this play before
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This is not to criticise the current centers in any way, as they are definitely talented . But they are young, inexperienced, and probably need several years to further develop. It is not clear to me if any of them will be top 5 in the world at their position in 2028 and it is very hard to win Olympics without a top five center.
Ubovic and Vico did not dominate for Serbia in 2024 but they were much older and more experienced (btw, both were born in Montenegro afaik).
I will be very happy to be proven wrong here - the players definitely have potential!
Keeping fingers crossed that they mature quickly or Ben returns. Ideally both!
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agree with ābothā being the best outcome.
Iām not quick to criticize anyone. I have come to this conclusion after watching both Castillo and brown for 2 years. After this much time working with the senior team, I would expect a lot more improvement than Iām seeing. I just donāt believe either have reached a level yet to be given a spot in 28. And fyi-There is no correlation between u20 success or ncaa success and Olympic level talent. The u20ās are doing better now because of the coaching and the time spent training-which is different than it was years ago. If anything, watching this latest series of scrimmages really exposed the many faults of this team.
Going to stick up for Castillo here. I was poolside working the table at Asphalt Green when UCLA played Pro Recco so I got to see him matchup with that Recco team up close. He more than held his own physically. Not only did he draw exclusions but he was the guy that drew a critical five meter down the stretch of the fourth quarter when the Bruins were in the ballgame and only down three (Dodd missed the five meter and Recco scored which put what was a competitive game out of reach).
There are no facts to support your statement āAnd fyi-There is no correlation between u20 success or ncaa success and Olympic level talentā because this is the first ime we have ever medaled at worlds for U20/18! All Olympians from the US have shown NCAA level talent and leveraged that expereince.
You are welcome to your conclusions but seems like you have someone you think should be considered who isnt? Who is that besides Hallock? I saw a natural game winner from the center vs Italy and lopsided production in game 1 in our favor. Italy adjusted subsequent games and dropped and we didnt score from distance much or convert 6-5ās. That Dejan can work on and improve. I like Hallock coming banc and we would need another center who can play other positions/roles as needed i would bet. Good news is we are just spectators and have 0 say on the matter.
I am bullish on this team overall improving quite a bit. I think we could go position by position and do the same but it wont matter. Peace out.
Add me to the list of folks who wants to hear whether anyone thinks there are centers not currently on the US roster whoād be better. Hallock, for sure, if he came back in shape. Cupido has sometimes been effective at center, but Iām not sure itās the best place for him if he comes back. With games against the best international centers, I suspect center defense is a bigger issue than what we can get our of our offense. Which is not to say it wouldnāt help to have a lot more offense there.
The young centers we have in the pipeline are really solid. Iāve been impressed with them on the college circuit, and theyāve proven theyāre not overwhelmed by the international stage. Itās a good start.
Are they ready to be effective on the world stage at the highest level of competition (Olympics, World Champs, etc.)? No. Should they be by this point? No, probably not, theyāre still very young. Can they get there in 2 years? Possibly. Castillo, Schneider, Dom, etc. have all shown they can mix it up and be semi-effective against international class. They are, however, obviously not in the difference maker category like the center legends weāve watched over the years.
Iām not sure you really need a world class center to win anymore. It helps yes, but it doesnāt make or break the outcome anymore. Front court wise, you just need a āserviceableā center (or centers), somebody who can establish position every possession and swim enough to not get lost in transition. There are so many off the ball exclusions in the game now, and what Iād consider āauto exclusionsā (i.e., the ball gets entered into good position and the center defender is immediately excluded without the center needing to make a move), that the only thing that truly matters is gaining position and drawing exclusions. BTW, this does not mean we can play the post-up game Dejanās been trotting out. Itās garbage and doesnāt work. Hungary tried it at a World Champs a few years back and it fell flat. You need a centers, Iām just not sure it has to be Kakaris.
The kicker is that you have to be world class at 6/5 and 5/6. The centers we choose HAVE to be good on 6/5, drawing defenses deep into the cage as every team tries to do now with the new-ish rules. Serbia is a great example of this. They donāt have world class centers (anymore, or at least not last cycle), but they had enough there to draw the necessary exclusions, and they are GREAT on 6/5. Theyāre also a bunch of MFers on defense, especially 5 man. Spain is the same way: a good center in Tahull, but their system and team cohesion are what take them to the top consistently.
Iām far less worried about our center play than I am about our overall team composition and lack of identity (which has never been established under Dejan). My guess is Hallock comes back, they take a young gun whoās pretty serviceable after 1.5 more years of development, and they get enough out of center with that duo to be dangerous at that position. It will not matter unless the rest of the team and the system/identity they play within improves drastically.
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