She scored 24 points, pulled down 17 boards and added 4 assists with 3 blocked shots today for Bosnia-Herzegovina in their 80-69 win over Croatia in Strasbourg in the EuroBasket. Up next is the quarterfinals against France on Wednesday.

Last edited by GW Alum Abroad (6/21/2021 6:04 pm)

JJ is a Bahamian, but applied for dual citizenship with Bosnia-Herzegovina (BIH) so she could play at the international level.  She has been playing for BIH since 2019. In her last game in 2019, she led BIH to an upset win over Russia to qualify BIH for this 2021 Eurobasket.

She is on leave from the WNBA to play for BIH at the 2021 EuroBasket to try to get BIH into the Olympic qualifiers, but I think they have to beat France (and maybe win in the semis) to do that. She has had a double-double in every game (4) so far at this tournament. Regardless, she has been a huge lift for this team, which had not been to Eurobasket since 1999 and had never won two games there until this year. ESPN+ is livestreaming the entire tournament, so you can catch her on Wednesday against France.

BC - there is a scenario where JJ can get to the Olympics with BIH, but it is a very long shot. If BIH loses to France, I think that all but ends her chances, and she'll be back with the Sun by this weekend. If BIH wins a final four game in Europe, I think BIH would go into a pool of teams that would play to qualify to go the Olympics, but those games would be during the WNBA break just prior to the Olympics. Then there's a whole slew of games for the WNBA after the Olympics, so JJ has a lot of WNBA games left this year.

Update: I was under the impression (incorrectly) that 16 teams go to the Olympics, but it is only 12. There is a qualifying round to fill in the last 4 slots in the mens' competition, but all the women's slots are already filled. So, no Olympics for JJ this year, but maybe JJ can lead BIH to the 2024 Olympics.

Last edited by xAC (6/22/2021 1:51 pm)

In case you missed it, BIH lost to France in the quarterfinals earlier today 80-67. BIH was short-handed as Marica Gajic (averaging a double-double in the tournament) sat out due to an injury. France, overall, was too deep and too good, being the top team in Europe, and is the favorite to win EuroBasket 2021.

JJ was nothing short of sensational with 29 points and 24 rebounds, the latter number being the all-time single game rebounding record in EuroBasket history. BIH still has a chance to lock in a spot for the World Cup qualifiers by beating Sweden on Saturday. After that game, it's back to WNBA for JJ.

Yes, it's a little hard to find. Once in ESPN+, search "FIBA" and the games will show up. All games are available "On Demand", so you should be able to catch it your leisure.

Last edited by xAC (6/23/2021 1:35 pm)

Just an update on JJ. Following her massive game against France, JJ led BIH to a victory over Sweden and with that, a 5th place finish at 2021 EuroBasket and trip to the World Cup qualifiers (first ever for BIH). She finished the game with 34 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 assists, resulting in a EuroBasket record 51 efficiency rating.

FIBA made a highlight video of her first few games entitled "Female KD". You'll agree she has a very similar game to KD.



 

Last night, the WNBA All Stars beat Team USA in a tune-up for the Olympics. JJ had a great game with 18 points (4-7 from beyond the arc), 14 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Some pre-game analysis on why some thought WBNA All Stars could win-- look at Reason #1.
https://uproxx.com/dimemag/team-usa-might-lose-wnba-all-star-game/

At half time she was edged out in the 3pt shootout by Ally Quigley. If you have not seen her 3pt stroke, watch this. Even though she came in second, she was pretty amazing.




Given the accomplishments of her career so far, she may be GW's GOAT basketball player. (Back to Reason #1, when was the last time a GW athlete was called the best player in the world?)

Last edited by xAC (7/15/2021 8:36 am)