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Clark to miss Olympic Games

colhenrylives

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Sep 25, 2009
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ESPN is reporting that she is not going to be named to the U.S. 2024 team for the Paris Games. Sabrina Ionescu will be, the sports network notes.
 
Clark isn't at the level to make the Olympic team this year. The current US team is a very difficult team to make!

And to be honest, I think Clark could benefit from the Olympic break
I think the US Olympic women's basketball team may be the toughest roster to crack of any sport in the world..men's or women.

Just my opinion..
 
I think the US Olympic women's basketball team may be the toughest roster to crack of any sport in the world..men's or women.

Just my opinion..
well when you get first round draft picks getting waived or cut from their WNBA teams, it's hard to argue.
 
I agree Clark could use a break. She won’t have to play in Europe to make money but it will be interesting to see what she is offered. The Olympics would expose her to Europe and the bidding would begin.

Since Nike is supplying uniforms I’m surprised they didn’t push for Clark to be on the team as revenue for a Clark USA jersey would be an all time best seller. You would see little girls from other countries wearing Clark jerseys.

It would also have been interesting to see how many more games would have been broadcasted if Clark was on the team.
 
I'm a big Clark fan, but also agree that she's not ready for the Olympic team. Needs to get better at on-ball defense, etc.

Besides, the whole vibe around that team would be "Clark and a bunch of other ladies" to the vast majority of the fans and media.

Let's say Clark is on the team, scores 11 points with one logo bomb while six teammates score more than that and they blow out the lowest-ranked team in their bracket, yet Clark gets all the attention from fans and media alike.

That wouldn't help team chemistry, might even cause problems, even though my opinion is that Clark would do her best to point out that others were the stars of said game.

Like, Caitlin says, "Hey, Sabrina scored 19, she should be up here, not me..." Media: "Yeah, that's great, now tell me again about that 30-footer. How did that feel?"
 
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Clark’s mom Otslian heritage makes her eligible to play for Italy in Olympics. Italy should offer Clark $1 million to play for them. With money from her Italian Olympic jersey along with a promise to play in Italian league during the off season they will easily make it back. Plus all the exposure worldwide would be great for them.

I saw the interview with the USA Today journalist who has covered women’s Olympic basketball since 1984. She says even post gold medal press conferences have very few reporters. Her next interview was with a New Zealand sports journalist to get the scoop because the New Zelander’s grandmother was upset Clark wasn’t playing!

Italy’s games would get more press coverage than USA’s. The USA coach who said WNBA is more than one person can tell that to the one or two reporters who will be at her press conference.
 
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Clark’s mom Otslian heritage makes her eligible to play for Italy in Olympics. Italy should offer Clark $1 million to play for them. With money from her Italian Olympic jersey along with a promise to play in Italian league during the off season they will easily make it back. Plus all the exposure worldwide would be great for them.

I saw the interview with the USA Today journalist who has covered women’s Olympic basketball since 1984. She says even post gold medal press conferences have very few reporters. Her next interview was with a New Zealand sports journalist to get the scoop because the New Zelander’s grandmother was upset Clark wasn’t playing!

Italy’s games would get more press coverage than USA’s. The USA coach who said WNBA is more than one person can tell that to the one or two reporters who will be at her press conference.
Ain't nobody watching Italy unless they play the U.S. I don't care if Caitlin or whoever is on that team. 💯
 
It seems pretty simple: If a decision on Clark is based strictly on basketball, she shouldn't be chosen for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team; if it's based on marketing the female brand of hoops, her presence on that unit is a no-brainer. We can't have both.
 
I agree…. She is not ready for that team. She’ll almost certainly be there for 2028.
 
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So a 2024 U.S. Olympic Team with Clark on the roster would not/could not win Gold? I don’t believe that. I think Team USA could have chosen a few different players and still won gold.
 
The USA would likely win gold with its second 12. But the Olympics are the peak of women's basketball, much more important than on the men's side.

To which player do you say "Oh, you deserve to be on the team, but we're taking Caitlin instead because we might get a couple more rating points?" Especially if that player's best, and maybe only chance, to be on the Olympic team is 2024 ...
 
I didn't say or mean to imply that Team USA with Caitlin all-of-a-sudden would be unable to win gold, I just said Catlin wasn't quite ready to help the team be as excellent as possible.

Team USA wants to make dead certain it's the best team and doesn't need any potential distractions.

By 2028, provided she becomes as good as almost everyone (including me) expects, Caitlin should be a very welcome member of Team USA.

Maybe 2026, World championship, too.
 
I am wondering about the possible missed opportunities by not including Clark on the team. The 1996 Olympic Dream Team was very well marketed. In fact I became a Stanford women’s basketball season ticket holder because that was the only way I could get a ticket to see that team play vs Stanford. After that US Tour and Olympic gold two Pro basketball leagues opened up for women in the US. I say good marketing. I’m just wondering this was a missed opportunity for the WNBA to grow. Let’s acknowledge the Indiana Dream are making a lot more money this on tickets than last year as are the rest of the teams when Clark comes to town.
 
I am wondering about the possible missed opportunities by not including Clark on the team. The 1996 Olympic Dream Team was very well marketed. In fact I became a Stanford women’s basketball season ticket holder because that was the only way I could get a ticket to see that team play vs Stanford. After that US Tour and Olympic gold two Pro basketball leagues opened up for women in the US. I say good marketing. I’m just wondering this was a missed opportunity for the WNBA to grow. Let’s acknowledge the Indiana Dream are making a lot more money this on tickets than last year as are the rest of the teams when Clark comes to town.
the nba doesnt want the wnba to grow or the nba loses their tax write off.

the olympics doesnt care about the wnba growing because they are a different entity.

team usa doesnt just take players just for taking them. she isnt close to the best 12 players in the nba.

she also needs rest. she has played a lot nonstop and a mental break might serve her well.
 
the nba doesnt want the wnba to grow or the nba loses their tax write off.

the olympics doesnt care about the wnba growing because they are a different entity.

team usa doesnt just take players just for taking them. she isnt close to the best 12 players in the nba.

she also needs rest. she has played a lot nonstop and a mental break might serve her well.
I think the last point is really important. I think its best for Clark to rest and get away from the spotlight for a couple of weeks.
 
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the nba doesnt want the wnba to grow or the nba loses their tax write off.

the olympics doesnt care about the wnba growing because they are a different entity.

team usa doesnt just take players just for taking them. she isnt close to the best 12 players in the nba.

she also needs rest. she has played a lot nonstop and a mental break might serve her well.
“team usa doesnt just take players just for taking them. she isnt close to the best 12 players in the nba.“

But she’s close enough to be one of three alternates?

I agree she can use the rest. I agree that she’s not in the top 12. I just had some thoughts.
 
I think one question is whether Clark's presence on the roster would move the needle for interest in games that will be played at odd hours, and will usually be 20+-point wins.

And in the medal round, she wouldn't play much at all, so I'm not sure the Clark devotees would even bother to watch at that point.
 
If Clark has learned one lesson thus far during her first stint in the WNBA, it's the brutally obvious need to get stronger and tougher. She's too frail, too spindly, too easily shoved around. By the way, it would be refreshing to see a teammate or two come to her defense as she's getting bounced around on a regular basis. Geez.
 
And of course this is fake news. Team USA would not have lost the endorsements in any event; NBC would have lost advertising.

But people believe what they want to believe ... especially those with strong political agendas.
 
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Presumably NBC lost some advertising revenue, but it's hard to say. I don't know if advertisers can just select USA Women's basketball games.

Ticket sales? Not much in Paris.

USA Basketball is unaffected.

So not much.
 
I still have a question NBC lost millions
On advertising anyone who is honest can admit that. I would think at least $10M
 
Again, I don't know how those contracts are written. It's possible NBC did lose some money, but it's also possible ad space had already been purchased before the team was selected, or that it's difficult to target specific teams.

$10 million is a lot of ad time for that many games too. Presumably a lot of the ad time was already accounted for, so adding in new sponsors -- at a very late date -- means there wasn't much space left to sell.

In short, like most of the Clark hype, it's more noise than signal. People just like to get upset over things.
 
MY issue is not so much Clark not making the team, but rather DT making it. If we are going by ability DT certainly would not make it. Is the team going to be forced to play her more than she deserves?
 
DT is an interesting case. She's having a good year, and is credited by all concerned as being a great leader and supporter of younger players in USA Basketball.

And in international basketball, she's still a bonafide zone buster -- plus there's always someone she can guard because other teams just aren't that deep.

Still, it will be interesting to see how much she plays. My guess is not much -- if so, then she's a fine No. 12 on the roster. Experience does matter, and she's definitely been there before.
 
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