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Team USA head coach Cheryl Reeve downplayed the extent of her influence in picking the squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics as the omission of Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark remains a sticking point for some.
She explained there’s a misconception about the selection process in general.
“I think what people don’t get about it — and it’s OK, you can’t change what people think — the coach of the national team truly has no power in the selection of the team,” Reeve said on Good Game with Sarah Spain, which is produced by iHeartPodcasts, as part of the company’s new Women’s Sports Audio Network.
The Minnesota Lynx coach cited as an example the buildup to the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. She thought Kayla McBride, one of her players on the Lynx, had a strong training camp and earned a spot on the World Cup roster. McBride ultimately didn’t make the final cut, though.
“And so I said to Kay-Mac, if there’s ever a time for people to understand that the coach has no say in it, this is one of those times,” Reeve said to Spain. “But I get [it], you know, in this day and age, you’ve got to assign blame somewhere. I took a lot of bullets for USA Basketball. … When you sign up for the position, it is what it is.”
Putting Clark on the Olympic roster would’ve made sense on the strength of her historic college career, along with the fact she’s bound to play a key role on Team USA in the years ahead.
However, the No. 1 overall pick wasn’t an open-and-shut case.
Prior to USA Basketball announcing the team, Clark had averaged 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 37.3 percent from the floor through 13 games. Her production was solid for a rookie but didn’t compare favorably with other American guards.
Her inexperience was a consideration as well. Beyond the fact she had just a few months of WNBA play under her belt, she missed a national team training camp in April because she was competing in the Final Four with Iowa.
Clark’s steady improvement on the court has led to more second-guessing over whether she should’ve gone to Paris, but it’s worth considering how much her development was aided by the fact she got to rest for almost an entire month.
“l’ve loved competing every single second, but it’s gonna be a great month for my body to get rest and get healthy,” she told reporters as the midseason pause approached.
Not coincidentally, Clark looked like a rejuvenated player once the second half of the WNBA campaign got underway. Her perceived snub probably worked to her benefit.
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Publish date : 2024-09-24 06:12:00
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