WNBA rookie sensation Caitlin Clark was not selected to be a part of this year’s United States Olympic squad for the ongoing Paris Olympic Games, but it sounds like the U.S. Olympic Selection Committee would probably reconsider if they had to make the decision again.
During a recent interview during the coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley – who is also a member of the U.S. Olympic Selection Committee – indicated that Clark would have a very good chance of making the roster if they had to pick again, saying that she is “playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.”
“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people,” Staley said after the U.S. men topped Serbia on Sunday afternoon.
Dawn Staley, a member of the USWNT selection committee, asked about Caitlin Clark.
“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.” pic.twitter.com/hMYqTsPWzc
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) July 28, 2024
Needless to say, this admission from Staley led to a lot of reactions on social media.
So leaving college basketball as the all time leading scorer wasn’t taken into consideration? Reminder: it’s not a WNBA All Star team or a Fading Legends team. It’s a national team. https://t.co/Nt2wG901pz
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) July 28, 2024
What a comment this is. Said and wrote it more than a month ago and will say it again from here in Paris: USA Basketball’s snub of Caitlin Clark was the worst player selection decision I’ve seen in my 40 years covering the Olympics. What a mistake! https://t.co/CrarbsJfOD
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) July 28, 2024
Some are mad about this, but I appreciate Staley being honest here.
Thought Clark should’ve been on the team, but that was more of an argument in early June. The decision aged poorly (she’s been spectacular since) and I think Staley is alluding to that. https://t.co/WJRIxKuHTI
— Derek Schultz (@Schultz975) July 28, 2024
Not taking her because she “wasn’t ready” and then admitting the two months of basketball we’ve seen since would’ve changed everything just shows how shortsighted the decision was in the first place. https://t.co/JYIBv837an
— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) July 28, 2024
Dawn Staley says that Caitlin Clark's **early season** WNBA performance kept her off the team which (who really cares but) is a completely bizarre rationale, a rookie slump against the toughest schedule in the league, who are they trying to fool here https://t.co/9yCbMp3Wi1
— Eric Harvey (@ericdharvey) July 28, 2024
In retrospect, while it would have been awesome to see CC in a USA jersey, she most likely would've had limited minutes and her R&R for the home stretch is ultimately more important than a gold she would have little impact on. And Staley's admission is now a moral victory. https://t.co/KtfdPwNjUv
— Chris Bryant (@detroithawkeye) July 28, 2024
Good on Dawn Staley for acknowledging a potential mistake but what a missed opportunity for NBC and the sport of women’s basketball… CC would have been a major ratings driver https://t.co/lsBCQw7XwP
— Jimmy G. (@jamgold818) July 28, 2024
Obviously, it’s too late now as the Olympics are well underway, but it’s pretty clear that Clark is talented enough to have played on Team USA this season.
