Olympic Controversy Redux | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Olympic Controversy Redux

Status
Not open for further replies.
Goodgood said:
It shows that coaching is everything. Under Geno, Olympians perform flawlessly. Under other coaches, Olympians may even lose to non-Olympians.

This only emphasized Geno's ability to get players to play together selflessly and define team work. All pieces are equally important. If a player is not selected, she didn't fit in the team, no matter who she is.

I believe a prominent NBA coach in San Antonio has the same philosophy.
Expand ...

Pretty easy to perform "flawlessly" against that level of competition in the Olympics. Even Anne Donavan coached the US to gold.
 
rvwsleep said:
There is no controversy except in the minds of disgruntled fans whose favorite player(s) did not make the Olympic team. The USOC made their choices for the team, the team won the gold medal, end of story.
To point out the accomplishments of certain players months AFTER the Olympic trials as some kind of proof that they should have been included on the team is a non sequitur.
Expand ...

Actually, this isn't true. It's not just disgruntled fans. I saw some tweets from WNBA players last night (not from Stanford and not from TN) that were making fun of the Olympic team decisions. There are several in the WNBA that are none too pleased with the slights. When other PROFESSIONALS in the sport of women's basketball start taking note of these things, it's much bigger than a bunch of disgruntled fans.

As far as trials go, it was Candace that had led Team USA in the fall prior to the selections. She was the only player to post a triple double.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
I am astonished by the nastiness of these posts. In no other sport would two of the finest players in the country, perhaps the two finest front court players in the country, get left of the Olympic team, and it would not generate controversy.

I think that it is because it implies that, perhaps, the deity that is Geno Auriemma made a decision that might not have been perfect that posters here have lost their collective mind.

That would account for the fury with which posters here have reacted to what would normally be a perfectly rational question, and a perfectly rational issue.

But to those who are not blinded by their worshipful view of UConn's coach, these players just demonstrated by winning the pro league championship that they deserved to be not only on the Olympic team, but probably starters on the Olympic team.

You might raise all sorts of bizarre questions- Parker isn't a team player, she won't play defense; Ogwumike is lacking in some strange, mystical, unspecified way- as to why they were passed over.

But the simple truth is that that decision looks curiouser and curiouser. And it calls into question the judgement of the Olympic committee, and their entire selection process.

Amen.
Expand ...

The testy edge of some of the replies (I wouldn't go so far as to call them "nasty") is an understandable response to the venomous rancor persistently spewed by other parties toward the selection process and, most acutely, toward Geno.

We don't — and can't possibly — know exactly why Parker, or Ogwumike, or anyone else for that matter, wasn't selected. Nor can we possibly know to what extent Geno influenced the selection process. We can speculate on these questions, and so many people have (often trying to pass off their speculation as undeniable fact), but we truly don't and can't know. Inevitably, each person's speculation merely serves to confirm their preexisting biases and assumptions.

Geno did say in a midsummer interview that the selection process (which takes place entirely before the WNBA season starts) was somewhat hampered by an inability to predict how the upcoming WNBA season would go. No one was predicting before the season that Nneka would have the historical MVP season she ended up having. Last year she wasn't even named first or second team all-WNBA.

Again, it comes largely down to trust. If any entity in the sports world has earned, by virtue of its track record, the right to be trusted, it's the USA Basketball women's national program under the leadership of Carol Callan. She took the disappointing results of 1992 Olympics and 1994 World Championships and turned them into the dynasty we know today.

In view of the fact that this year's Olympic team was notable for its perhaps best-ever performance and chemistry, I'd say that once again the selection process has acquitted itself very nicely. To those who scoff at this by saying that any warm-bodied coach could've dominated with any random roster selection from among the 25 finalists, I say nonsense: look at the last USA team coached by someone other than Geno, a team that settled for bronze at the 2006 World Championships. So, clearly, if victory is no foregone conclusion, dominance certainly isn't.
 
Last edited:
Plebe said:
In view of the fact that this year's Olympic team was notable for its perhaps best-ever performance and chemistry, I'd say that once again the selection process has acquitted itself very nicely. To those who scoff at this by saying that any warm-bodied coach could've dominated with any random roster selection from among the 25 finalists, I say nonsense: look at the last USA team coached by someone other than Geno, a team that settled for bronze at the 2006 World Championships. So, clearly, if victory is no foregone conclusion, dominance certainly isn't.
Expand ...

I know some want to refer to it as best-ever, but the competition at this year's Olympics was worse than I can recall. Teams like Russia and Australia have been the teams in previous years that could give the USA some fits, but those teams aren't what they used to be.
 
Justavisitor said:
I know some want to refer to it as best-ever, but the competition at this year's Olympics was worse than I can recall. Teams like Russia and Australia have been the teams in previous years that could give the USA some fits, but those teams aren't what they used to be.
Expand ...

Hence my use of the word "perhaps": a question open to debate with reasoned opinions falling on both sides.
 
.-.
Plebe said:
Geno did say in a midsummer interview that the selection process (which takes place entirely before the WNBA season starts) was somewhat hampered by an inability to predict how the upcoming WNBA season would go. No one was predicting at the start of the season that Nneka would have the historical MVP season she had. Last year she wasn't even named first or second team all-WNBA.
Expand ...

That really can't be emphasized enough and serves to separate Parker's non-selection from Nneka's. They're definitely not the same issue and conflating them does a disservice to the discussion.

Nneka's first four seasons are remarkably consistent. She was an above-average but not outstanding player all four seasons. Scoring went from 14.0 as a rookie to 15.8 in her 3rd and 4th seasons. Rebounding went from 7.5 her rookie season to 7.0 her 4th season. Assists from 1.2 to 2.1.

There's literally no indication that she would have a break-out season in her 5th year. Her scoring jumped 25%. Rebounding up 29%. Assists up 48%. Nothing predicted that. How was the committee to know before the season that she would take a significant leap?
 
MilfordHusky said:
Are we talking about Game 4 Candace or Game 5 Candace? The concern, I think, was that Game 4 Candace would have been the selectee.
Expand ...

You mean like Game 3 Maya and Game 4 Maya. As someone else tried to excuse the selections and say it was based on previous performances because there's no way to know the future, you could also reference 2015 Game 5 Maya with 5 points on 1 of 8 shooting.

See, we can all play that game. ;)
 
Wally East said:
That really can't be emphasized enough and serves to separate Parker's non-selection from Nneka's. They're definitely not the same issue and conflating them does a disservice to the discussion.

Nneka's first four seasons are remarkably consistent. She was an above-average but not outstanding player all four seasons. Scoring went from 14.0 as a rookie to 15.8 in her 3rd and 4th seasons. Rebounding went from 7.5 her rookie season to 7.0 her 4th season. Assists from 1.2 to 2.1.

There's literally no indication that she would have a break-out season in her 5th year. Her scoring jumped 25%. Rebounding up 29%. Assists up 48%. Nothing predicted that. How was the committee to know before the season that she would take a significant leap?
Expand ...

Nneka was in the MVP running during the 2015 season and dropped late in the season. She battled an injury throughout the season that really hindered her performance during the playoffs. In addition, I recall there were some very upset in 2012 when she wasn't selected, so this was no surprise.
 
troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1]extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.
 
Plebe said:
In view of the fact that this year's Olympic team was notable for its perhaps best-ever performance and chemistry,
Expand ...
The 1996 team had pretty good chemistry-enough to inspire A League of Their Own-pun intended.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
Last night, Candace Parker scored 28 points, and Nneka Ogwumike added 12, as the LA Sparks defeated Minnesota for the WNBA championship.

Neither Parker nor Ogwumike was selected to represent the United States on the Olympic basketball team. Parker was rumored to not be a team player. Yet she managed to lead her team to the WNBA championship.Ogwumike was voted the MVP of the league. So why were they left off of the Olympic team?

Yes, Team USA went undefeated, and blew through the opposition. But we have to question again why those two players were deemed not good enough for the Olympics. Ogwumike was voted MVP over Tina Charles, who was selected for the team. If Ogwumike was better than Charles in the WNBA (and let's keep in mind that the season was half over when the Olympics began), why was the decision made to leave her off?

What really happened? Why were both of those players left off the Olympic team?

Some might ask who should have been left off to make room for Parker and Ogwumike. The answer, it appears, would be Sylvia Fowles, who was outplayed by both in the championship series, and Tamika Catchings.

Should Coach Auriemma or the USOC explain why they made the choices they did? Seems as though those two players were so good, and their omission so glaring, that an explanation would be in order.
Expand ...
this same message was posted on the Vol board by LadyVolFan4ever ....... 14 minutes after this post ..... hmmmmm
 
.-.
Justavisitor said:
Nneka was in the MVP running during the 2015 season and dropped late in the season. She battled an injury throughout the season that really hindered her performance during the playoffs. In addition, I recall there were some very upset in 2012 when she wasn't selected, so this was no surprise.
Expand ...

I just went through her boxscores for 2015 because you had me curious. After doing that, I'd be surprised if she was seriously consider a favorite for the MVP. Even at her peak, she was at 18 ppg and 10 rbg.

She missed the first four games of the season. Then, she missed seven games at the end of the season. She did not have two consecutive games where she scored over 20 points. To be fair, she did have a 3-game stretch of 27, 19, and 26. But, she also had a 3-game stretch of 6, 8, and 13. She had just five games with double-digit rebounds with the last of those coming in the Sparks's 12th game. From the 13th game on, she averaged just 4.6 rpg.

Looking at her boxscores from last year, there's still no reason to believe she'd make such the jump that she did. Further, having a lingering injury gives even more doubt to the selection committee.
 
Justavisitor said:
Actually, this isn't true. It's not just disgruntled fans. I saw some tweets from WNBA players last night (not from Stanford and not from TN) that were making fun of the Olympic team decisions. There are several in the WNBA that are none too pleased with the slights. When other PROFESSIONALS in the sport of women's basketball start taking note of these things, it's much bigger than a bunch of disgruntled fans.

As far as trials go, it was Candace that had led Team USA in the fall prior to the selections. She was the only player to post a triple double.
Expand ...

"Some tweets" = controversy ?
You have a low threshold of what constitutes controversy.
CP participated in the Olympic trials and didn't make the team. End of story.
This reminds me of the baseball all star game and the annual event of kvetching by the fans of players who didn't make the team. Get over it.
 
rvwsleep said:
"Some tweets" = controversy ?
You have a low threshold of what constitutes controversy.
CP participated in the Olympic trials and didn't make the team. End of story.
This reminds me of the baseball all star game and the annual event of kvetching by the fans of players who didn't make the team. Get over it.
Expand ...

As Magic said, Candace (like me) got over it when she lifted that trophy last night. ;) :p :D
 
I guess Maya Whalen and Augustus shouldn't have been on the Olympic team... cause they didn't win the WNBA title. Now we're into predicting the future smh. If the Sparks didn't win the title I guess it would have been ok that those 2 were left off smh
 
.-.
DaddyChoc said:
I guess Maya Whalen and Augustus shouldn't have been on the Olympic team... cause they didn't win the WNBA title. Now we're into predicting the future smh. If the Sparks didn't win the title I guess it would have been ok that those 2 were left off smh
Expand ...


Exactly my point and how ridiculous it is to use after the fact performace to justify who should have been on the team.
 
at the start of the WNBA season they were saying CP3 had a point to prove, making a statement, playing with a chip on her shoulder... what da! If she was selected to the team, she'd still be trying to win the WNBA title... just like Maya and 'nem
 
DaddyChoc said:
I guess Maya Whalen and Augustus shouldn't have been on the Olympic team... cause they didn't win the WNBA title.
Expand ...

Likewise Catch, Stewie, Diana, EDD, Britney, Angel, Sue, and Tina.

This --> :rolleyes: does not even begin to hint at the amount of eyerolling I'm doing because, seriously.
 
rvwsleep said:
Evidently not. You didn't get over it last night or you wouldn't be on this forum posting today.
Expand ...
it's called gloating, teasing, trolling, popping collar etc. JustAVistor I suggest you chill now, the host posters aren't happy with your prodding. I understand it tho... but let's see what the Lady Vols do this season
 
.-.
Fairfield Fan said:
I am astonished by the nastiness of these posts. In no other sport would two of the finest players in the country, perhaps the two finest front court players in the country, get left of the Olympic team, and it would not generate controversy.

I think that it is because it implies that, perhaps, the deity that is Geno Auriemma made a decision that might not have been perfect that posters here have lost their collective mind.

That would account for the fury with which posters here have reacted to what would normally be a perfectly rational question, and a perfectly rational issue.

But to those who are not blinded by their worshipful view of UConn's coach, these players just demonstrated by winning the pro league championship that they deserved to be not only on the Olympic team, but probably starters on the Olympic team.

You might raise all sorts of bizarre questions- Parker isn't a team player, she won't play defense; Ogwumike is lacking in some strange, mystical, unspecified way- as to why they were passed over.

But the simple truth is that that decision looks curiouser and curiouser. And it calls into question the judgement of the Olympic committee, and their entire selection process.

Amen.
Expand ...

In Parker's case, I think that the opposite conclusion is also possible--namely, that her lack of her consistency over this five game series--3 very good games and 2 very bad ones, with the bad ones seemingly the result of disinterest and a lack of effort--actually proves that the committee made the right decision. This kind of inconsistency isn't fatal in a 5 game series, but once you reach the knock-out round in a competition like the Olympics it very well could be. Parker may be one of the best, if not the best, basketball player in the WBA when she wants to be, but--too often--that desire seems to me missing, and perhaps that's a gamble that the Olympic committee didn't want to take.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
Last night, Candace Parker scored 28 points, and Nneka Ogwumike added 12, as the LA Sparks defeated Minnesota for the WNBA championship.

Neither Parker nor Ogwumike was selected to represent the United States on the Olympic basketball team. Parker was rumored to not be a team player. Yet she managed to lead her team to the WNBA championship.Ogwumike was voted the MVP of the league. So why were they left off of the Olympic team?

Yes, Team USA went undefeated, and blew through the opposition. But we have to question again why those two players were deemed not good enough for the Olympics. Ogwumike was voted MVP over Tina Charles, who was selected for the team. If Ogwumike was better than Charles in the WNBA (and let's keep in mind that the season was half over when the Olympics began), why was the decision made to leave her off?

What really happened? Why were both of those players left off the Olympic team?

Some might ask who should have been left off to make room for Parker and Ogwumike. The answer, it appears, would be Sylvia Fowles, who was outplayed by both in the championship series, and Tamika Catchings.

Should Coach Auriemma or the USOC explain why they made the choices they did? Seems as though those two players were so good, and their omission so glaring, that an explanation would be in order.
Expand ...

Wow, this is like 7 degrees of Kevin bacon. Nneka, one of my favs on the sparks had a tremendous year, she was magnificent for the Sparks and she was not the only player why, because the Sparks couldn't rely on Parker to be consistent. It has been well documented throughout these games that parker has disappeared, she argued with Agler and some of her own team and especially with the refs. BTW she even admitted some of this herself. And you still wonder why she wasn't put on the USA squad. This season should not have been about Parker drama, it should be about the Sparks, the organization, the ownership and the players, not just about 1 diva.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
Last night, Candace Parker scored 28 points, and Nneka Ogwumike added 12, as the LA Sparks defeated Minnesota for the WNBA championship.

Neither Parker nor Ogwumike was selected to represent the United States on the Olympic basketball team. Parker was rumored to not be a team player. Yet she managed to lead her team to the WNBA championship.Ogwumike was voted the MVP of the league. So why were they left off of the Olympic team?

Yes, Team USA went undefeated, and blew through the opposition. But we have to question again why those two players were deemed not good enough for the Olympics. Ogwumike was voted MVP over Tina Charles, who was selected for the team. If Ogwumike was better than Charles in the WNBA (and let's keep in mind that the season was half over when the Olympics began), why was the decision made to leave her off?

What really happened? Why were both of those players left off the Olympic team?

Some might ask who should have been left off to make room for Parker and Ogwumike. The answer, it appears, would be Sylvia Fowles, who was outplayed by both in the championship series, and Tamika Catchings.

Should Coach Auriemma or the USOC explain why they made the choices they did? Seems as though those two players were so good, and their omission so glaring, that an explanation would be in order.
Expand ...
Stealing this from a wise old coach, Stop acting like Girly Girls!
 
The NBA selected a so called "Dream Team' and left Shaq and Isiah ,two of the best ever off the team.Now we have this prolonged discussion about two WNBA players.I guess Laettner and Mullins were better.Committees /Coach choose whomever they feel comfortable with and they don't owe any of us an explanation.I feel Beard should have been the MVP.Totally irrelevant.
 
Justavisitor said:
You mean like Game 3 Maya and Game 4 Maya. As someone else tried to excuse the selections and say it was based on previous performances because there's no way to know the future, you could also reference 2015 Game 5 Maya with 5 points on 1 of 8 shooting.

See, we can all play that game. ;)
Expand ...
Maya has bad halves and bad games, but she rarely lacks for effort. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Candace. Candace should play as hard as Nneka all the time. Or as hard as Catch.
 
Justavisitor said:
Nneka was in the MVP running during the 2015 season and dropped late in the season. She battled an injury throughout the season that really hindered her performance during the playoffs. In addition, I recall there were some very upset in 2012 when she wasn't selected, so this was no surprise.
Expand ...
Nneka played very well in Turkey in 2014. She would have been a good fit on the team in 2016, but there were no weak links. Who would have been cut to make room for Candace or Nneka?
 
.-.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,372
Messages
4,568,761
Members
10,474
Latest member
MyStore24


Top Bottom