Cheryl Reeve says she had ‘no power’ over Caitlin Clark’s rejection from US Olympic roster | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

U.S. team head coach Cheryl Reeve downplayed the extent of her influence on the roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics, as the absence of Indiana Fever debutant Caitlin Clark remains a sore point for some.

She explained that there is a misunderstanding about the selection process in general.

“I think what people don’t understand about it – and that’s OK, you can’t change what people think – is that the coach of the national team really has no power in the selection of the team,” Reeve said on Good game with Sarah Spainwhich is produced by iHeartPodcasts, as part of the company’s new Women’s Sports Audio Network.

The Minnesota Lynx coach used the lead-up to the 2022 FIBA ​​Women’s Basketball World Cup as an example. She thought Kayla McBride, one of her players with the Lynx, had a strong training camp and deserved a spot on the World Cup roster. McBride, however, did not make the finals.

“And so I said to Kay-Mac, if there’s ever a time when people understand that the coach has no say in it, this is one of those times,” Reeve told Spain. “But I get it, you know, in this day and age, you’ve got to put the blame somewhere. I’ve taken a lot of bullets for USA Basketball. … If you sign up for the job, it is what it is.”

It would have been a logical choice to include Clark in the Olympic roster, given her historic collegiate career and the fact that she will undoubtedly play a major role on Team USA in the years to come.

However, the number 1 choice was not a foregone conclusion.

Before USA Basketball announced the team, Clark was averaging 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 37.3 percent from the floor in 13 games. Her production was solid for a rookie, but did not compare favorably to other American guards.

Her inexperience also played a role. In addition to having only a few months of WNBA playing time left, she missed a national team training camp in April because she was in the Final Four with Iowa.

Clark’s steady progress on the track has led to more doubts about whether she should have gone to Paris. But it’s worth remembering how much her development was helped by the fact that she was given almost a month’s rest.

“I’ve enjoyed every second of the games, but this is going to be a great month for my body to rest and get healthy,” she told reporters as the mid-season break approached.

It was no coincidence that Clark looked like a reborn player as the second half of the WNBA campaign got underway. Her perceived rejection likely worked to her advantage.