As Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark continues her climb up the scoring chart — the senior guard is 104 points from becoming the all-time scoring leader in women’s NCAA basketball — and fans turn out in droves to see her, a question has started percolating in women’s basketball circles.
Could Clark make the Paris Olympic team?
This weekend, USA Basketball is hosting 18 athletes who are in the “Olympic pool” for a mini-training camp in Brooklyn. More athletes could be added to the pool and of that group, 12 will make the final Olympic roster. (The four players selected for 3×3 will be announced later and come from a different pool, though there could be some overlap.)
Clark is not currently in the 5×5 pool but theoretically, she could still be added. And USA Basketball might want to capitalize on the popularity of a player known for selling tickets and drawing eyeballs to the game.
“We’ve definitely been considering inviting college kids to that (later) camp,” said women’s national team committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. “We have set that precedent. What we know is the way the USA basketball schedule is now, it makes it challenging to include college players in these camps.”
Next point guard up: Chelsea Gray then … ?
The U.S. women will go for their eighth consecutive medal this summer, led by two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, arguably the best women’s player in the world. Surrounding her will be the likes of Breanna Stewart, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Jewell Lloyd and others.
This will be the first Olympic Games without Sue Bird, the Americans’ floor general since 2004. Gray, 31, is likely the starting point guard. But after her, there’s not an obvious point guard in waiting.
Of players in the current pool, former No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu is likely to make her Olympic debut, and will probably play some, though with the New York Liberty she’s thrived more off-ball. Kelsey Plum, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Games in 3×3, will probably spell Gray at point guard as she has when they’re both playing for the Las Vegas Aces. (Skylar Diggins-Smith, who played at the Tokyo Games, did not play the past WNBA season after giving birth in early 2023 and is not in the current pool.) The issue is that outside of Gray, none of these players are pass-first point guards; most are looking for their own shot.
What about Caitlin Clark at guard?
So where does this leave Clark, the face of women’s basketball?
“When we invite people to be part of USA Basketball training camp, sometimes it’s with an eye to the future,” Rizzotti said. “I can remember when Aliyah Boston was at her first mini-camp, I can remember when Breanna Stewart was at her first national team camp, I can remember when many players have come to camp when they were in college or maybe just finishing college, and some made Olympic teams and some of them did not. I think it’s about giving them that exposure.
“We want to always be looking for the very best of the best, and we know that there’s a huge jump from college to the WNBA so this might be an opportunity to help them prepare to see what it’s like. But if we’re inviting them, we’re confident they’re a player that can be part of USA Basketball at some point.”
Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart set precedent for recent grads playing with Olympic team
While it might seem crazy to bring a 22-year-old onto the most dominant team in the world, a roster led by veterans with decades of Olympic experience, it’s not unheard of.
Diana Taurasi, who’s expected to make her sixth Olympic team, and Stewart (third), played with the Americans right out of college.
Taurasi was part of the 2004 gold medal group, the youngest player on a roster that featured the likes of Dawn Staley, Katie Smith and Bird. While her senior national team debut came at the 2004 Athens Games, she played in 13 exhibition games with the national team before the Olympics.
Stewart, meanwhile, played with the senior national team at the 2014 World Cup in Turkey and the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto before making her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games. It’s worth noting that Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, Stewart’s college coach, was also the USA Basketball coach for the 2014 event and the 2016 Olympics.
“When I look back to 2014, when I was in college and my first time with USA Basketball I was kinda like, whoa,” Stewart recalled, laughing. “This is your first time playing with pros, you’re trying to be a sponge … it’s going to be very close leading up to the Olympics; we’re already six months out and it’s hard with the schedule. But of course they (college players) should be sprinkled in and integrated to help get them ready for the WNBA.”
Caitlin Clark was MVP at 2021 World Cup
Clark, who leads the nation in scoring at 32.1 points per game and tends to sell out any arena she plays in, does have some international experience with USAB, which works in her favor.
At the 2021 World Cup, where she played on the U19 team following her freshman year of college, she led the Americans to a 7-0 record and the gold medal, averaging 14.3 points, 5.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game, earning MVP honors. It was her second U19 team; she also played in the 2019 World Cup in Thailand, where she averaged 5.3 points per game. In what now seems unthinkable, Clark was cut from the 2018 U17 World Cup team.
Another positive for Clark: Her shooting range. The 6-foot guard is known for taking deep 3s — launching from the logo is her specialty — and stretching defenses. And USA Basketball loves to take shooters to international competitions.
USA Basketball schedule not in Caitlin Clark’s favor
The biggest factor working against Clark is something entirely out of her control: USA Basketball’s schedule.
Along with their mini-camp in Brooklyn this week, the Americans are scheduled for one more mini-camp before the WNBA season tips off. That one will take place in Cleveland from April 4-7 during the Women’s Final Four — which Clark could very well be playing in. If Iowa is knocked out before then, Clark will likely still be around Cleveland for various award ceremonies.
Between camps, the U.S. will play at the 2024 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgium on Feb. 8-11. The committee will select 12 players for the qualifier, though that doesn’t mean those 12 will automatically be on the final roster for Paris. (The U.S. has already qualified for the Olympics, and will use this tournament as more of a warm-up and chance to see how a new squad works together.)
Should she declare for the draft, Clark is projected as the No. 1 pick, and will go to the Indiana Fever, home of the 2023 No. 1 pick, Boston, who is also in the Olympic pool. The WNBA season tips off May 14, with the league taking an Olympic break from July 21 to August 14.
If Clark and Iowa play in the Final Four again, Clark would have virtually no time to train with the Olympic team before it heads to Paris. The senior national team played two exhibitions in November against Tennessee (a 95-59 win) and Duke (a 87-58 win), but currently have no other exhibitions scheduled.
Dawn Staley on Caitlin Clark: ‘Generational player’
Staley, who won gold medals as a player (1996, 2000 and 2004) and a head coach (2020), told USA TODAY Sports that with such a deep pool of talented guards, many of who already have international experience at the highest levels, finding a roster spot for Clark would be tough.
“It’s unfortunate because we can’t take a young player and have her take the spot (of a veteran),” Staley said. “We gotta win. We’re far behind the eight-ball with training, so we’ve gotta give (head coach) Cheryl (Reeve) the best 12 players.”
As for Clark specifically, who Staley has described as a “generational player,” Staley said, “She’s going to get her time and she’s going to be just as special then.”
Follow Lindsay Schnell on social media @Lindsay_Schnell and reach her at lschnell@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark could make the Paris Olympic team. It’s complicated.
