The two Olympic gold medalists were members of the committee that selected the team to Paris.
NORFOLK, Va. — ODU women’s basketball head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones knows what it takes to win gold medals – after all, she won gold medals herself as a member of the U.S. National Team in 2000 and 2008. The 2024 Olympic cycle brought a new kind of challenge for Milton-Jones as a member of the U.S. National Team Selection Committee.
“I was on the Olympic Committee. It was a four-year term. We had to pick a team, and we picked a great team. Our job was to pick the 12 best players,” Milton Jones said, standing at the Monarchs’ practice facility after leading his team through a grueling workout.
The 12 players selected were announced on June 11. As always, 12 WNBA stars were on the list, including Diana Taurasi, who is seeking her sixth golf medal. Only this year, the selection was controversial because of some names that were not on the list.
“I know people were freaking out because they thought Kaitlyn was going to be on the team.”
“Kaitlyn” is, of course, a reference to Kaitlyn Clark, the WNBA rookie star, college basketball’s all-time leading scorer, and the most-watched player in WNBA draft history. Clark quickly became a fan favorite, seeing attendance and ratings soar during her rookie season, leading some to question why she wasn’t selected for the Olympic team.
“It’s kind of hard to do that because she’s never attended a camp. Team chemistry is a big factor in putting together a team to go to France,” Milton-Jones explains the thinking behind the selection. “It’s not like our European rivals, where it takes years to put a team together. Some of them have been playing together for eight years. We put a team together and practice for two weeks. All these factors had to be taken into account when selecting the team.”
Milton-Jones touched on the idea that Clark should have been on the team for marketing purposes, saying it was discussed by the committee: “We know that having Kaitlynn on the team would certainly create fanfare and have a great impact on marketing and viewership for the games, and this is the world stage, but that’s not the main reason she should be on the team. She should be on the team because she can contribute. She’s never played international basketball and it’s a different style. If you think American players are physically stronger, wait until she gets to Europe. All of these factors played into whether she’s a good fit for the team now or in the future.”
Clark’s participation is not a given, as another player will remain on the team.
“How can we be fair to the players who came to every camp, made sacrifices, put in the time, built teamwork and made changes based on our critiques? They did what they had to do. It would be extremely unfair for someone’s Olympic dreams to be dashed because another player can do more off the court than he can on it. As a committee, our job was to stay within the boundaries of the court.”
Milton Jones called Clark “a special player” and praised her toughness as she looks to become a future Olympian. “Her time will come. She’s super talented and has a bright future. You’re going to see her do great things.” Meanwhile, she hopes all the new fans of women’s basketball keep tuned in to watch Team USA as they try for their eighth consecutive gold medal. “This is a great moment for women’s basketball, and I urge you to keep cheering. The best is definitely yet to come. We’ve only just scratched the surface.”
