After scoring probably the most factors in NCAA basketball historical past, turning into the highest decide within the WNBA draft, and tying rookie data in her first month within the professionals, Caitlin Clark was on such a roll in 2024 that the upcoming Olympic Video games appeared like they have been going to observe in line. So when information broke this weekend that Clark reportedly didn’t make the roster, it was a jolt to a great deal of basketball followers who have been hoping to see her characterize Group USA on the game’s greatest stage.
However Clark took the information in stride, saying that she understood that the roster choice may have gone both manner, and that, finally, she was excited for the gamers who made it.
“[There’s] truthfully no disappointment,” Clark advised IndyStar reporters after a coaching session in Indianapolis on Sunday, sharing that she obtained a name from USA Basketball with the information “at first got here out.” “I believe it simply offers me one thing to work for…. Hopefully at some point I will be there. I believe it’s just a bit extra motivation, and also you do not forget that. And hopefully in 4 years, when 4 years comes again round, I will be there.”
Regardless of her 2024 resume, making the Olympic group as a 22-year-old was one thing that was at all times going to be difficult. For one, whereas she was invited to USA Basketball’s coaching camp in April, she wasn’t in a position to attend—that was when the Iowa Hawkeyes have been battling by means of the Remaining 4. As former WNBA participant and ESPN broadcaster Rebecca Lobo defined to Get Up, these coaching camps (which really kicked into gear three years in the past) are integral as a result of they permit the athletes to play collectively, be taught the coach’s system, and familiarize themselves with a few of their worldwide opponents. “Caitlin Clark, by means of no fault of her personal, was not in a position to take part in any of these coaching camps,” Lobo stated. “So she didn’t have that probability.”
And though the official roster hasn’t been launched but by the US Olympic Committee, The Athletic stories that its alternatives skew in favor of professional expertise. In truth, 26-year-old Sabrina Ionescu is slated to be the youngest on the group.
Whereas Clark describes the roster skip as “motivation” for the following Olympics cycle, it additionally brings one other silver lining of types: almost a month’s hiatus from any video games, because the WNBA will break from mid-July to mid-August. That’ll be big for Clark, who transitioned just about proper from school March Insanity to Fever coaching camp with out lacking a beat.
“I’ve liked competing each single second, however it’s going to be an incredible month for my physique, to begin with, to get relaxation, get wholesome, and get a bit of time away from basketball and the craziness of every part that’s been occurring,” Clark advised reporters. “[It’s] an incredible alternative for myself to get within the weight room, to work on the court docket, and work on issues that I need to get higher at that I perhaps didn’t have time going from school to the professional season.”
Mainly, she’s trying ahead to “some peace and quiet for myself.” And a part of that simply would possibly come from being a basketball spectator for as soon as.
“I’m excited for the ladies who’re on the group,” Clark advised reporters. “I used to be a child who grew up watching the Olympics, so it’ll be enjoyable to look at them.”
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