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USA Today: Caitlin will not be selected for Olympic Women's Basketball Team

moondog24 said:
Besides fan popularity? She is not one of the 12 best players in the US.
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I'll say it again, I wonder how the other guards on Team USA would do if they were guarded 94 feet and doubled on screen after screen like Caitlin is. No way would Taurasi average double digits. I don't think Sabrina would either. I'm not saying Clark IS one of the top 12 players in the US, but I'm not sure she isn't. Basically, there are Clark rules on what she has to deal with defensively that NO OTHER PLAYER has to deal with. I also don't think she would be settling for 5-10 minutes a game on the Olympic team either with her ability to see the floor and spread things out. She could average double digit assists with those women.
 
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ottumwan in tx said:
turnovers and defense definitely a problem -and I'm sure she would admit that if she's being honest
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She would, but you can probably cut that number in half for what she is actually responsible for. Many of her turnovers are the result of the other players not making the correct decisions in their "offense"...or whatever you want to call it. They leave her isolated and trapped on the sideline so she either gets it stolen or she is forced to make a bad pass.

Sides should have had players in weeks before camp started to get them prepped for a new offense. She should have been giving assignments to Boston so she could learn her new role in the offense before camp even started. Instead, she has tried to teach them a completely new offense, one that I'm not convinced that even Sides completely understands, on the fly with no practices because of the ridiculous schedule the league gave them to start the season with. If they weren't prepared to do these things, they should have never drafted Clark. Or, they should have made moves to get players that are far more accustomed to playing a running, up temp game, because the minute you draft Clark, that is what you are committing to.
 
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HoustonREDHawk said:
By far, the most informed statement I have heard. Maybe Caitlin is not currently one of the 12 best players in the NBA, especially playing with international rules, but the lost opportunity to popularize women's basketball worldwide makes her omission from the team an incredibly stupid decision.
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AND one that none of these women seem to understand, which of course is why they have been backpage news for their entire existence...
 
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sober_teacher said:
Some of it isn't out of the ordinary for what you would expect from any #1 pick in any sport, especially for ones where they were the clear top pick; like say Andrew Luck or Wemby in recent years.

But this is just getting ridiculous - the hazing stuff to at least some extent isn't unusual. How everything has exploded into major controversy every time something happens...it's frankly embarrassing.

Amazing the difference b/t what you mentioned with Kate Martin - admittedly with far fewer expectations, but you're absolutely right in the difference b/t how the situations are; with a far better run team/franchise in Vegas.
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The really bad part is that the backlash from all this from other players and some media is directed right back at Clark, when she herself hasn't created or asked for ANY of this.....
 
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sober_teacher said:
This is getting exhausting.

From a pure competitive standpoint, leaving Clark off the roster is defensible. From a marketing standpoint it’s not.

I think it was a mistake to leave her off as part of the big picture of growing women’s basketball, but this is also getting grossly exaggerated as well.
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Stephen A makes a very good case of why it was a stupid decision to leave Caitlin off the team.

As he points out (among other things), historically the Selection Committees haven't always picked the 12 best players at that very moment in time. Christian Laettner, as one example, was selected for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team and the Selection Committee left off Shaquille O'Neil and Alonzo Mourning.
 
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Franisdaman said:
Stephen A makes a very good case of why it was a stupid decision to leave Caitlin off the team.

As he points out (among other things), historically the Selection Committees haven't always picked the 12 best players at that very moment in time. Christian Laettner, as one example, was selected for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team and the Selection Committee left off Shaquille O'Neil and Alonzo Mourning.
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Again, I think they should have picked her, and who knows, she may yet as an alternate. I’d quibble with your second point tho - while the other two had better pro careers, Laettner was the best college play of those 3 imo.
Franisdaman said:
Christian Laettner wasn't either yet he was selected for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team

And was Diana Taurasi, at age 22, one of the 12 best when she was picked for the 2004 Olympic team? And is she one of the 12 best now (at age 42)???
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Dan Patrick mentioned this on his show yesterday, when they decided to start allowing pros to play in ‘92, there was an agreement to still take one college player. I forget in what capacity, but apparently coach K was a voice in the room, hence Laettner making the squad.

Taurasi is considered the greatest women’s player I believe, and even now is still playing at a pretty high level, so it doesn’t really bug me that she’s on this team for her swan song. It’s not like she’s going to be THE key player that will make or break the squads chances.

Only player on the team I have an issue with is the Chelsea gray gal that’s still recovering from injury and hasn’t played yet.

At worst, Team USA should have told the 11 other players they were in, and put the others in wait and see mode. Putting Gray as definitely in when she hasn’t played yet is also a bad look.
 
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Tom Paris said:
I'll say it again, I wonder how the other guards on Team USA would do if they were guarded 94 feet and doubled on screen after screen like Caitlin is. No way would Taurasi average double digits. I don't think Sabrina would either. I'm not saying Clark IS one of the top 12 players in the US, but I'm not sure she isn't. Basically, there are Clark rules on what she has to deal with defensively that NO OTHER PLAYER has to deal with. I also don't think she would be settling for 5-10 minutes a game on the Olympic team either with her ability to see the floor and spread things out. She could average double digit assists with those women.
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Taurasi is a point guard averaging like 1 assist per game…can you imagine what folks would say about Caitlin if she was only averaging an assist a game?
 
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Franisdaman said:
Christian Laettner wasn't either yet he was selected for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team

And was Diana Taurasi, at age 22, one of the 12 best when she was picked for the 2004 Olympic team? And is she one of the 12 best now (at age 42)???
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If you remember, the 1992 "Dream" Team was the first time that NBA professionals were allowed to participate in the Olympics. Previously only non-professionals could be used. As a result the USA Basketball Committee mandated that one non-professional player had to be included on the team. Laettner was selected over Shaq. Without that concession, there would have been no Laettner.

As for Taurasi, she was selected to the 2004 All-WNBA First Team -- so, yeah, she must have been one of the top 12 players as only 5 were selected to the All-WNBA First Team.
 
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Tom Paris said:
I'll say it again, I wonder how the other guards on Team USA would do if they were guarded 94 feet and doubled on screen after screen like Caitlin is. No way would Taurasi average double digits. I don't think Sabrina would either. I'm not saying Clark IS one of the top 12 players in the US, but I'm not sure she isn't. Basically, there are Clark rules on what she has to deal with defensively that NO OTHER PLAYER has to deal with. I also don't think she would be settling for 5-10 minutes a game on the Olympic team either with her ability to see the floor and spread things out. She could average double digit assists with those women
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I watched the Sparks vs the Aces the other night and when Plum was on the court, she was picked up at the baseline, especially when Aari McDonald was on the court for the Sparks, cause that's how she plays defense. Good teams play tough defense, they double on the screens, they guard aggressively cause that's what they are paid to do. Other players besides Caitlin get guarded tough and when someone comes into the league with as much hype as Caitlin did, would you expect anything less? You want them to back off and let Caitlin go where she wants to go or shoot from wherever she wants to. High school is tougher and more physical than Junior High, College is tougher and more physical than High School, and the WNBA is tougher and more physical than College.
 
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moondog24 said:
If you remember, the 1992 "Dream" Team was the first time that NBA professionals were allowed to participate in the Olympics. Previously only non-professionals could be used. As a result the USA Basketball Committee mandated that one non-professional player had to be included on the team. Laettner was selected over Shaq. Without that concession, there would have been no Laettner.

As for Taurasi, she was selected to the 2004 All-WNBA First Team -- so, yeah, she must have been one of the top 12 players as only 5 were selected to the All-WNBA First Team.
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One thing about this comparison that keeps getting made. After watching the first few weeks of this season and seeing the success that rookies are having, like Brink, Reese, and yes, Clark who statistically is still doing pretty good for a rooking at a loaded position on a shitty team, the gap between the best professional players and the top college players in men's basketball versus the gap in professional players and college players in women's basketball is far, far greater in men's than women's.
 
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moondog24 said:
If you remember, the 1992 "Dream" Team was the first time that NBA professionals were allowed to participate in the Olympics. Previously only non-professionals could be used. As a result the USA Basketball Committee mandated that one non-professional player had to be included on the team. Laettner was selected over Shaq. Without that concession, there would have been no Laettner.

As for Taurasi, she was selected to the 2004 All-WNBA First Team -- so, yeah, she must have been one of the top 12 players as only 5 were selected to the All-WNBA First Team.
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Well she couldn't have been All NBA first team when they selected the team for the Olympics since that would have been in the first couple of weeks if not BEFORE her rookie season, so try again.....
 
Tom Paris said:
It's about Diana and not what's best for growing the women’s game.
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FIFY.

I mean, there couldn’t have been a more perfect opportunity for a passing of the torch—DT graciously steps down and has CC take her spot on the roster. Still could have played a role. Been an assistant and mentor. “Here kid, I’ve had mine, now go get yours. Take this game to the next level. I want to help you get it there.”

Instead, it’s all about DT getting more of hers. Selfish b!tch.

At this point, I have absolutely zero fvcks to give as far as what happens to DT.

09a5d985-db3a-4dd1-a492-78170872950c_text.gif
 
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spiderland said:
FIFY.

I mean, there couldn’t have been a more perfect opportunity for a passing of the torch—DT graciously steps down and has CC take her spot on the roster. Still could have played a role. Been an assistant and mentor. “Here kid, I’ve had mine, now go get yours. Take this game to the next level. I want to help you get it there.”

Instead, it’s all about DT getting more of hers. Selfish b!tch.

At this point, I have absolutely zero fvcks to give as far as what happens to DT.

09a5d985-db3a-4dd1-a492-78170872950c_text.gif
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How did Taurasi turn into the villain?
 
Chuck C said:
It’s kind of crazy that the Fever can’t make teams pay with all the 4 on 3 situations that are created with the way CC is guarded.
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Boston is not a player who plays with pace. She's used to half court sets. She doesn't make the right decisions in the high pick and roll. That's why Clark is vulnerable at the top of the key. Boston does not set a good hard screen on players up high, and that opens up double-teams on Clark. She has a tendency to bail off of screens too early, expecting a pass going to the basket. She's more comfortable in the low post. If she set good hard screens (legal ones), that would give Clark a bit more freedom to pass or create her own shot opportunity.
 
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BioHawk said:
She's done nothing but acted like a petulant child since Clark became a thing.
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so how did she become the villain in this situation?

After the career she's had - to an extent, I can understand being unhappy with the attention given Clark, given all the awards, titles, accolades she's won with only a fraction of the attention directed at her and the old guard. To an extent.

Some of the stuff she's said, has been spot-on; others were petulant like she said. But I disagree that in this particular situation she's the villain.
 
amahawk said:
I am more surprised that she did not make the 3 on 3 team!
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How would the USA women’s team feel if our country and the rest of the world were all watching 3 on 3 because of Caitlin, and ignoring the US Women’s team’s games?

Caitlin getting in a 3 on 3 team was never going to happen for that reason alone.
 
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VodkaSam said:
How would the USA women’s team feel if our country and the rest of the world were all watching 3 on 3 because of Caitlin, and ignoring the US Women’s team’s games?

Caitlin getting in a 3 on 3 team was never going to happen for that reason alone.
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I'm also not sure Clark ever expressed any interest in the 3 on 3 team.
 
BioHawk said:
One thing about this comparison that keeps getting made. After watching the first few weeks of this season and seeing the success that rookies are having, like Brink, Reese, and yes, Clark who statistically is still doing pretty good for a rooking at a loaded position on a shitty team, the gap between the best professional players and the top college players in men's basketball versus the gap in professional players and college players in women's basketball is far, far greater in men's than women's.
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So how many rookies actually made rosters in the WNBA? 19 on 12 teams
 
moondog24 said:
Take a look yourself: https://www.wnba.com/awards2004
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Reread the post you're replying to.

The 2004 Summer Olympics took place about 2/3 of the way through the 2004 WNBA regular season. I'll assume the roster selection took place at least a month before that similar to this year.

In which case, Taurasi was not yet named All-WNBA for the season since it wasn't completed yet. Great for her to end up getting the honor, but it kind of circles back to the same conversation being had about whether CC should have been selected to the Olympic team in her rookie season, too.
 
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fecal particulate said:
Reread the post you're replying to.

The 2004 Summer Olympics took place about 2/3 of the way through the 2004 WNBA regular season. I'll assume the roster selection took place at least a month before that similar to this year.

In which case, Taurasi was not yet named All-WNBA for the season since it wasn't completed yet. Great for her to end up getting the honor, but it kind of circles back to the same conversation being had about whether CC should have been selected to the Olympic team in her rookie season, too.
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Exactly
 
Chuck C said:
It’s kind of crazy that the Fever can’t make teams pay with all the 4 on 3 situations that are created with the way CC is guarded.
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That's what happens when your team's chances of making a layup is "a coin flip". 😆
 
sober_teacher said:
so how did she become the villain in this situation?

After the career she's had - to an extent, I can understand being unhappy with the attention given Clark, given all the awards, titles, accolades she's won with only a fraction of the attention directed at her and the old guard. To an extent.

Some of the stuff she's said, has been spot-on; others were petulant like she said. But I disagree that in this particular situation she's the villain.
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Until Clark came along, how many people even heard of Taurasi.
 
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fecal particulate said:
Reread the post you're replying to.

The 2004 Summer Olympics took place about 2/3 of the way through the 2004 WNBA regular season. I'll assume the roster selection took place at least a month before that similar to this year.

In which case, Taurasi was not yet named All-WNBA for the season since it wasn't completed yet. Great for her to end up getting the honor, but it kind of circles back to the same conversation being had about whether CC should have been selected to the Olympic team in her rookie season, too.
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I actually agree with Moon's point. Maybe Taurasi had not yet been named all WNBA, but she was good enough that year to get named all WNBA. So, she was likely one of the 12 best players. Whether Taurasi at 42 is still one of the 12 best players is more questionable. I think the league is deeper now, and it is highly unlikely that Caitlin will be all WNBA this year.

I think Caitlin should be on the team, but the argument that she is currently one of the 12 best players is very questionable. The boost that Caitlin has been to women's BB, would be even more global if she were in the Olympics. That lost opportunity makes the decision incredibly short sighted. Caitlin's star power is amazing.
 
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HoustonREDHawk said:
I actually agree with Moon's point. Maybe Taurasi had not yet been named all WNBA, but she was good enough that year to get named all WNBA. So, she was likely one of the 12 best players. Whether Taurasi at 42 is still one of the 12 best players is more questionable. I think the league is deeper now, and it is highly unlikely that Caitlin will be all WNBA this year.

I think Caitlin should be on the team, but the argument that she is currently one of the 12 best players is very questionable. The boost that Caitlin has been to women's BB, would be even more global if she were in the Olympics. That lost opportunity makes the decision incredibly short sighted. Caitlin's star power is amazing.
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I’ve said before, there’s basketball arguments for leaving her off the roster; most of the arguments to include her are big picture items.
 
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