The U.S. women’s basketball team will make its Paris Olympics debut on Monday in a game against Japan.
The team will not have Caitlin Clark on the bench as USA Basketball officials did not put the Indiana Fever rookie on the roster with the rest of the dominant WNBA stars. The decision sparked outrage across the sports world and allegations that WNBA legends and veterans alike were mistreating the sensational sharpshooter.
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The iciness toward Clark appeared to be thawing over recent weeks. Clark has been seen talking to more veteran players and mingling with those on the team during the WNBA All-Star Game.
South Carolina women’s basketball coach and former Team USA women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley suggested on Sunday in an interview with NBC’s Mike Tirico that, perhaps, Clark did do enough to warrant a spot on the team after all. Clark had a record 19 assists in her final regular-season game before the All-Star break.
“As a committee member, you’re charged with putting together the best team of players, the best talent,” Staley said. “Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA, wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now. If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.
“Shooting the ball extremely well, I mean she is an elite passer, she’s just got a great basketball IQ and she’s a little more seasoned in the pro game in a couple of months than she was two months ago.”
Clark entered the break averaging 17.1 points and 8.2 assists per game for the Fever.
Even as Staley suggested some remorse for not choosing Clark, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland defended leaving her off.
“When you look at the whole thing in totality, I would say USA Basketball has had a very disciplined process with people who know more about the sport of women’s basketball than anyone else in the world,” she told Bloomberg Business.
“And I trust that they know exactly what they’re doing. The women have won the gold medal consistently, and our hope is that they’ve gotten it right yet again and we’re going to win another gold.”
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