Should Clark be on the Olympic team? | Page 9 | The Boneyard

Should Clark be on the Olympic team?

Should CC be on Olympic team?

  • Yes

    Votes: 78 41.1%

  • No

    Votes: 90 47.4%

  • I don’t know

    Votes: 22 11.6%
  • Total voters
    190
Status
Not open for further replies.
cancontent said:
Last year could also been seen as an anomaly because the demand for her was significantly different than previous seasons. She did show that she could compete internationally with her performance at FIBA Americas however. Considering 2028 is four years away, the case could be made that she'll learn to develop better habits for the off-season as she gets acclimated to playing at the pro level.
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It could be and I considered that but some counter points:
1) I'd imagine her demand this off season will be even greater than last off season with even less structure for the offseason than college where you have summer sessions, and to your point, the Fiba America games.
2) I actually thought she didn't look very good during the Fiba America games and then she looked even worse come the beginning of the college season.
3) And then I think the biggest thing that gives me pause with Angel are the skills she lacks and areas she struggles in most are largely skills developed in offseasons. She plays on pure instinct, athletic ability and bb IQ which is amazing and can't be taught but in areas that CAN be taught she hasn't made much improvement. Her jump shot, her handle, back to the basket game, finishing etc, are all things have have remained stagnant since high school. That gives me a bit of pause overall.

All of this isn't to say she won't use the offseason to get better now that she is in the W or that she has peaked as player. I just think it will take her a bit of time to figure out that aspect of being a pro player and I'm not sure she will figure it out fast enough to make the 2028 Olympic team. If she does lock is as soon as this off season, forget about it, she is a definite Olympian. I just a little am a little skeptical it will happen that quickly for her.
 
GirlBoo1020 said:
It could be and I considered that but some counter points:
1) I'd imagine her demand this off season will be even greater than last off season with even less structure for the offseason than college where you have summer sessions, and to your point, the Fiba America games.
2) I actually thought she didn't look very good during the Fiba America games and then she looked even worse come the beginning of the college season.
3) And then I think the biggest thing that gives me pause with Angel are the skills she lacks and areas she struggles in most are largely skills developed in offseasons. She plays on pure instinct, athletic ability and bb IQ which is amazing and can't be taught but in areas that CAN be taught she hasn't made much improvement. Her jump shot, her handle, back to the basket game, finishing etc, are all things have have remained stagnant since high school. That gives me a bit of pause overall.

All of this isn't to say she won't use the offseason to get better now that she is in the W or that she has peaked as player. I just think it will take her a bit of time to figure out that aspect of being a pro player and I'm not sure she will figure it out fast enough to make the 2028 Olympic team. If she does lock is as soon as this off season, forget about it, she is a definite Olympian. I just a little am a little skeptical it will happen that quickly for her.
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It's fair to be skeptical, but it came across that you're basing your opinion solely on last season without the additional context you provided here. With Weatherspoon as her coach, I have a hard time seeing her tolerate poor work ethic. I'm willing to give Reese the benefit of the doubt for a season or two to see if she learns and puts in the work.
 
cancontent said:
It's fair to be skeptical, but it came across that you're basing your opinion solely on last season without the additional context you provided here. With Weatherspoon as her coach, I have a hard time seeing her tolerate poor work ethic. I'm willing to give Reese the benefit of the doubt for a season or two to see if she learns and puts in the work.
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That's fair, I really like Angel and didn't want to pile on initially so just left at her most recent offseason performance.
I agree that I think Weatherspoon will be great for Reese. I'm just not sure how much WNBA coaches have influencer or even interaction with players during the offseason. If she were her college coach, I think this issue would have been fixed in 2021 but the nature of the WNBA coach/player relationship might take a bit longer but we will see, I really am pretty ignorant to what WNBA coaches do with their players in the offseason.
 
cancontent said:
Well that sucks. That's one less tournament to help prep as a whole. This also impacts Canada too from a WNBA player perspective.

With another year and change to go, hopefully FIBA sees that it would be for the benefit of the game, but again.....it is FIBA.
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Just tell them the USA insn't going to compete to defend their title. As far as sponsorship goes none of the media companies would spend money to show their tournament without the USA team.
 
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cancontent said:


Here it is. Had shared it with a friend as I thought the line was funny.
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I'm really excited to see what DT does post playing career. I hope she goes the media route vs the coaching route because she is pure entertainment. Its a shame women's basketball coverage isn't what it is now during her prime as she has one of the best personalities in sports and much of the world will have missed it.
 
GirlBoo1020 said:
I'm really excited to see what DT does post playing career. I hope she goes the media route vs the coaching route because she is pure entertainment. Its a shame women's basketball coverage isn't what it is now during her prime as she has one of the best personalities in sports and much of the world will have missed it.
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Yeah, I'd prefer to see her on the sidelines providing insight versus coaching. Or maybe a podcast which would give her a bit more flexibility in what she wants to talk about.
 
Vowelguy said:
For everyone who is quick to say “she needs to earn it” …. Keep in mind that the Lobo/Tara/96 dust up was basically because folks thought that Lobo wasn’t among the 12 best, but instead was picked because of her celebrity.

(And that is likely to have been the case.)
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The issue Tara had with Lobo was unique to the 1996 Olympic team - USA basketball formed that team a year before the Olympics and they trained and played a full 'season' together before the Olympics after the 'debacle' in 1992 while Tara took a sabbatical from her Stanford job to coach. Come the end of the college year, Lobo was suddenly added to the team without warning and Tara was furious with USA Basketball for replacing one of her players with a college student. (Not sure who was cut for Lobo after putting in a full year for the team.)

The Olympic teams before 1996 and after 1996 have been tossed together a few months before the Olympics/WCs - even the concept of having a pool of players and mini-training camps throughout the year is a relatively new concept.

And the idea that the NT is compiled of the 'best players' has never been the case. It is composed of the players that make themselves available all the time and together form the most cohesive team in the style that USA basketball and the current coach want to play. And a premium in selection is the player's ability to learn and adapt to their teammates and their coaching. The 7 players not starting have to be able to adapt to coming off the bench, and instantly providing what the team needs - something that none of them have ever done before since they first pick up a basketball.
 
I could live with ten players chosen by the coach and committee with 2 chosen by fans. Coaches might not be crazy about it
 
UcMiami said:
The issue Tara had with Lobo was unique to the 1996 Olympic team - USA basketball formed that team a year before the Olympics and they trained and played a full 'season' together before the Olympics after the 'debacle' in 1992 while Tara took a sabbatical from her Stanford job to coach. Come the end of the college year, Lobo was suddenly added to the team without warning and Tara was furious with USA Basketball for replacing one of her players with a college student. (Not sure who was cut for Lobo after putting in a full year for the team.)

The Olympic teams before 1996 and after 1996 have been tossed together a few months before the Olympics/WCs - even the concept of having a pool of players and mini-training camps throughout the year is a relatively new concept.

And the idea that the NT is compiled of the 'best players' has never been the case. It is composed of the players that make themselves available all the time and together form the most cohesive team in the style that USA basketball and the current coach want to play. And a premium in selection is the player's ability to learn and adapt to their teammates and their coaching. The 7 players not starting have to be able to adapt to coming off the bench, and instantly providing what the team needs - something that none of them have ever done before since they first pick up a basketball.
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No one was kicked off the team for Lobo.
Open tryouts were held in Colorado Springs in 1995. 200 players showed up. 11, including Lobo, were chosen.
(Venus Lacy was added later. )

Fact remains that Lobo was likely chosen at least partly for her celebrity. And I think that made sense, as 96 was to be the springboard to the W. In the same way that CC is a celeb.
 
visitingcock said:
I could live with ten players chosen by the coach and committee with 2 chosen by fans. Coaches might not be crazy about it
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I would hate to see WBB or any of the Olympic team athletes chosen by fans. It's already difficult enough without adding those dynamics to the process. I like that fans get a vote for the WNBA all-star game though.
 
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Ladeeeeda said:
World Championships will be during the wnba season in 2026 and the league will not pause for that. USA has appealed to FIBA, but they haven't changed their decision, yet.
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I just learned that basketball host countries automatically qualify the Olympics in basketball so there is no need to send an A team to the World Cup in 2026 I guess. Will be interesting to see how US basketball gets these new young players international experience playing together considering.
 
Clark should have been on the team, but then Reeve would have gone into a total pout and been a pretty ineffective coach ...oh, wait....
 
GirlBoo1020 said:
I just learned that basketball host countries automatically qualify the Olympics in basketball so there is no need to send an A team to the World Cup in 2026 I guess. Will be interesting to see how US basketball gets these new young players international experience playing together considering.
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We will play in it as the defending champions, it's a time to add new faces.
A time to incorporate new coaches and players.
 
baggerbob said:
We will play in it as the defending champions, it's a time to add new faces.
A time to incorporate new coaches and players.
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But its during the WNBA season so its unlikely any of the new faces will be available. And I don't see why Fiba would move it considering we don't need it to qualify to the Olympics and will still be able to send a team of some sort.
 
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cancontent said:
Really? She's won multiple WNBA titles and the last gold for USA. It's obvious you've got an axe to grind but it's getting tired.
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Okay. It's fully ground. Getting tired is a little puzzling, but it can remain a mystery.
 
Cheryl Reeve is arguably the best WNBA coach the league has ever had. She's won a record tying 4 championships and has only missed the playoffs twice in her career. One of which occured in her first season. It's ok to be disappointed that your favorite player isn't on the roster, but we're not going to disrespect Cheryl Reeve in the process.
 
GCKSFN4L said:
Cheryl Reeve is arguably the best WNBA coach the league has ever had. She's won a record tying 4 championships and has only missed the playoffs twice in her career. One of which occured in her first season. It's ok to be disappointed that your favorite player isn't on the roster, but we're not going to disrespect Cheryl Reeve in the process.
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Everybody is making assumptions. Paige is my favorite player. Clark, I don't like the way she moves on the court, but you cannot argue with success. I do think she has been treated miserably and it seems to be institutional, which is contrary to the WNBA's best interests. Reeve has been ungracious at best and I believe her views are strongly influenced by things we cannot talk about here.
 
cancontent said:
A little puzzling? You're regularly chirping about Reeve and the USAB selection committee's decision because you didn't like it.

Your point is well noted. No one is going back and adding her to the roster. Move on.
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Dang, didn't I just say I was moving on. Are you a moderator or just get a thrill out of being bossy?
 
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RockyMTblue2 said:
Everybody is making assumptions. Paige is my favorite player. Clark, I don't like the way she moves on the court, but you cannot argue with success. I do think she has been treated miserably and it seems to be institutional, which is contrary to the WNBA's best interests. Reeve has been ungracious at best and I believe her views are strongly influenced by things we cannot talk about here.
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Yes, it is institutional. Clark has repeatedly turned down opportunities extended to her by USA basketball, so the institution was not sold on suddenly adding her when she was finally showed some interest. Wish someone in the press would ask her how many times she has turned down USA in the past 5 yrs.....We don't need her to win, so she can wait her turn.
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
Everybody is making assumptions. Paige is my favorite player. Clark, I don't like the way she moves on the court, but you cannot argue with success. I do think she has been treated miserably and it seems to be institutional, which is contrary to the WNBA's best interests. Reeve has been ungracious at best and I believe her views are strongly influenced by things we cannot talk about here.
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cancontent said:
Neither. Simply responding. No different than others who have replied to your posts.
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I agree we should move on, cancontent, but RockyMTblue2's post is spot on, IMO, except for the curious critique about how Clark moves on the court:rolleyes:
 
triaddukefan said:
Anyone in this country that wanted Clark over Chelsea Gray is a dumbash. Not saying anyone on this site suggested that, but just saying in general.
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Yeah, I agree. That sentiment is dumb. Clark over Plum would've been just fine.
 
triaddukefan said:
Anyone in this country that wanted Clark over Chelsea Gray is a dumbash. Not saying anyone on this site suggested that, but just saying in general.
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Agreed about the Chelsea we'll see in coming games, but she's not quite there yet.
 
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