Caitlin Clark- What Do We Take From the All-Star Game?

In 1962, my dad took our family to the MLB All-Star game at Wrigley Field with a NL outfield of Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Roberto Clemente, while the AL lined up Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, and Rocky Colavito. That may be the last All-Star game in any sport that I watched from beginning to end, until tonight’s WNBA game.

The only negative to the whole game was the half-time show where they had a male be the star and have females dance around him. Leave it to the WNBA to be tone deaf about celebrating women on the All-Star game. 

I am reminded of a quote from one of my top Galesburg Summer League refs, Ted Trueblood. Ted had been a great high school player and then had a great career at Knox College. While in college, he paired with Reed Allison to be my “all-star” refs. So Ted while in college, came over to me at half-time to our concession stand. His comment,”Coach, it is interesting watching HS girls playing, some of them can’t decide if they want to be cool or want to be good.” 

Ted’s quote was probably one of the most profound analysis of basketball motivation. I don’t know how often I have thought of that quote when I watched a player under-performing. Well, I remembered his quote tonight. I was not in the USA team’s lockeroom or in their huddle, but I thought the USA team was “cool.”

The other analysis for me goes to times when our Galesburg team would play a good Knoxville, or a good Alwood, or a good Monmouth team in our summer league. Maybe my Galesburg kids played too “cool,” but they may have underperforming. It was like they had no sense that this stupid game in the middle of summer had meaning. I would eventually take a time-out and say something like this,”Do you know next year we can go 30-2 and take third at State, but if you lose this stupid summer league game- these guys will spend the next year saying how they are better than Galesburg.” Did team USA not understand what losing to the All-Stars would mean?

Last winter during the women’s Final Four, you may remember that Diana Taurasi made the comment something like this about Caitlin Clark,”She will find out what it is like to play with grown a%@ women in the WNBA.” I have undersold Clark by saying she is the most popular but it doesn’t mean she is one of the best. I was wrong, tonight and all season Clark has proven she is one of THE best in the league. I am not saying THE best, but saying ONE of THE best. And Taurasi needs to change her tune and recognize that the grown a%@ women in the WNBA have found out what it is like to play with Caitlin Clark.

Did Clark win the game? No! But Clark and Angel Reese played VERY well. Arise Ogunboale was unconscious with 34 points on 8 for 13 on threes. But Clark kept them in the game in the first half. On her way to 10 assists, the WNBA All-Stars had to recognize how fun it was to play with Clark.

Clark and Reese were passed up for  the Olympic team because “we need more experienced players.” That reminds me of when my brother in an NBA fantasy draft in about 2015 took all the veterans who were 35+. Mark would have taken Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Bob Pettit if they were on the computer. 

Whether Clark and Reese should have been selected, they should not have been dismissed so casually. Whether Ogunbowale was cut in the last two because she played “selfishly” or because she has a contract with the wrong shoe company- hopefully she was considered. 

I am not saying Clark, Reese, and Ogunbowale should be on the Olympic team or not on the team. But I am saying that I really, really question how the selection committee and the ESPN WNBA talking heads so strongly dismissed them being on the team.

If you are interested in this- I really recommend Monday morning tape and then listen to First Take and Get Up on ESPN. I guarantee that some of the talking heads like Stephen A. Smith, who are not the usual WNBA talking heads- they will rip the decision making process of the Olympic committee.

All said- it was really a fun night watching the game! The only disappointment tonight was that I didn’t get Warren Spahn and Eddie Matthews autographs after the game. 

Please- I would love your comments with names on the blog at the bottom.