The worldwide female competition at the Olympics doesn't play smash-mouth basketball. Exactly why some of the asian nations do really well against the bigger western teams. The women move fast and shoot and pass well, which is part of Caitlin Clark's wheelhouse. This is why our NBA players don't always win by dunking the ball and pushing players around. Her omission is a huge mistake. They will be begging her to attend come in another 4 years.
Yeah, the whole CC thing has gone way past rational nationally, on all sides. When I saw that come across the espn crawl yesterday I couldn’t even believe it was news, let alone worthy of a crawl update. I I am not rooting against her and none of this hype is her fault, but it needs to end until she actually does something in the league.
Our women's team has won a gold medal in every single Olympics going back to 1984, except 1992. Caitlin Clark was not the best guard who didn't make the team. She has no argument for being better than the guards who did make the team, except maybe Taurasi. But Taurasi brings other things to the table that Clark doesn't. Clark currently is averaging 5.6 TOs per game. The next highest player in the WNBA is at 4.0 TOs per game. She doesn't merit a spot. Giving her a spot somebody else deserves because she's popular won't make the team better. If anybody has reason to complain about being left off the team, it's Arike Ogunbowale. She's second in the WNBA in PPG and leading the league in steals per game. I have no doubt that Caitlin will be on the team in four years. She'll be a better player at that point, making her ball-dominant style a better fit.
the little I’ve seen of the wnba and a cursory review of stats I agree CC shouldn’t make the cut. However it’s unfortunate for the wnba. She is one of the most popular athletes in the country, men or women any sport. Every single person knows her name. It’s actually bizarre. I hear people at work that know zero about sports talking about her. CC in the Olympics would be perfect timing in promoting their league. It’s no guarantee what the situation will be in another 4 years or if her hype will continue. For item 2, imo a big driver is what sport is popular for kids and they get into. A interesting comparison, Dominican Republic has a population of 11M people but has 10% in MLB. And that’s players from the country.
Agree. Our 2004 men’s team only won bronze. a big factor was our bad outside shooting. The worst 3 pt % in the Olympics. But NBA has significantly improved and 3 pts is a focus. They now chuck-it up all over the place and are making them. But nba does have their unique rules vs international basketball, or actual basketball rules. Will be interesting how many traveling calls we get. We’ll be Olympics favs but there isn’t the separation between us and the world like there use to be. Sent from my iPad
How many of her games have you watched? There's a chance you have a point re: Race being a factor in CC's popularity, but it's definitely arguable. Her dribbling, passing, and shooting skills are off the charts. Her step-back moves are crazy good and her range is practically limitless. So again, I ask: How many of her games have you watched?
The WNBA is dominated by black lesbians. Caitlin Clark should announce that she is MAGA and she endorses Donald Trump in 2024
not a lot but a couple plus highlights. In no way have I denigrated any of her skills. She’s the all time college bb scoring champion. You said there’s a chance race was a factor, so I’m not sure why you are arguing.
No, they likely wouldn't have. The reason being that Luka was playing pro basketball in Europe at 15. I believe Jokic was playing pro ball at 16 or 17. As for why there aren't as many great white players, my best guess is that it's cultural. The #1 HS recruit in the 2024 class, Cooper Flagg, is a white kid. But most of the white kids I knew didn't grow up focusing on basketball. I didn't either.
I heard the European players get heavy heavy development early on and all through HS in an organized fashion. In the US it’s a lot of AAU where there are lots of look at my coaches and players so the detailed ball skills aren’t practiced as much. From John Salley on a podcast a few weeks ago.
He's saying the players and coaches are focused more on flash than substance. (I expect he intended it to say "look at me.")
He read through my typo. In addition Salley noted that many 15-17 years old in Europe are signed to pro contracts and at that point it’s a job. They do the same skill drills as all the pros so they have really excellent fundamentals. I think it was the Dan Patrick podcast.
