After scoring probably the most factors in NCAA basketball historical past, changing into the highest decide within the WNBA draft, and tying rookie information in her first month within the execs, Caitlin Clark was on such a roll in 2024 that the upcoming Olympic Video games appeared like they have been going to comply with 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 symbolize Group USA on the game’s greatest stage.
However Clark took the information in stride, saying that she understood that the roster choice might have gone both means, and that, in the end, she was excited for the gamers who made it.
“[There’s] actually no disappointment,” Clark informed IndyStar reporters after a coaching session in Indianapolis on Sunday, sharing that she obtained a name from USA Basketball with the information “at the start got here out.” “I feel it simply offers me one thing to work for…. Hopefully sooner or later I will be there. I feel it’s just a bit extra motivation, and also you keep in mind that. And hopefully in 4 years, when 4 years comes again round, I will be there.”
Regardless of her 2024 resume, making the Olympic staff as a 22-year-old was one thing that was all the time going to be difficult. For one, whereas she was invited to USA Basketball’s coaching camp in April, she wasn’t capable of attend—that was when the Iowa Hawkeyes have been battling via the Closing 4. As former WNBA participant and ESPN broadcaster Rebecca Lobo defined to Get Up, these coaching camps (which truly 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, via no fault of her personal, was not capable of take part in any of these coaching camps,” Lobo stated. “So she didn’t have that likelihood.”
And though the official roster hasn’t been launched but by the US Olympic Committee, The Athletic stories that its picks skew in favor of professional expertise. In reality, 26-year-old Sabrina Ionescu is slated to be the youngest on the staff.
Whereas Clark describes the roster skip as “motivation” for the following Olympics cycle, it additionally brings one other silver lining of kinds: practically a month’s hiatus from any video games, because the WNBA will break from mid-July to mid-August. That’ll be large for Clark, who transitioned just about proper from school March Insanity to Fever coaching camp with out lacking a beat.
“I’ve cherished competing each single second, nevertheless it’s going to be an excellent month for my physique, to begin with, to get relaxation, get wholesome, and get just a little time away from basketball and the craziness of every little thing that’s been occurring,” Clark informed reporters. “[It’s] an excellent alternative for myself to get within the weight room, to work on the courtroom, and work on issues that I wish to get higher at that I perhaps didn’t have time going from school to the professional season.”
Principally, she’s wanting 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 staff,” Clark informed reporters. “I used to be a child who grew up watching the Olympics, so it’ll be enjoyable to observe them.”
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