"I would totally understand if people were to say "there are players who are currently performing better in the W, and I wish Dee had stepped aside for them", but the vitriol with which many are going bonkers with (not you) over her inclusion is comical....Where is the hysteria over Griner being named to the team?" -- @EricLA
"It has been fairly obvious that due to the limited preparation time, historically the selection committees have valued existing instinctive chemistry among those who are currently performing well and satisfy a positional need." -- @NycUcWbbFan (paraphrasing the U.S.A. Selection Committee)
Excuse the length, but this subject is hard to pare down.
I've been pondering the selections for the better part of the weekend. While I'll stick with an earlier post in which I said none of it came as a surprise, that still doesn't mean there were some elements that just didn't feel right. I've pulled these two quotes from other posters because they helped develop my thinking.
- First, not a lot of time between major tournaments. The U.S.A. (and other top b-ball playing nations) are playing their third major tournament in a three-year period. This includes a change at the head-coach level. Whereas many (most?) other countries rely on a relatively set number of players, the U.S.A. is blessed with a wealth of players, which can lead to some tough decisions and certainly a lot of interplay among fans (as we're witnessing).
Also, it seemed like there just weren't many opportunities for new(er) faces to get face time in camps, friendlies balanced against the demands of having to play internationally (and what their overseas clubs may/may not allow them to do).
- Injuries at critical -- and perhaps not so deep -- positions; namely, center and point guard. Brittany Griner has always been a not-so-secret weapon of the U.S. in international team: there just aren't that many 6'8" players that have the effect she has, both for and against. There might be a few other U.S. players her height (Big T from Dallas), but none that can bring the range of skills and experience that she does. Her being on the team -- besides her experience -- is a need pick (at least to me).
As for point guard,
@GamecockFam just posted a list of other point guards asking who we would pick, rather than going with a soon-to-be ready Chelsea Gray, supported by a number of other guards who can spell her. That, of course is compounded by that shortened time frame and other players coming back from injuries or other issues, such as Skylar Diggins-Smith's maternity leave.
- As such, the Selection Committee largely went with known entities and, at the guard position; players who can theoretically spell Chelsea Gray for a bit, including Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsea Plum and Jackie Young (although Diana Taurasi and Jewell Loyd can probably handle half-court sets as well.)
- There's a little bit of sameness with several players, which is both good and ehh. Plum, Ionescu and Taurasi are all heady players who can get crazy hot and stroke it from deep and also drive/get fouled. On the other hand, the defense is lacking (which is why Loyd, Young and Copper are also there, to a degree.)
FWIW, my main concern with Taurasi is the fact that she's 42. She can have some breakout games and then some highly ineffective ones, which I attribute to the body not recuperating. Given the other needs of this guard squad, I'm inclined to have the U.S.A. have every player firing away on all cylinders every game. My two thoughts were, interestingly, not named Clark: Rhyne Howard (who ended up on the 3x3 team) and, in particular, Kayla McBride. K-Mac, as noted elsewhere, might be the hottest shooting guard over the course of the Euro's and WNBA this year (she's hitting 50% of her threes this season). She's an accomplished international player, has U.S.A. duty, is coached in the WNBA by the U.S. Coach and knows her role.
- That said, I'm not to bang a drum crying foul. Taurasi, Griner and everyone will represent the U.S.A. well and in varying capacities. Hopefully, Chelsea Gray will, too, once she returns. And maybe K-Mac Caitlin Clark and others will get a chance at the next World Cup.
)
