Parker off Olympic team?

[arch]

Sources: Parker left off women's Olympic team.

Don't know anything about Candace Parker. Not even how Candace is actually spelled. But here's hoping she's expecting.
Silly? Of course, but it's the only excuse I can think of for keeping this amazing athlete from representing us at the Olympics.

 

[Gate81]

Crazy. Plus Nneka left off team when she was the best performer on the world championship team. Looks like Veterans plus UConn. Sorry but this stinks of bias. Hope there is a major uproar. Makes one truly wonder about having a college coach at the helm (in a reverse way but not all too different from having Staley et.al. coaching the U17/18)....

 

[easttexastrash]

Oh well...if this is the team, this is the team, and one hell of a team it is. There is not weak player on the team and I have no doubt that they will all contribute when given the opportunity.

 

[easttexastrash]

Crazy. Plus Nneka left off team when she was the best performer on the world championship team. Looks like Veterans plus UConn. Sorry but this stinks of bias. Hope there is a major uproar. Makes one truly wonder about having a college coach at the helm (in a reverse way but not all too different from having Staley et.al. coaching the U17/18)....

Also a glaring omission from the Olympic team. The problem with Nneka is that she still has limited range on her jumper and just doesn't shoot as well as the other 4s on the team.

 

[easttexastrash]

Don't know anything about Candace Parker. Not even how Candace is actually spelled. But here's hoping she's expecting.
Silly? Of course, but it's the only excuse I can think of for keeping this amazing athlete from representing us at the Olympics.

She was expecting...an invitation to play on the Olympic team.

 

[Vowelguy]

Crazy. Plus Nneka left off team when she was the best performer on the world championship team.

Which forward would you take off the team to give Nneka a spot?

 

[UConnCat]

Crazy. Plus Nneka left off team when she was the best performer on the world championship team. Looks like Veterans plus UConn. Sorry but this stinks of bias. Hope there is a major uproar. Makes one truly wonder about having a college coach at the helm (in a reverse way but not all too different from having Staley et.al. coaching the U17/18)....

I would have liked to see Nneka on the team but she was not the best player on the world championship team. The best players were Moore, Griner and Charles. Nneka played very, very well.

 

[UConnCat]

The players who were on the World Championship Team and not on the rumored Olympic roster:

Candice Dupree
Nneka Ogwumike
Odyssey Sims

Players who were not on the World Championship Team and are on the rumored Olympic roster:

Sylvia Fowles
Tamika Catchings
Elena Delle Donne

 

[easttexastrash]

I would have liked to see Nneka on the team but she was not the best player on the world championship team. The best players were Moore, Griner and Charles. Nneka played very, very well.

I almost said that and pulled back on it. Nneka was not the best performer on that team, although she did play very well.

 

[chocher]

The front court is stacked.. Britney, Sylvia and Tina.. Fowards in Catchings, EDD and Stewie.. Guards are fairly young in Angel and Whalen who can go for another Olympics barring injury.. EDD can play the guard position as well.. I think it's a balanced offensive and defensive team.. In my opinion Parker was not always a good defensive player..

 

[BigBird]

This group has much international game experience. That might be one very good reason that some of the veterans were again slated ahead of the youngsters. No?

 

[DaddyChoc]

top players in the USA, at the highest level... CP3 is definitely one of them

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

I dunno. It does seem strange that Parker would be just left off. It is NOT Geno's decision; he plays the team that they give him. But the committee want to win, so they listen to the coach; we know that. I wonder if there is something that we don't know about, going on. Maybe she's thinking back to last season and how good the Sparks were when she joined them...who knows?

That said, who do you take off to put Parker on?

• Moore, Taurasi, and EDD are untouchable. Currently the three best players in the world (IMNSHO).
• Everyone will look at Stewie, but she is a Headliner, and Women's sports needs headliners. That and she can competently play 5 positions on the floor at a high level, which seals the deal. The rook stays.
• Griner and Fowles are 5s, period. No flexibility there at all, but...you can't teach tall. They stay.
• Charles is a 4-5, easily the strongest 4 on the team, and more athletic than the two 5s, which is important in international ball, and she can RUN the court. She's as good at the 4 as Parker and can play the 5, which is a premium. She stays.
• Whalen could be a target, but the team needs guards...badly, and she is competent and experienced; she eats minutes. She stays.
• Selfish players do not fit into a Geno led team. Sims, Diggins, McCoughtry...we've all seen it from them. Geno needs a selfless, supportive PG, so Sims is out. One makes it, and it is the healthier of the remaining two.
• Catchings, Augustus, and Bird are getting long in the tooth, but they know the system, have succeeded in it, and that has to be a consideration. They stay...
  • I would have to put Catchings at the top of my cut list, as I think her game is impacted more by her mileage than the others. Parker or Catchings...

If I have to make the call, I drop Catchings for Parker. But...what do I know?

The strength of this team is the 3-4. Moore, EDD, Stewie, Taurasi, Charles (I LOVE her at her natural 4), Catchings in her twilight. Lineups of one guard, 3 of that group, and then Fowles or Griner in the middle...throw in Angel or Seimone to spice things up and this could be the next coming of Showtime. It's a nice team...I just would like to see one more PG.

 

[johnnyc]

Congratulations to Breanna Stewart for making the Olympic team and joining the other UConn legends.

 

[Zorro]

Sources: Parker left off women's Olympic team

I'm sure the Summit is exploding with anti-geno rhetoric.

Well, can't afford the Summitt, but the VolNation is certainly stirred up! And some very words. Their recent disappointments do not seem to have mellowed them.

 

[easttexastrash]

The front court is stacked.. Britney, Sylvia and Tina.. Fowards in Catchings, EDD and Stewie.. Guards are fairly young in Angel and Whalen who can go for another Olympics barring injury.. EDD can play the guard position as well.. I think it's a balanced offensive and defensive team.. In my opinion Parker was not always a good defensive player..

Yeah, that front court is some type of talented! I can hardly wait to see all of that talent playing together.

 

[triaddukefan]

I dunno. It does seem strange that Parker would be just left off. It is NOT Geno's decision; he plays the team that they give him. But the committee want to win, so they listen to the coach; we know that. I wonder if there is something that we don't know about, going on. Maybe she's thinking back to last season and how good the Sparks were when she joined them...who knows?

That said, who do you take off to put Parker on?

• Moore, Taurasi, and EDD are untouchable. Currently the three best players in the world (IMNSHO).
• Everyone will look at Stewie, but she is a Headliner, and Women's sports needs headliners. That and she can competently play 5 positions on the floor at a high level, which seals the deal. The rook stays.
• Griner and Fowles are 5s, period. No flexibility there at all, but...you can't teach tall. They stay.
• Charles is a 4-5, easily the strongest 4 on the team, and more athletic than the two 5s, which is important in international ball, and she can RUN the court. She's as good at the 4 as Parker and can play the 5, which is a premium. She stays.
• Whalen could be a target, but the team needs guards...badly, and she is competent and experienced; she eats minutes. She stays.
• Selfish players do not fit into a Geno led team. Sims, Diggins, McCoughtry...we've all seen it from them. Geno needs a selfless, supportive PG, so Sims is out. One makes it, and it is the healthier of the remaining two.
• Catchings, Augustus, and Bird are getting long in the tooth, but they know the system, have succeeded in it, and that has to be a consideration. They stay...
  • I would have to put Catchings at the top of my cut list, as I think her game is impacted more by her mileage than the others. Parker or Catchings...

If I have to make the call, I drop Catchings for Parker. But...what do I know?

The strength of this team is the 3-4. Moore, EDD, Stewie, Taurasi, Charles (I LOVE her at her natural 4), Catchings in her twilight. Lineups of one guard, 3 of that group, and then Fowles or Griner in the middle...throw in Angel or Seimone to spice things up and this could be the next coming of Showtime. It's a nice team...I just would like to see one more PG.

Are you sure about that? I cant see her playing the PG at a high level in the olympics or in the WNBA... but then again, what do I know

 

[EricLA]

FWIW I would have left off Angel in favor of Candace. I will be very curious to hear Parker's comments. I find it mystifying that she'd be left off the team so I hope someone gets comments from her as well as the head of the committee who made the decisions. I couldn't care less about politics or who's feathers are ruffled.

Stewie was always going to make the team and honestly would have made it ahead of Augustus and McCaughtry, who IMHO are the "last 2 in". But bottom line, until we get quotes from Parker and the US Olympic committee chair, we won't know any more.

 

[RPM101370]

I really hope there is something more to this decision. For me, Parker is easily a top-three player in the world and has beyond paid her dues. If it was my decision I cut Delle Donne for Parker in a heartbeat. She's fragile and hasn't paid her dues. I also love me some Stewie but would not take her over Parker at this point, and not probably for years to come.

 

[CocoHusky]

I hate that this is turning into Stewie vs. Parker. IMO both were deserving. What I can't see is a cut line that includes Angel and not Parker.

 

[CocoHusky]

I dunno. It does seem strange that Parker would be just left off. It is NOT Geno's decision; he plays the team that they give him. But the committee want to win, so they listen to the coach; we know that. I wonder if there is something that we don't know about, going on. Maybe she's thinking back to last season and how good the Sparks were when she joined them...who knows?

That said, who do you take off to put Parker on?

• Moore, Taurasi, and EDD are untouchable. Currently the three best players in the world (IMNSHO).
• Everyone will look at Stewie, but she is a Headliner, and Women's sports needs headliners. That and she can competently play 5 positions on the floor at a high level, which seals the deal. The rook stays.
• Griner and Fowles are 5s, period. No flexibility there at all, but...you can't teach tall. They stay.
• Charles is a 4-5, easily the strongest 4 on the team, and more athletic than the two 5s, which is important in international ball, and she can RUN the court. She's as good at the 4 as Parker and can play the 5, which is a premium. She stays.
• Whalen could be a target, but the team needs guards...badly, and she is competent and experienced; she eats minutes. She stays.
• Selfish players do not fit into a Geno led team. Sims, Diggins, McCoughtry...we've all seen it from them. Geno needs a selfless, supportive PG, so Sims is out. One makes it, and it is the healthier of the remaining two.
• Catchings, Augustus, and Bird are getting long in the tooth, but they know the system, have succeeded in it, and that has to be a consideration. They stay...
  • I would have to put Catchings at the top of my cut list, as I think her game is impacted more by her mileage than the others. Parker or Catchings...

If I have to make the call, I drop Catchings for Parker. But...what do I know?

The strength of this team is the 3-4. Moore, EDD, Stewie, Taurasi, Charles (I LOVE her at her natural 4), Catchings in her twilight. Lineups of one guard, 3 of that group, and then Fowles or Griner in the middle...throw in Angel or Seimone to spice things up and this could be the next coming of Showtime. It's a nice team...I just would like to see one more PG.

Sorry I cannot buy any logic that says "Moore, Taurasi, and EDD are untouchable" and Parker is not.

 

[Striper69]

They need to have more than one U.S.A. team entered in the Olympics. There's way more than 12 players who deserve to play for the U.S.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Well, can't afford the Summitt, but the VolNation is certainly stirred up! And some very words. Their recent disappointments do not seem to have mellowed them.

we need to start a "GoFundMe" acct. to get on that site

 

[Kaizen]

As well as they put all UConners in, I am fine for the remaining players .....

 

[Plebe]

Well, can't afford the Summitt, but the VolNation is certainly stirred up! And some very words. Their recent disappointments do not seem to have mellowed them.

Aside from the surprising nature of Candace's exclusion, I hate that this news is being reported by itself before the actual team is known. The Geno-haters are having a field day with this.