When Team USA announced its roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics earlier this year, Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark was not among the players selected to represent the United States. And it appears some key members of USA Basketball are now acknowledging that that was a bit of a mistake.
During a recent interview, South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley, who is a member of the U.S. Olympic Selection Committee, said that Caitlin Clark is clearly “head and shoulders above” many players and would likely receive more consideration if the committee “had to do it all over again.”
“If we had to do it all over again, the way she’s playing, she would be highly considered to make the team because she’s playing so far above a lot of others,” Staley said after the Americans beat Serbia on Sunday afternoon.
Obviously, it’s too late for Clark to join the roster now, as the Olympics have already started. So Team USA will have to try to win a gold medal without her, and she will have to wait another four years before she gets another chance to compete in the Olympics.
But it’s pretty clear that it was a mistake not to put her on the list in the first place.
(Scott Agness)
