The selection of the Team USA women's team is definitely causing a lot of talk. In addition to the absence of Caitlin Clark, a new phenomenon in American women's basketball, that of the scorer Arike Ogunbowalesecond best scorer in the league this season, was also highlighted by observers.
The Dallas Wings player was, however, subject to strong competition in her position where we can notably find Diana Taurasi, Jewell Loyd, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum And Sabrina Ionescu.
In the “Nightcap” podcast, Arike Ogunbowale actually confided that he had withdrawn his name from the American pre-selection several months ago, deploring “political” reasons which would influence the choices of the final selection.
“For me, I just felt the trend. When it comes down to it, it really has nothing to do with your game. It's really how they feel about who fits best on the team. It’s the same on the men’s side too,” she confided. “The committees say they're looking for players who… Honestly, I don't know… But I already knew that. So I withdrew my name from the selection several months ago. The selection is a big commitment. If I already know that they are not going to take me, I am not going to participate in their camps, give them my time, even though I know the trend.”
The weight of the federation singled out
Arike Ogunbowale knew that the competition was tough, and perhaps even saw Caitlin Clark cheating on him in the final sprint. She finally made the choice to cut the suspense short, believing that the extra-sporting factor weighed too much on the selection choices.
“It’s subjective who should be on the team; everyone is great in the WNBA. I can't really control what they choose.”she added. “I can't really speak to the American federation in general, but when it comes to women's basketball, there's always politics around it. Whether for the selection, the All-Star selections, the All-WNBA Team, there is the political aspect. There is politics in everything.”
While she remained off to a great start to the season, Arike Ogunbowale sank last night against the Connecticut Sun (67-85), returning her worst copy since the restart, at 2/15 shooting (11 points, 5 assists) .
