Wouldn't the bolded factor more into France's success than them simply catching up to us? Let's say that we were the ones in that position (playing in front of a home crowd and had 2+ months to practice with the 12 we selected). Would France (or any team, for that matter) have come within 20 points of us under those conditions? I would be the farm that that would not be the case.
Most of the world usually practices together for extended periods of time prior to the Olympics, so that is a constant over the years.
www.espn.com
Could we just have different opinions or different views on what happened rather than dismissing an opinion with "you watched a different game"?
And it was a very awful and-one on a player that blew right by her. Not sure why that means I watched a different game.
One 8-0 run, with three's the were set up by other players is not enough to balance out how terribly she played imo the rest of the game. And really, it was an 8-3 run given she immediately got blown by then committed the worst foul of the whole game for an and one. The US wouldn't have been tied in the half if Sabrina had played in that first half over her imo. There was actually some offensive flow with Sabrina in the game and some chemistry. One turnover and she never got back in. Reeves reluctance to experiment in the backcourt despite how badly the guards were playing, despite experimenting with the backcourt all tournament, cost them a larger win imo. That's on Reeves, not Plum but Plums continual playing time at PG, despite killing any sort of offensive flow with over dribbling bad shot selection and chaos really made the team un-fun to watch.
Define extended periods of time. Canada Basketball's format of training doesn't provide much opportunity for the team to play as a unit. Australia didn't have their complete roster together to train until just before the Olympics as well.
But there are still more variables to consider (substandard coaching decisions, poor personnel choices by selection committee, a nasty bug that has been going around Team USA, etc.) that played more of a role in the outcome than the suggestion that the rest of the world has caught up to the US. At the end of the day, we went 6-0. Every other team in the field had at least two losses or lost prior to the semifinals. This French team lost in the group stage to Australia--the same Australian team that Team USA demolished in the previous round. They very easily could have lost to Belgium in the semis--a Belgian team that has one actual WNBA-level talent (Vanloo, in my opinion, is not a good WNBA player).
But Sabrina's defense is even worse than Plum's because of her slow feet! Whatever benefits she brings offensively during this tournament (and she didn't bring three-point shooting in this game) have been nullified by her lack of defense. She also got blown by during her stint on the court (and committed an untimely foul that led to FTs for France). Also, she does not possess an air-tight handle, so she is just as prone to turnovers against an aggressive French defense as the other guards.
What makes you think that A'ja, who's still on the upswing in her transcendent career, will somehow be on the decline at just 32???? Because Stewie may be (and who said that she would be on the decline, either? Maybe a new WNBA team would do her wonders)? They're not the same player. And it's unlikely that Cheryl Reeve will be the coach in 2028 given that most Team USA coaches get one cycle.
I disagree entirely. There will always be external factors (players who party every night, bad attitudes, illnesses, etc). The issue now is that it isn't as easy for us to run the table against the top 3-4 teams. If you can't see that the rest for the world is closing the gap, I certainly am not going to try and change your mind.
Most players peak around 27/28. Doesn't mean A'ja or Stewie won't be great in 2028 but I don't think either will be better or at the level they are playing now. Will still likely be the best players on the team but won't be able to single handedly carry the team to victory they way they did this time. Would love to be wrong just think we need to be realistic.
Every time i thought she was out of the game for good she pop back on my screen after a time out ready to foul someone for an and-1.
No, they don't. That's when they reach their PRIME. Not the same.
We're talking about 2028, though?
They didn't really do that this time beyond a handful of games. When Jackie Young was inserted into the starting line-up, she helped lessen the load on them (with the exception of the Gold Medal game--Stewie also struggled in that one). Kah and KP stepped up to help A'ja when Stewie couldn't/didn't.
Go back through the previous seven Olympic gold medal-winning rosters during this streak and identify the time that we didn't have either the best player in the world or at least second best. We can be realistic without giving into unfounded concerns.
That's not based on anything other than unfounded fear, though.
Oh, it was simply a joke.
I think this a really astute analysis.
Re Gabby Williams:
www.espn.com
Yes, of course, and thanks for your explanation. However, I am very much aware of all that. It is definitely wishful thinking regarding Gabby.Re Gabby Williams:
1). The WNBA issue is a combination of priotization rule and the challenge of being able to earn a good salary for play. Hopefully the next CBA will help address that.
2). It's not going to happen at this point regarding USA Basketball adding her to the pool for consideration. It's a similar situation to Nneka Ogumike's when she tried to switch to the Nigerian team after not being selected for the 2021 Olympics squad. I get and respect the sentiment, but too much time has passed now.
Sources: N. Ogwumike's petition denied by FIBA
Los Angeles Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike has been denied in her petition to play for her native Nigeria at the Tokyo Olympics because of her "substantial involvement" with Team USA, sources told ESPN.
Nneka had been in the NT pool of players for 4 years I believe, and had played for the NT in the 2018 WC, winning a gold medal. Any national team play in regional or world tournaments is pretty much final, even play at age designated world events causes questions.
Yes, a lot can be accomplished in 4 years, but Gabby will be 31 by then. For all we know, she may be done with basketball at that point.
I know it’s different, but wasn’t Kara the one that coached the first 3x3 team to a gold medal?
Yeah, but you also know how some of our Boneyard friends are HUGE fans of 3x3 right?
Not bad but so many questions! Like off the top of my head, Can Aliyah Boston & Cameron Brink handle the physicality of European ball players? Heck could Angel handle it? Then you throw in who is coaching the team. Will that coach take over and try to control how the team plays I know that this is rough estimate of potential players but hopefully the committee think long and hard and start doing what the men did back in 2005-06 range when they sat down and revamped their whole program and mindset of how they wanted to build their national team.
Feel free to disagree, but I do not see what you're seeing. Sorry. The world can't be "closing the gap" when this team defeated its previous five opponents by double digits and ended up playing the host team in a hotly-contested gold medal game.