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Message: [QUOTE="UConnCat, post: 2357507, member: 15"] Parker showed zero grit or drive or determination in that game and it didn't matter whom she was supposed to guard. Geno pulled her after a particular possession in the 3rd quarter where it was clear she wanted no part of the aggressive and physical and determined Opals. That was that. She played great in the Gold Medal game against the finesse French team but everyone knew the real Gold Medal game was against the Opals. That said, that's not why she wasn't in Rio although I suspect USA BB remembered her poor effort in the face of adversity and knew they could win against Australia without her. Parker likely would have been in Rio had she chosen to play in the 2014 World Championships in Istanbul but she chose to miss her second consecutive World Championship. She did this knowing that USA Basketball does not look favorably upon players bypassing the World Championships for the more glamorous Olympics. Everyone wants to be an Olympian, right? There's no gold medal quite like an Olympic gold medal. There are several core players who have never missed a World Championship tournament for USA Basketball or have done so only when a serious injury prevents them from playing. USA Basketball notices and cares a lot about that. Back to Parker. She missed the 2010 World Championships in the Czech Republic because of shoulder surgery. She had chronic shoulder issues dating back to college and after re-injuring during the WNBA season she opted to shut down the season and have surgery. There was a story that summer that she had planned to have the shoulder surgery right after the WNBA season (and maybe still miss the world championships?) but she had the surgery mid-summer and that was that. She made the London Olympic team. The next international tournament was the 2014 World Championships in Istanbul. 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. She wished her teammates well on twitter, though. 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. There was to be no interfering with her Euroleague schedule. Then comes Rio and USA BB was faced with having to look certain veteran players in the eyes and tell them it's okay to pass on the world championships and then waltz on in and make the Olympic team. USA BB chose instead to say that's not okay. Message sent. No preferential treatment, no player is more special than another. I don't doubt for a minute that Geno didn't want her on the team in Rio. I don't think he enjoyed coaching her in London, particularly after she was removed from the starting lineup. It didn't matter as she did not have the support of the majority of the committee and that was largely because she backed out of the 2014 world championships and the complaints about that from some of the veteran players. It's 2017 and USA BB extends an invitation to Parker to participate in camp leading up to the 2018 World Championship team. She was given the opportunity to show that playing for USA BB is an earned privilege and not an entitlement given to a WNBA MVP or All-Star. She declined. I can not believe there are reporters still writing about Parker not making her third Olympic team. I also can not believe we're still seeing words like "tragic" or "injustice" ascribed to this situation. Sorry, tragic is how you describe what just happened in Vegas or Puerto Rico or other such places or events. A millionaire being denied her 3rd gold medal is not an injustice. There are more important things going on in the world than #ParkersLifeMatters. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach