Article on Candace Parker and not playing for USA again | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Article on Candace Parker and not playing for USA again

UConnCat said:
I'm not sure I understand the point you're making. There are a lot of players who sacrificed time with loved ones to participate in USA BB camps and world championships who didn't make the Rio Olympic team. Surely you're not suggesting that missing time with a daughter is a greater sacrifice than those made by players who don't have children. That being the case, I'm not sure why her daughter is brought in to the discussion.
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Candace wanted to play in the high-profile Olympics, but missed the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. Some questioned her loyalty over those decisions.
 
"I felt disrespected."

News flash to Candace: USA Basketball wasn't founded for the sole purpose of putting you on a pedestal. May I kindly suggest you grow ... the **** ... up.

One day, some of the real story—not filtered through her, her dad, or her sycophants—will come out, and it will not leave her basking in a positive light.
 
MilfordHusky said:
Candace wanted to play in the high-profile Olympics, but missed the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. Some questioned her loyalty over those decisions.
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Exactly right. She bagged the World Championships in Istanbul in 2014. After playing the entire WNBA season and the playoffs without evidence of injury, Parker announced that she would not be able to play for USA Basketball in Istanbul because of some minor, undisclosed knee surgery. USA Basketball was not pleased nor were some of her teammates, the ones who show up and play in the world championships even though they'd probably like to take time off to have some minor surgeries or rest before overseas commitments begin. Whatever the surgery, Parker was ready to go when her overseas schedule began early November, 2014.

Parker chose to make sure she was healthy and ready to go for her Euroleague team. Good for her. USA BB made a choice as well. No preferential treatment, no player is more special than another. If you're going to choose not to play in the world championships, then USA BB can choose not to put you on the Olympic team. That seems fair to the many players who didn't pass on the world championships.
 
CocoHusky said:
The subject you are trying to cover is also covered in this article also. The source was named it was Candace's father. From the Article:
"USA Basketball, according to Parker’s father, told her that she could essentially “resign”: Tell the public she wanted to take a step back and pass on the 2016 Olympics. That would give her cover."

You call it "spin" and this article calls it "cover". USA basketball made a decision not to have Candace on the team, why would USA basketball or Candace or any player not making the team need cover or have to spin the reason for not making the team?
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Not choosing Parker for 2016 was tough and they thought Parker would take it hard, they were trying to be nice.... Cornelius and Voepel and whoever else have made it into USAB covering their own tail.

But this artilce with Parker's father quote is not the article I referenced. When was this quote? for this article so recently. The Voepel/Cornelius article I remember came out April or May 2016...

This is not the context of the article of 2016 ... though the "spin" here, as then is cast an unfavorable light on Carol Callan/USAB.

USAB said they would not comment on why one person was chosen and another not chosen and they have kept their word.
 
Parker was one of the top 5 players in the world in 2016 but as we are told time and time again, the US teams are not made of the 12 best players but the best 12 for the team. Parker in 2012 played her own game instead of the game Geno wanted her to play and while she is an amazing one on one player with endless number of moves, it is not the style that Geno wanted the team to play. In 2016 the team played beautiful basketball and the chemistry between the players was evident. The team for 2018 and 2020 is under Staley who will play a different style of game. Parker got a chance to get back into the team and the fact she does not want to is totally on her.
 
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UConnCat said:
I'm not sure I understand the point you're making. There are a lot of players who sacrificed time with loved ones to participate in USA BB camps and world championships who didn't make the Rio Olympic team. Surely you're not suggesting that missing time with a daughter is a greater sacrifice than those made by players who don't have children. That being the case, I'm not sure why her daughter is brought in to the discussion.
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Another poster mentioned it as a reason why she could’ve been snubbed. I was making the point that she’s been loyal to USA basketball over the years and showed her dedication. Not comparing the level of sacrifice she’s made to players without kids, but her dedication and loyalty wasn’t a reason why she was snubbed.
 
it is a good article and as someone above stated, the sport of women's basketball needs more good well written coverage. The Olympic part of it s a small segment which with blue glasses certainly feels a bit off and brings on the various arguments that have filled numerous threads on this (and other) boards since the team was announced.

I have no issue with the team that was selected in 2016 and the proof was in the outstanding basketball that was played. And I have no issue with CP being pissed off about the selection - she isn't the first and will not be the last to feel anger over USA basketball selection or selection to any other nations team in any other sport. And the reporting on such selections is always full of second guessing before and after the results come in of the actual competition. No one knows the real facts behind those decisions and no one can state what the results would have been with different choices made. Just as no one could have been able to predict the importance of the twelfth player on the team when Liz and Australia were manhandling USA a few years earlier!
 
USA BB wants "WE" players and Candace is a "ME" player so she wasn't picked for the teams!
Everyone of the 12 picked in 2016 would do anything necessary for the team to win, Candace has to be the star!
She can say anything she wants but her ego kept her off the teams!
 
MilfordHusky said:
The talent disparity is large, but shrinking. We struggled a bit in 2016 against France when Sue Bird was out. We struggled against Spain in 2014. Maya's initial scoring spurt became the margin of victory in the finals. We trailed Australia in 2012, partly because Griner wasn't there, Sylvia was playing hurt, and neither Candace nor anyone else could slow Liz Cambage in the first half. In a single-elimination event, where only gold is acceptable, the talent margin can never be too big.
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2012 Olympics Australia game 2nd half Miss Jones came in and showed everyone why she was on the team...
 
bballnut90 said:
Gotcha. I think you misinterpreted what I stated, or I didn’t explain it well since I think another poster misinterpreted the point I was hoping to get across. I was trying to insinuate that it appears to be a political decision rather than based on those other factors that the poster mentioned. Geno was used as an example of what a political reason could’ve been, but I wasn’t saying that was THE reason she was left off. I brought up other examples too....just saying it could’ve been any number of political reasons, but I believe 100% it was due to some political reason one way or another.
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Again my friend, although you mentioned Geno first as perhaps one reason It was you who brought his name into the conversation. The other reasons seemed secondary afterthoughts. Before you it wasn't broached. Then you reprimand me (?) for attempting to eliminate that canard. Talk about deflecting attention. Look over here people, not behind my curtains.
 
MilfordHusky said:
Candace wanted to play in the high-profile Olympics, but missed the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. Some questioned her loyalty over those decisions.
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The World Cup reason seems to be grasping for straws IMO. Catchings skipped 2014 to rest. Griner skipped 2012 and was suspended from USA basketball less than a year before the Olympics. And in 2010, Parker missed almost the full 2010 WNBA season and World Cup with a shoulder injury...not sure you can hold that one against her.
 
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JordyG said:
Again my friend, although you mentioned Geno first as perhaps one reason It was you who brought his name into the conversation. The other reasons seemed secondary afterthoughts. Before you it wasn't broached. Then you reprimand me (?) for attempting to eliminate that canard. Talk about deflecting attention. Look over here people, not behind my curtains.
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As I said before, I probably didn’t word that section the best. I was giving examples of what the political reason could be, not stating that Geno was the reason she was left off.
 
bballnut90 said:
The World Cup reason seems to be grasping for straws IMO. Catchings skipped 2014 to rest. Griner skipped 2012 and was suspended from USA basketball less than a year before the Olympics. And in 2010, Parker missed almost the full 2010 WNBA season and World Cup with a shoulder injury...not sure you can hold that one against her.
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Not grasping for straws at all. Reliable sources have said that USA Basketball and her potential teammates were not pleased.
 
I hate how people can say "she needs to get over it... get off of that horse." How can any of us ever know if she is or not? How cam we know if she is over it or not (via her coverage of the topic). Why should she not answer questions about it when they are asked? She is not bearing a dead horse, but only answering an asked question.
 
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UConnCat said:
I'm surprised you're asking this question. It's like a major corporation offering an executive the opportunity to retire rather than have it announced that he or she has been fired. (For example, the AT&T exec who approved the contract with the president's lawyer announced his retirement the day after news of that contract became public. He's actually an acquaintance of mine; he was told he was done but was given the opportunity to "retire.") It's the same thing with USA BB. Parker didn't have the votes on the committee to make the team. Given her stature in the women's game, USA BB offered her an alternative explanation which they would not contradict. She declined which was her right to do. To quote Candace's father, USA BB "owned" its decision and felt no pressure to explain. USA BB moved on and didn't sweat or regret its decision one bit. The team won gold and played exceptional basketball, perhaps the best any USA team has every played. From all accounts, it was an exceptional experience for all involved.
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This team was going to win gold with or without Candace. Two things come to mind one is the adage that often the cover up is worse than the crime. No doubt USA basketball had a tough decision to make and likewise Candace's polarity made that decision harder. The second adage is that the more principled you are in making a tough decision the easier the explanation. USA basketball made this harder than it had to be and hung Geno out to dry in the process. Candace took a bad situation and escalated to whole other level.
 
When I was visiting my son in LA 2 months ago,she was sitting across from us at a restaurant. She was smiling and failed to wear an American flag pin. Clearly a sign of trouble.
 
CocoHusky said:
What "other off the court stuff"?
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Unwilling to play in Worlds. Her turn it on, turn it off mentality. Her attitude towards the team. Unwillingness to do whatever was needed.

For example, Cash was cut in 2008. But worked her butt off and made it back for the 2010 Worlds and 2012 Olympics. Parker was cut in 2016 and just says screw you. Not really the mentality you want on the USA team.
 
CocoHusky said:
This is a version ( Parker refused to play the 5) of events I have never heard before. Please tell me more or at least how you came by this information.
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It was discussed quite a bit back in 2012. Jones ended up playing quite a bit against Cambage.
 
bballnut90 said:
Another poster mentioned it as a reason why she could’ve been snubbed. I was making the point that she’s been loyal to USA basketball over the years and showed her dedication. Not comparing the level of sacrifice she’s made to players without kids, but her dedication and loyalty wasn’t a reason why she was snubbed.
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I would disagree with that.
 
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meyers7 said:
It was discussed quite a bit back in 2012. Jones ended up playing quite a bit against Cambage.
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Makes sense I was a lurker here back in 2012. It was also mentioned again in 2016.
2012 and 2016 versions of Cambage was a problem for anyone so you definitely would not want someone on USA basketball team that was going to shy away from that matchup.
 
bballnut90 said:
The World Cup reason seems to be grasping for straws IMO. Catchings skipped 2014 to rest. Griner skipped 2012 and was suspended from USA basketball less than a year before the Olympics. And in 2010, Parker missed almost the full 2010 WNBA season and World Cup with a shoulder injury...not sure you can hold that one against her.
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Actually it was a big part of the decision. Catchings had missed about 1/2 half the WNBA season with a back injury. Parker played the entire WNBA season and playoffs and opted out of the Worlds so she could be ready to play overseas in early November. Big difference. No one has held the 2010 world championships against Parker, including USA BB. She made the Olympic team 2 years later. But they fully expected her to be in Istanbul in 2014 but she chose not to be.

Bringing Griner's choice as a college student in to this discussion is silly.
 
CocoHusky said:
This team was going to win gold with or without Candace. Two things come to mind one is the adage that often the cover up is worse than the crime. No doubt USA basketball had a tough decision to make and likewise Candace's polarity made that decision harder. The second adage is that the more principled you are in making a tough decision the easier the explanation. USA basketball made this harder than it had to be and hung Geno out to dry in the process. Candace took a bad situation and escalated to whole other level.
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I'm confused. There was no crime, and no cover up. The explanation offered was for Parker's benefit, not USA BB's. USA BB has never fully explained its decision and never will. After the decision was announced, you had a couple of people suggesting that the full story would likely never be told. Doug Feinberg of the AP said "sometimes you can't write what goes on because it's off the record conversation and won't see the light of day." I don't think Geno was hung out to dry really. He's a big boy and he also doesn't care. Honestly, other than on a few message boards, relatively very few people care that a privileged athlete was left off an Olympic team. There are more important things in life.
 
I'm so glad that so many UCONN posters are taking the approach they are taking. I get tired of Tennessee fans "floating" the supposition that somehow Geno is to blame. Case in point - the recruitment of Maya Moore and Pat's decision to stop playing UCONN. Tennessee fans insisted loudly and frequently that Geno somehow cheated, yet with zero evidence, they went on and on with mass hysteria. ZERO evidence. Yet ask most Tenn fans today if Geno is a cheater and I'd bet they would unequivocally say "yes". Somehow repeating the same lie, or untruth, or rumor with no evidence over and over and over again makes them eventually believe it as fact.

Fast forward to the Parker situation. Several things we know for sure:
  1. To quote @UConnCat , "She bagged the World Championships in Istanbul in 2014...(but) was ready to go when her overseas schedule began early November, 2014 "
  2. Additionally, "After playing the entire WNBA season and the playoffs without evidence of injury, Parker announced that she would not be able to play for USA Basketball in Istanbul because of some minor, undisclosed knee surgery."
  3. USA Basketball has ALWAYS valued loyalty, effort, selfless and dedication to Team USA. Always.
  4. The COMMITTEE decided to leave her off the Olympic team
  5. Instead of emulating Swin Cash (left off team in 2008, worked hard to make the 2010 WC team), she opted for the petulant option (left off 2016 team, said "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. #LessonLearned #GroovyBaby #PettyPost #OkayImDone". Petty tweet (her own words - she knew it was petty), then she decided not to participate in any trials for Team USA in 2018.
What we don't know for sure
  1. How much of a say did Geno have?
  2. How much of a say did her potential Team USA teammates have?
  3. Just how displeased was USA basketball with her?
  4. What was said behind closed doors to Candace as for the reason?
Several posters on here have mentioned teammates on Team USA not being happy with Parker. @UConnCat "USA Basketball was not pleased nor were some of her teammates, the ones who show up and play in the world championships even though they'd probably like to take time off to have some minor surgeries or rest before overseas commitments began". @MilfordHusky "Reliable sources have said that USA Basketball and her potential teammates were not pleased."

I know Cat and I know Milford. I know some of their sources, and I have my own, and I heard the exact same thing. While none of us are going to come on here and divulge our sources, when you have numerous people saying the same thing with different sources, that seems a much more plausible explanation than "it's Geno's fault" with zero proof, no sources, no evidence, with even Candace admitting she was petty...

It's far more logical that she was left off the team due to her own actions, exacerbated by her petty response, and subsequent decision to quit, than to dump the blame on Geno. And Parker still doesn't get it. "I was hurt because I feel like I’ve played through so many injuries, given so many hours to USA Basketball, and then in one fell swoop they can just be like, it doesn’t matter about your play, you’re just not on the team..."

But hey, Geno is has always been an easy whipping boy for some Tennessee fans.
 
I just finished reading the article and found it to be the exact Candace article I expected, she's perfect and everyone is against her!
“She’s been doing this so good for so long, people kind of underestimate her,” says Seimone Augustus of the rival Minnesota Lynx. “They don’t look at what she’s doing as amazing. We may not see another player like this at her position for another 10 or 20 years.”
We already see another player like this at her position, in fact we have 2 players that are better in all facets of the game than Candace and that's Breanna Stewart as #1 and Elena Della Donne as 1a! And they do all that without being a diva! EDD has her diva moments but 98% of the time she's all in for her team.
Watch Parker dunk or block a shot or do something on court and she'll find the TV camera and mug it up for the viewers. "watch me I'm the greatest!" You'll never see Stewie mug it up for the TV cameras!
She'll chose when and where she'll give 100% effort, taking sections of or whole games off physically and mentally! If Candace had Nneka O's style and heart she'd be going 100% effort all the time as Nneka does game in and game out!
 
bballnut90 said:
Elena is seemingly always injured or sitting out for one various reason or another. She’s far from a player I’d consider tough. Her commitment level has been regularly questioned throughout the years. She has never played year round and has never played with much passion. You don’t see that same drive in her to be great even though she’s as skilled as anyone.
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This is absolute hogwash. Yes, EDD is injury prone. I've also watched her play through a back injury that was so bad she had to lay down when she wasn't in the game. I've watched her try to play with Lyme symptoms when it was obvious she should be nowhere near a basketball court. She plays with as much passion as anyone does. I had Sky season tickets when she was there. I watched her go out there with a mediocre supporting cast and basically be expected to be the whole offense every night. And more often that not she came through. You can't do that if you are going through the motions.

I'm sorry she doesn't constantly argue with referees like Parker. Maybe if she did, then you would think she has "passion".
 
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