Dawn Staley Says Caitlin Clark’s Recent Performances May Have Landed Her A Spot On US Olympic Team
Dawn Staley, a selection committee member for the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team revealed that Clark’s recent performances could’ve landed her a spot on the team less than two months after the roster was announced.
On June 11, USA Basketball released the official 2024 Paris Women’s Basketball roster, however, 22-year-old Caitlin Clark, the number one 2024 WNBA draft pick from the University of Iowa wasn’t mentioned anywhere. This surprised many people and became a big talking point, as Caitlin Clark was the number one draft pick and the highest-scoring player in NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball history.
What Exactly Did Dawn Staley Say?
The legendary South Carolina coach joined NBC’s Mike Tirico to discuss Team USA’s first 2024 Olympic contest on Monday against Japan. During this conversation, the two talked about Clark being cut from the team.
“Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA and wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now,” Staley said.
“If we had to do it all over again, with the way she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she’s playing head and shoulders above a lot of people. She’s shooting the ball extremely well. She’s an elite passer. She’s just got a great basketball IQ. And she’s a little more seasoned in the pro game than she was two months ago.”
Dawn Staley, a member of the USWNT selection committee, asked about Caitlin Clark.
“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.” pic.twitter.com/hMYqTsPWzc
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) July 28, 2024
Clark wasn’t the only high-profile American player to be excluded from the Olympic roster, but she was the most debated after the decision because of her popularity.
Clark’s Statistics Since the Announcement
Since the announcement, in the last 13 games she has played, Clark has averaged 17.9 points, 10.4 assists, and 6.7 rebounds per game shooting 43.4 percent for the Indiana Fever.
Additionally, in July she recorded a triple-double, being the first rookie in WNBA history to do so, and broke the league’s single-game assist record. Clark was also one of the two rookies chosen to play in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game since 2014. During this game, she had 10 assists, contributing to Team WNBA’s victory over the US Olympic Team.
How did the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee Defend their Decision?
In June after the roster announcement was made, USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee chair Jen Rizzotti said “When you base your decision on criteria, there were other players that were harder to cut because they checked a lot more boxes. Then, sometimes it comes down to position, style of play for [coach Cheryl Reeve], and then sometimes a vote”.
Some saw this as a missed opportunity to attract more attention to the USA Olympic Women’s Basketball team, but the decision was not based on this criteria.
The US Olympic women’s basketball team will face Japan on Monday at 3 p.m. ET.
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