Candace Parker/Olympic team thread (merged threads)

[UcMiami]

Parker is a great player, and I am sure a worthy selection for the team....Yet, she was not chosen..... Two things come to mind....

One is the example of this happening before (being seemingly slighted)..... Coaches in international competitions are eager to staff their teams with those who are going to be a most comfortable fit.... Perhaps this is the thing with Candace I do not know..... It is said that Geno does not have heavy influence on the selection of roster, and maybe that is or is not believable. But I do remember the past and on the mens side, both Bobby Knight and Dean Smith having Indiana and UNC players on their international teams where other seemingly more deserving players were left on the sidelines....

The other thought is that.... having seen this over a lifetime of corporate life .... is that when applying for a job (which this ease ntially is).... the most quailfied person very often misses out on the position for whatever reason..... the hiring manager feels that the person they eventually hired would be a better fit for the organization..... maybe this is the case here....

Don't know, and I don't want to speculate.....

Nicely put - and I'll elaborate on one thing having interviewed and hired a lot of people during my working life - a resume is very much like a stat sheet - it gives you some benchmark facts about an applicant, but it doesn't begin to encompass the whole person and hiring someone based solely on the resume is about as dumb as you could get.

 

[Plebe]

Word out in twitter world the vote was 3-2 to keep Parker off the team. I'm presuming that's what Thompson is saying when one person kept Parker off team.

Who is saying this? Where is this information coming from? That's just as speculative as all the reasons being bandied about for why Parker was cut.

 

[UConnNick]

I've noticed that a long time ago. However, I ask: When are you going to take issue with these Tenn visitors who think Geno is the second coming of Satan (maybe the 40th coming)?????

I've always thought Geno is the Antichrist, and the root of all evil. He commands the Evil Empire, so why wouldn't he be the Antichrist? I think we should check his head for the backwards 6's. That's why he's always so obsessed with keeping his hair nicely combed back. He has to keep the 6's hidden.

 

[CL82]

The only information that should matter is CP basketball ability now-TODAY!, anything else (including team chemistry) is highly speculative and should be ignored. We are not talking about a newbie to the national team here-CP has been on or around the national team since 2006 and USA basketball since 2004. That is a full decade of being mostly a starter on the National team.

Could not disagree more. If the best 5 players in the WNBA are all centers, are they your starters? What if they are all guards?

Nope, you put together the best team. For whatever reason that did not include Parker this go round. Maybe it will in four years.

 

[UConnNick]

Excuse me, but one thing I haven't read about this entire business is that USA Basketball picked Geno to coach the team, twice now. It was obviously a success the first time. It would be difficult for anyone to mount a plausible argument that he's not the absolute best person on the planet for this job.

So maybe he does influence the selection of the players on the team. I'm sure he probably does. And that's why they hired him to do the job in the first place. They're going to listen to what he has to say on that topic. They've chosen him for his ability as a coach and to analyze what he thinks the best possible team would be to win the gold. End of story.

If that means that personalities, attitudes, commitment, hairs on the back of his neck, or angels dancing on the head of pins enter into his recommendations, so be it. Whether he arrives at his conclusions objectively, subjectively, or some combination of both, they trust him to make those calls. He's the coach, period.

 

[BigBird]

Bone: "I don't mean to be disrespectful to USA Basketball. I'm talking about a problem in our game. If I'm a better basketball player than X, Y or Z, that's all that should matter."

"If I am a better basketball player..."

So what does this rather large label include? Might it include being able to be coached? Might it include having a TEAM orientation, on and off the court? Might it include being someone who the coaches and teammates can be reasonably certain won't turn diva at the most crucial moment?

You can't be a "better basketball player" if there is any doubt about these criteria.

 

[mkwstar23]

We get why Tennessee fans are upset. We get it. I just don't know what people expect the Boneyard to do about it.

It is done...won't be changed...Usa will win gold and life will move on...so should we

 

[Huskylove3]

I think everyone can agree that talent wise, Candace Parker should have made the team. She's an outstanding player. Therefore, it must be something else (attitude, teamwork, cooperation, willingness to be a role player, etc) that kept her off the team. Is this a subjective reason? Yes it is. But that is why there is the coaching staff and the selection committee. I do think Geno has a weighed opinion during the selection. But to think Geno can go in and say "I don't like Candace, she shouldn't be on the team" and then have the selection committee say, "okay, Geno. No Candace." is in my opinion, absurd. The committee knew this was going to be bad publicly. After all it is CP. However, whatever the reason for keeping her off, it had to be a valid enough reason that 3-5 adults on the selection committee chose to keep her off. Multiple people must have witnessed the reason.

To say that the only thing that matters is talent when putting together the USA Team, is crazy, especially coming from UCONN fans. Do we not love Kelly Faris? How many times have we heard Geno say, players need to be willing to play their role in order for us to win? Too many to count.

USA Basketball probably should have addressed the question more directly, but they are trying to "keep the peace." So now it's turned to speculation. Well don't worry, after CP posted that video, we all know Geno will open his mouth about it now. It may not be for years to come, but eventually the truth will come out.

 

[CL82]

USA Basketball probably should have addressed the question more directly, ....

Just the opposite. Just announce the team and move on. You'll never placate everyone, don't even give the appearance of trying to do so.

 

[Huskylove3]

Just the opposite. Just announce the team and move on. You'll never placate everyone, don't even give the appearance of trying to do so.

You're absolutely right. They made the decision and they're confident in it. There is not point to go player by player on why or why not. Great point!

 

[UcMiami]

The '3-2' vote idea is a little misleading - the committee didn't go through the list of pool players and vote on each one independently - that kind of procedure could create a mess of a team.

The selection came down to Candace and some other player and the vote was 2 for Candace and 3 for that other player - no idea which player was the other player but suspect it was one of:
Tina, EDD, or Catchings because they are the players that most closely 'compare; to what Candace brings to the team - Fowles and Griner are locked into the post position, Stewart is the designated rookie, and the other 6 are all wing/guards not Candace's strength. I suspect the vote on those three head to head was probably
5-0 for Catchings - heart and soul of the team for the past 10 years
4-1 for Charles - yeah, Australia!
3-2 for EDD - perimeter shooting.

 

[Bayareahusky]

This will be debated forever I am sure..... but it is normal with the naming of these international competition rosters to have some unsettling happenings..... Barkley left off the 84 Olympic team.... and the the 92 Dream Team.... who was the last guy on? Christian Laettner newly minted Duke grad.....

I am always OK with debate .... and others who think person x, y or z should be on team..... What I turn away from is how certain UConn players are NOT worthy of being named.... I saw Devereaux Peters put in her 2 cents.... saying Breanna is not worthy..... more so than Candace or Nneka..... now I love both Nneka and CP, and love their games .... but please do not tell me that the most transformational player in the history of WCBB..... is not deserving.....

In an age when WCBB is at its most competitive..... and the players are the greatest...... (is the game better and does it have better players now, or did it fare better when Delta State, Old Dominion, La Tech, and Immaculata were at the top of the heap??)...... how are you going to say that the person who led her team to 4 straight national championships is not worthy of selection.....

Nneka and Candace are brilliant players, and may they have continued success.....

 

[Tonyc]

Some of these tweets, posts etc are really coming from anger. Very stupid and idiotic. Genos boss is the committee. The committee makes the decision and . I will continue to say its most likely personal and out of respect for CP those in charge haven't gone public with it yet. So lets change things around. What did CP do or didn't do that has caused her to get kicked off the team????? Lets start there and start picking that apart. We all agree she should be on the team. Bottom line CP knows what happened and isn't coming forward yet either. The Tenn fans are upset and once again its Genos fault. I think when everybody finds out what happened they will see it was CPs fault. JMO.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I remember 3 years ago in a WNBA game Nneka Ogwumika made a really neat basket and Candace Parker comes sprinting over and accidentally head butts Nneka, opening a gash in her forehead over her left eye, requiring a bunch of stitches.
I only throw that out there as Candace being Candace.

Candace Parker bloodies her own teammate with celebratory headbutt

 

[mkwstar23]

This will be debated forever I am sure..... but it is normal with the naming of these international competition rosters to have some unsettling happenings..... Barkley left off the 84 Olympic team.... and the the 92 Dream Team.... who was the last guy on? Christian Laettner newly minted Duke grad.....

I am always OK with debate .... and others who think person x, y or z should be on team..... What I turn away from is how certain UConn players are NOT worthy of being named.... I saw Devereaux Peters put in her 2 cents.... saying Breanna is not worthy..... more so than Candace or Nneka..... now I love both Nneka and CP, and love their games .... but please do not tell me that the most transformational player in the history of WCBB..... is not deserving.....

In an age when WCBB is at its most competitive..... and the players are the greatest. (is the game better and does it have better players now, or did it fare better when Delta State, Old Dominion, La Tech, and Immaculata were at the top of the heap??). how are you going to say that the person who led her team to 4 straight national championships is not worthy of selection.....

Nneka and Candace are brilliant players, and may they have continued success.....

not sure if i read that right but if you said Barkley was lefty off the '92 dream that is incorrect...in fact he may have play the best of his career on that team...Laettner was chosen over Shaq...Isiah Thomas is the one left off because Jordan and Pippen did not want him on the team

 

[hjoerring]

Let us open this frame: some other player (Dee, Bird, any one of /C, etc) than Parker was left off the squad, would we be having this conversation? She is a very good player, but she is not indispensable. Bone's talk about leaving the bet player off the team misses the point about team sport, as well as why the men's game can be too much at times-- too much bending backover for talented but trying individuals. Unless Geno pulled a childhood tandrum and promised to walk out if Candice was selected, I am of the belief that a majority made a decision against taking her and may have weighed the onsequences. As for her coach weighing in on the matter, it might be little more than offering a voice to a player that he will need. The idea that USA bb should not have used i in promotion can only have its condition of possibility in the idea that they knew well in advance that they weren't going to take her. Lastly, it doesnot send a message to young girls that working hard goes unrewarded. It does say, among others, that sometimes talent is not enough- a team is a delicate collection of pieces that work well together. This may explain why so many teams boiling over with superstars seldom win everything.
Having said this, Candice is one of my favorite players to watch.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Apparently the "1 person" that Tina Thompson mentioned as keeping Parker off the Olympic team wasn't Geno. Check out the last tweet linked below - apparently the Captain isn't as all-knowing as she thinks.

Tina ThompsonVerified account‏@IamTinaThompson

My face when I found out Candace Parker isn't on the USA Team! Smh...unbelievable how 1 person can diminish decades of work! #teamCP

7:25 AM - 26 Apr 2016

1. 1. Don Guido ‏@palimonykid2006 Apr 27
      @iamtinathompson Have the courage to put Geno's name to it.Low blow without any knowledge.Get the facts first.
      
      
   2. 
      Tina Thompson ‏@IamTinaThompson Apr 27
      @palimonykid2006 have intelligence to not make assumptions you have no idea whom I'm referring to! So unless you have please don't respond
      
      0 retweets3 likes
      
   3. 
      Don Guido ‏@palimonykid2006 Apr 27
      @iamtinathompson We all know Candace should be on team.Your words matter as a 4 time champ.You set it off with your statement.Who then?
      
      Don Guido‏@palimonykid2006
      @CoachKarenA Tina accusing Geno of keeping Parker off Olympic team not a good look for an aspiring college coach.
      1. 1. 
            Tina Thompson ‏@IamTinaThompson 5h5 hours ago
            @palimonykid2006 *correction* college coach, not aspiring!
            
            
            
            
            
         2. Don Guido ‏@palimonykid2006 5h5 hours ago
            @iamtinathompson I defend Geno to the max.SB nation used your tweet in their column.Your words matter as a 4 time champ.
            
            
            
         3. Don Guido ‏@palimonykid2006 5h5 hours ago
            @iamtinathompson Everyone talking about your tweet and most agree with you,but as a college coach of a great program not a good look.
      2. 1. 
            Tina Thompson ‏@IamTinaThompson 5h5 hours ago
            @palimonykid2006 Again, did I mention anyone's name? Practice what you preach, don't make assumptions not having all the information!
            1. 
               Tina Thompson ‏@IamTinaThompson 5h5 hours ago
               @swishappeal it would have been nice for you all to have contacted me and use my own words before you assumed what they actually mean. Smh
               
               2 retweets4 likes

Sounds to much like a Pat Summitt "Geno knows" I get real irritated when people make accusations without the guts to state the facts and name names.

 

[msf22b]

It's informative that two or three days into this saga
Only her coach and one of the owners, the Australian coach and two players (not of absolutely he first rank) have stepped up to proclaim their shock, advocate on her behalf, protest, whatever.
Not a peep from those chosen to be on the team
My impression was that there was to be a further announcement on the subject from USBB.
Perhaps I may have misunderstood.
Without further comment from assorted players and managements especially those considered stars and superstars,
this issue will die away in very few days.
that saddens me a bit.

 

[Icebear]

"I see why you want to limit international experience to USA basketball now. How'sis this for accurate: CP plays on UMMC Ekaterinburg with Sue Bird & Diana Taurasi in the best women's basketball league in the world. One season on UMMC is more international experience and significantly higher level of completion than Stewie's entire experience for USA basketball."

I limited it simply because the team is the purview of USAB and they manage the participation of US teams in all the major international tournaments for all age groups. It is logical to expect them to reward the players and staff who have shown them loyalty and awareness of the USAB program and long term goals.

 

[trb123]

Let us open this frame: some other player (Dee, Bird, any one of /C, etc) than Parker was left off the squad, would we be having this conversation? She is a very good player, but she is not indispensable. Bone's talk about leaving the bet player off the team misses the point about team sport, as well as why the men's game can be too much at times-- too much bending backover for talented but trying individuals. Unless Geno pulled a childhood tandrum and promised to walk out if Candice was selected, I am of the belief that a majority made a decision against taking her and may have weighed the onsequences. As for her coach weighing in on the matter, it might be little more than offering a voice to a player that he will need. The idea that USA bb should not have used i in promotion can only have its condition of possibility in the idea that they knew well in advance that they weren't going to take her. Lastly, it doesnot send a message to young girls that working hard goes unrewarded. It does say, among others, that sometimes talent is not enough- a team is a delicate collection of pieces that work well together. This may explain why so many teams boiling over with superstars seldom win everything.
Having said this, Candice is one of my favorite players to watch.

You are talented. You have high grades and SAT scores to prove that. It may not be enough to get you in Harvard. This does not send a message to young girls (or even young boys) that working hard goes unrewarded.

 

[EricLA]

Some of these tweets, posts etc are really coming from anger. Very stupid and idiotic. Genos boss is the committee. The committee makes the decision and . I will continue to say its most likely personal and out of respect for CP those in charge haven't gone public with it yet. So lets change things around. What did CP do or didn't do that has caused her to get kicked off the team????? Lets start there and start picking that apart. We all agree she should be on the team. Bottom line CP knows what happened and isn't coming forward yet either. The Tenn fans are upset and once again its Genos fault. I think when everybody finds out what happened they will see it was CPs fault. JMO.

Bingo Tony. The frustrating thing, though, is that given what you said, it may never actually come out. Sort of like Pat's "He knows what he did. Go ask him."

 

[VAUConnFan]

Ms Bone has a point and she made it well. It will forever perplex me how a two time WNBA MVP at the height of her game can be left off of any team, much less the US Olympic Team. The US will win without Parker, but that is not the point; The point being that one of the top players in the game was left off of the team; A more egregious omission than the one that cost Kara Lawson four years ago.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Yeah it kills me when Kara is left off any team for whatever reason..... I love watching her....

Who are we, however, to be in the war room, and insert ourselves as equal basketball minds of the ones doing the choosing....?? I am sure there is more to the story..... but i accept things as they are..... I know it is tough, particularly for our LV friends..... but I do not think there is any hairpin actions on this selection process....

 

[malevocalist#]

Had to give Michelle a piece of my mind on twitter regarding her latest article about Uconn Women favoritism

 

[Replicant]

Some of these tweets, posts etc are really coming from anger. Very stupid and idiotic. Genos boss is the committee. The committee makes the decision and . I will continue to say its most likely personal and out of respect for CP those in charge haven't gone public with it yet. So lets change things around. What did CP do or didn't do that has caused her to get kicked off the team????? Lets start there and start picking that apart. We all agree she should be on the team. Bottom line CP knows what happened and isn't coming forward yet either. The Tenn fans are upset and once again its Genos fault. I think when everybody finds out what happened they will see it was CPs fault. JMO.

The committee makes the final decision, but I'm sure Geno, perhaps assistant coaches and maybe even veteran players are influential. I certainly hope Geno has influence. It's his squad and he's ultimately responsible for the results.

And with the wealth of talent available to Team USA, especially at the 4/5 spot, maybe it just came down to a basic element like being a good teammate, the hustle factor, personality, et al...

Found an interesting quote from Geno about Parker's performance against Angola in 2012. First part of his response he sings her praises effusively, but finishes his statement (3 'really' magnitude )..."The one thing that we’ve been really, really, really harping on Candace is to really sprint the floor and get herself in situations to score before the defense gets set, and to be a factor in every possession and I thought tonight she was."

Maybe the embarrassment of riches in USA talent made giving less than 100% effort at all times the difference in Parker's case...talent aside.

USA Basketball: Additional Quotes >> USA 90, Angola 38