Uncloaking the Opals' success

MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - After his team's tough Semi-Final loss to the USA at the FIBA World Championship for Women, Australia coach Brendan Joyce received a hell of a compliment from rival Geno Auriemma.

"He said it was the toughest scout he'd done in all his time with the USA team, trying to work out who we go to," he said.

"We created an offence where on each night various people can step up."

It was an offence based on speed mixed with sound decision-making in transition, the latter of which eluded the Opals a little on opening night but was a trademark thereafter.

"That's the key, explore early and then move the ball. We were attacking methodically, when we moved the ball to the second or third side, it was part of the plan and the girls were great at executing it," Joyce explained.

"The way we shared the ball and moved it from side-to-side was very impressive."

Joyce said from "day one" as national team coach he wanted to "play quicker for longer periods at both ends", so he turned to a transition scheme based on an oldie but a goodie.

"Paul Westhead, who used to coach the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Mercury, he probably had the best transition game of any coach ever in the world," he said.

"I remember seeing that in the 1980s and I've always been an advocate of pushing the ball, particularly if you've got the personel to run."

So while Joyce had a system to be successful - intense defensive pressure that led to fast-paced offence - he knew it needed athletes who could make it a reality.

"Obviously it's about the personel you select, particularly the guards," he said.

It was no surprise that Erin Phillips and Leilani Mitchell were first choice, but while many raised their eyebrows at little-known 21-year-old Tessa Lavey's inclusion, Joyce said it came down to science.

"We did testing and Lavey is the quickest and most explosive guard we've got in Australia," he said.

"It really stood out that she had the ability to defend the USA guards."

After the initial testing, every game in the lead-up was measured meticulously, the stopwatch showing Lavey's worth.

"During the evaluation process, especially the last European tour, some of the other players weren't getting the ball into the offence until 16 or 14 seconds left," Joyce said.

"Her quickness, her ability to get the ball up the floor, we would get the ball into the offence in four seconds. That gives you a lot of time to get into your offence and get the ball through hands."

It wasn't just the guards who had to prove their worth via sports science. Nat Burton, another surprise selection, made her case with physical excellence.

"She's the quickest tall we had, she finished in the top four in all the testing along with the three point guards," Joyce pointed out.

"Her ability to get up and down the floor and to move her feet laterally allowed her to defend guards so we switched a lot of on-balls, and the way she stayed with guards I was really proud of her.

"From a strategy point of view that's huge."

While the Opals' other bigs couldn't keep up with Burton, many of their key performance indicators were based on being able to out-speed opponents.

"When I set goals with bigs it's about running the floor," said Joyce.

"When you do that, you might not get your lay-up but you suck in all the guards and we get wide open shots because the guards had to rotate."

Of course, before injury struck, one of those bigs was to be 2.03m giant Liz Cambage, but even a player of her size and talent wasn't given an exemption from Joyce's physiological rules.

"We were 12 points up against the US after the first quarter and looking really good before Lizzy went down," he said.

"She had dropped 25 per cent body fat and the Americans couldn't believe how fit she was, and her mobility was there for a 6ft 8in person."

That gives Joyce confidence his style of play is the best way to defeat the almighty USA, even if Cambage and Lauren Jackson are fit and firing for the 2016 Olympics.

"I certainly felt comfortable with the right planning and the right development that we could challenge for the gold medal (in Rio), and I feel even more comfortable after the world championship," he said.

"I think what we've got to improve is our shooting in the frontcourt. If I can get Lauren Jackson fit, that will be a pretty good player to have come Rio."

Where the Opals can't afford to let up an inch is their staunch defence, which forced the Americans into 19 turnovers.

If that means going without some highly-credentialed players, Joyce has shown he can succeed without them.

And don't be surprised if that means stars like Cambage and Jackson play quality minutes rather than quantity, giving what they can at the intense level required.

What is non-negotiable is players proving they have the physical ability to execute a game plan that more than proved its worth at Turkey 2014.

"If individuals can't move their feet, they can't defend the way we do," Joyce said.

"So to be honest, if you're slow, you're probably not going to make the Opals team.

"If you look at the USA, they're our biggest challenge, there isn't anybody on that team who is slow."

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

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