My two cents
Graf went looking for some balance between senior/veterans and youth.
Remember she also needs to build a team for London 2012 (and hoping she gets a contract extension) beyond. Having a bunch of rookies at either 2012 or 2014 would be a disaster. Players such as Tolo, Richards and even Bishop (although I don't believe she is built for International basketball) need to be getting experience now.
As South Australian's we were all disappointed with the exclusion of Summerton and our adopted daughter Screen. But it has to be remembered that Screen was at best 10-man on the Olympic team and Summerton has come off a serious injury.
None of us were in attendance at the camps and while we all know what both players can do, we haven't had the luxury of seeing either player recently.
On the Tournament itself ...
FIBA has to take some blame for the disappointing tournament of #2 ranked Russia and #3 ranked Australia as well as the previously #4 ranked Brazil.
The timing of the tournament, especially given its location was a mistake. FIBA needs to consider the top leagues across the world when deciding when World Championships are to be played. Playing this event just days after the completion of the WNBA was a mistake that only the US team with its considerable depth managed to overcome.
Also let's not forget the WNBA final was decided in 3 games. Had the WNBA finals gone to 5 games that would have been played on Monday September 20 at the earliest just 3 days prior to the first day of the World Championships.
Jackson, Bishop (Australia), Jana Vesela (Czech Rep), Iziane Marques, de Souza (Brazil) and Sue Bird, Angel McCoughtry, Swin Cash (USA) were all involved in the WNBA Finals, not to mention the numerous players involved in Conference Semis and Finals like Taurasi (USA) and Taylor (Australia).
All of these players had limited preparation for the World Championship due to the timing of the event.
Like it or not the WNBA is the elite, Europe is not. FIBA need to accept that and allow for the WNBA program when setting the dates for 2014.
The other issue was the refereeing. FIBA control the style of the game internationally. Australia is an example of a country which not only exactly follows the FIBA rules and interpretations but also has a voice in developing the rules and interpretations FIBA puts in place.
The refereeing standard at a FIBA or Olympic tournament is always inconsistent. This happens because each country supplies an equal number of referees. If you want the tournament refereed at the highest level possible 90% of referees would come from one country, the USA.
But the other issue was the way the referees were told to enforce the rules. The World Championships were not refereed as per FIBA interpretations sent to each Countries governing body.
The travel rule was not enforced as FIBA expects its member countries to enforce it locally.
The illegal screens were not managed as FIBA expects its member countries to manage them.
The post play was not managed as FIBA expects its member countries to manage it locally.
Protection of shooters, Hand-Checking, Bumping of cutters were also inconsistent with the Interpretations FIBA issues to member countries.
FIBA has the rules and Interpretations on its website, anyone with an hour to spare can see huge discrepancies between these documents and the way the tournament was refereed.
To be blunt it appeared FIBA wanted close results and allowed 'weaker' teams to break the rules in order to stay close to the 'stronger' teams. Russia would not have lost to Belarus if the game was refereed as it should have been. Australia would not have lost to the Czech Republic if the game had been refereed on the above points the way FIBA instructs member countries to educate their referees.
Every game Australia played in, the rules were different. When the physical aspects were managed by referees and the game was about skill Australia played well. When games were decided by physicality, illegal bumping of players, hand-checking of penetrators and holding and pushing of post players Australia could not compete.
The lesson to learn for Graf is that the game as we in Australia believe it should be played will not always be how it is played at an International Tournament. She needs the be better prepared for the fact "weaker countries" will be allowed to beat her team up at 2012 and throwing her fist in the air demanding a foul will not be enough. She needs to prepare her offence for a physical defence and find Taylor and Jackson shots off screens and cuts despite the fact they'll both be held, pushed and slapped while getting free and shooting the ball.
