Born and raised in Washington.. is she an Australian citizen? ..

Just watched. Think I have a crush already. lol.

She is playing as a local for the Rangers as they already have two imports in Novosel & Pederson so she must have dual citizenship.

Still would take Hurst over Mitchell as starting PG for Opals IMO.

"Still would take Hurst over Mitchell as starting PG for Opals IMO."

On what grounds?

BA can leverage a lot off her. Whether she is good enough...have no idea.

On the grounds that Hurst is a better player than Mitchell IMO.

Both be top shelf

Mitchell all day as starting PG over Hurst!!

Mitchell is ahead of Hurst in assists per game and steals per game.
Plenty of scorers in the Aus team, we need someone who can set things up and create opportunities.. That's Mitchell all day everyday! Welcome to the Opals!!

Theyre two different types of point guards, I think theyd complement each other very well. Id prob use Mitchell as the starter and Hurst as the pace-changer off the bench.

Irving and Mitchell are completely different cases.

Mitchell's mum is indigenous, some of her siblings were born in Australia, and she was brought to Australia more than once to visit relatives. She has a genuine connection to this country that by blood dates back a long long time.

Irving just happened to be pushed out of his American mother's womb here, to quote our famous anon.

Yep, youve got to have an Aussie accent to have a connection to Australia!

And that's a good example of why wikipedia cant always be relied upon!

She was a Torres Strait Islander, born on Thursday Island. Some of her family is still there. Here's an article from the Torres News:

http://www.wnbl.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/team_storage/dandenong/0910_PDF_s/leilani.pdf

I was lucky enough to interview Leilani earlier in the year and playing for Australia is something that would mean a lot to her, more so now that her mum has passed away.

Great article and adds more to her "credibility" as an Aussie.

her knowledge of the USA players alone would make her invaluable.

she's got game

What Rubbish... They are both midgets at 5ft 5 inches. It's a disadvantage at both ends of the floor playing tiny guards unless they are offensive juggernaughts (ie. Harrower).

Madgen, Phillips will play majority of minutes at Pg with O'hea assisting if necessary.
Hurst will push for a bit player spot, Mitchell is way behind - she has a limited game offensively.

madgen not PG

Hurst has performed well in the Euroleague though, and Joyce is a fan of what she brought last international season. Will be interesting to see how it develops, certainly a lot of talented options.

eeep I'd rather O'Hea play the point, Madgen is not a point guard!

mitchell's fine - you cant be starting pg for bill laimbeer unless you have game

I think many on this board believe basketball is the same game played in the 80's with a traditional PG running the show.

The top PGs in the game are scoring PG's like Sue Bird, Harrower, Becky Hammon, Lindsay Whalen, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook. They can run an offense sure but they can score at will...and can bail the team out regularly as the shot clock expires.

The Opals will never win gold with a traditional PG as a significant player.

Leilani Mitchell is not a starter in the WNBA - she is too darn short and doesn't have the offensive fire power to be an asset playing 35 mins a game. It's too much to ask her to be the last guard back in defense on a fast break, she can't deny the post, she can't challenge shooters as well as taller guards, she can't finish on the fast beak.

She is an average offensive player with a high basketball IQ.

> I'd rather O'Hea play the point, Madgen is not a point guard!

LMAO!

Did no one just watch ABC game!!!
Mitchell is awesome.
Runs rings around any point guard in Australia
She is settling in nicely to style of play down under and getting used to players here.
You can't expect new players to show what they can do in just a few games!!
We are only half way thru season and she is starting to show all just what kind of player she is
I'm definitely a fan after watching game on TV today

Anyone who thinks Mitchell doesn't have "offensive fire power" need to get a copy of today's game, the girl can turn it on when it needs to be.

Hurst had a dynamic game Vs Fire on Friday as well. Going off for 33pts & pretty much secured the victory with her individual performance. I'm still taking Hurst over Mitchell as starting PG for Opals IMO.

Are we also forgetting about MacLeod? Was she not back up PG at the Olympics. Is only taking a year off and then surely she is also back in the mix. Been All Star 5 in the WNBL multiple years in a row now... Will be an interesting battle between MacLeod, Hurst & Mitchell

"TMK you confuse a point guard with a 2 man."

I think you are confused given you believe the concept of a 1-man, 2-man, etc still exists.

The modern game is about match-ups. Ever heard the words : Team xzy is going with a tall line-up, or xyz is going with a small line-up.

Remember the Bulls team of the 90's. Starting line-up was Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen. The small traditional point-guard is non-effective and has been for 20+ years. The Boomers need guards who can score, defend, and are tall.

My starting Opals lineup: O'Hea, Madgen, Taylor, Jackson, Cambage.

^^^TMK^^^ - No way Madgen is a starter in the Opals team. She'll be flat out making the team! I doubt current Opals coach would start a side without a significant ball carrier & distributor. Yes O'Hea can do this but only in 'cameo appearances'.

Will need a PG with breakdown moves

Ohea. Best on the wing

^^^^ a lot of negative O'hea talk. You realise she leads the league in scoring and will win the MVP by a long shot. Right? In this league she can do everything you have said she can't.

Care to explain what a proven point guard is??? Is it someone who dribbles the ball up court? Someone who initiates he offense?? I can name 10 players who can do that as well as Mitchell. What I what in my starting 5 are scorers that can go off for 30 points if given the chance. Cambage, O'hea, Jackson, Madgen, Taylor, can all do that. Harrower can do it, so can Hurst. Can Mitchell???? No. The USA have guards that can score in bucket loads and because of that they have no weak spots. They can score inside and out and every time the ball is in a players had they are a scoring threat. With a traditional pg we have a scoring weakness and in all likelihood a defensive weakspot due to height.

TMK - No way can Madgen score 30 pts at the International Level & certainly not against the USA. Madgen will be flat out making the final side IMO.

Also I don't think the MVP race is all O'Hea for the taking. Batkovic making a pretty solid run of late & could be a 3 times consecutive MVP.

Agreed Harrower couldn't get it done in the WnbA. Not tall enough and not athletic enough. Her game had to evolve to compete in the league which is why she can make 3s from a meter behind the arc.

Harrower regarded as the best pg in the world? Not since Sue Bird began playing professionally. In addition her wnba numbers aren't comparable to staley, weather spoon, or Hammon.