NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - While the explosion in popularity of 3x3 basketball across the globe has been an organic process fuelled by the staging of some great events via the dedicated team at FIBA HQ, this exciting and dynamic version of the sport still needs its stars each year to sustain its incredible growth.

Stars like the prodigious Jewell Loyd, who for me is the perfect kind of player to inspire so many young girls in the future to dream about playing 3x3.

She was exceptional leading USA to gold at the FIBA 3x3 World Championship in Moscow, Russia last week, making up part of a USA team with an average age of just 20, as the champions retained their coveted title.

Loyd absolutely killed it in the Russian capital.

Against the backdrop of a partisan home crowd, she outscored home favourites Russia in the final with nine of her team's points, showcasing her extensive skill-set and most importantly of all, by showing a willingness to do the hard yards and play swarming defense - an often overlooked, but absolute centrepiece of any 3x3 triumph.

Not that it was a one-women show - far from it, since Cierra Burdick (Tennessee), Sara Hammond (Louisville) and Tiffany Mitchell (South Carolina) also played wonderfully well.

But in reality, Loyd led the tournament from start to finish with an array of scorching displays that culminated not only in a podium-topping finish, but also reaching second place in the scoring charts - something which helped her become the newly-crowned number one 3x3 women's player in the world.

With 3x3 still mushrooming in profile with every passing week, her newfound status will no doubt mean greater interest in her own individual career in the NCAA with Notre Dame University and she can expect many new fans around the globe.

Such cross-pollination is absolutely essential for the sport to continue thriving and I hope it maintains the trend of NCAA fans getting some interest in 3x3 too.

Loyd moved into some illustrious company by winning gold in Moscow, following in the footsteps of WNBA superstar Skylar Diggins, who she describes as a great mentor.

While attempting to one day gain the same kind of profile as Diggins is probably a non-starter, it may well be Loyd herself who is soon passing on advice to another rising star in the future, because she is also destined for potentially great things.

Her 3x3 gold medal only added to her collection, having stepped out at the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship four years ago in France.

She is already getting used to being described as one of the greatest players to the court at Notre Dame, with comparisons between her and the likes of Diggins now commonplace.

Loyd is the real deal and if there are two other things which stood out from her recent mission in Moscow, it is just how much she was intent on having fun, while also showing that she really does have the champion instinct.

For while she graciously accepted the bronze medal in the individual Skills Challenge, all she could think about was a slight mis-handling error and therefore I assume, how that had downgraded the colour of that shiny thing which was hanging around her neck.

Yes, Loyd really has all the ingredients.

Just finally though on the 3x3 vibe and talking about bronze medals, what about Ann Wauters?

Drafted some 14 years ago to the WNBA and now in the twilight of what has been an illustrious career that rightfully places her as a bonafide legend of the women's game in Europe, Wauters showed that 3x3 doesn't have to be written off as a young person's game.

While I might get a gentle slap across the cheek from Ann for pointing it out, she demonstrated how there is nothing like veteran experience and a lifetime of honing your skills to call upon as she flew the flag for her nation and the vets around the world, by propelling Belgium onto the last podium spot.

Forget a 3x3 Masters tournament - Wauters was too busy going toe-to-toe with players 15 years her junior as part of the main course.

Quite splendid stuff all round!

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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