The Morning Post-Up, Vol. 6 —  Lexie Hull discusses FIBA U23 3×3 World Cup, future plans

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Hull spoke with media after the event and revealed just how abbreviated her path to 3×3, and to the U23 World Cup, was. “It really came out of the blue. Like two weeks before the World Cup, that’s when I found out I was going,” Hull told The Next. “Someone [from USA Basketball] actually sent me a DM … and was like, ‘You wanna play three on three?’ and I was like, ‘Sure!’ I went to a [training] camp and then from there went to Romania.”

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Both Hull and fellow World Cup teammate Veronica Burton were participating in their first 3×3 event for Team USA. For Hull, it was also her first appearance on the national team, an experience she says has been on her radar for a while.

“I was invited to a tryout camp and didn’t make a team back when I was in high school,” Hull explained. “And so when I heard I was getting to go I was super, super excited.”

It ended up being the right choice for Team USA, as Hull went on to lead all scorers at the tournament, men and women, by six points. At the nine major national team 3×3 events that took place in this season of FIBA 3×3, the difference between top scorers was frequently just one point. On top of that, Hull’s 63 points in seven games tied the second-highest total score of the season. Her six-point advantage on the rest of the field, in her first event with just weeks of 3×3 training (which entails adjusting to both the smaller court, the quicker play-style, and a differently weighted ball), was more than a pleasant a surprise.

“I just go out and play, and when points come points come,” Hull said of her performance. “But I think three on three is super special because … it took everyone for that to happen.”

“I wish we could have come home with the gold medal instead of the silver,” Hull added. “But I mean, the teams we’re playing against had been playing a year of three on three together. We’ve been playing three days of practice. So I mean, we were really excited for how we did in the tournament.”

Hull has so far indicated she would remain stateside for the 2022–23 off-season, and her aptitude for 3×3 will certainly make accomplishing that goal, while keeping up training, more convenient. In her exit interview with the Fever, Hull highlighted creating off the dribble as an area where she hoped to grow over the off-season, and she had many opportunities to practice at the U23 World Cup. While she struggled to create against a more physical French team in the Final, she continued to attempt those types of plays, and frequently found herself at the free throw line as well. Should Hull continue with 3×3, she would be well on her way to achieving that off-season goal.

To that end, Hull also confirmed that she would be making the trip to Miami with Team USA for the 3×3 AmeriCup, which begins Nov. 4. The other three members of the team have not yet been announced by USA Basketball. The AmeriCup is the primary national team event for countries in the Americas, and will feature Team USA alongside 3×3 heavyweights Canada, who most recently won the pro-circuit Women’s Series.

Tony East contributed reporting to this story.

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On the block

Next up tournaments to keep your eye on

• FIBA Women’s Melanesian Cup, Suva, Fiji. Oct. 26–30. More details here. Free to watch at the FIBA Official YouTube channel.
• EuroLeague, EuroCup Regular Season, beginning Oct. 26. Free to watch (outside of Europe) at the EuroLeague Women and FIBA Official YouTube channels, respectively.

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