Why Caitlin Clark isnt starting for Team USA despite World Cup success

The super frosh still has to pay her dues.Despite the American women’s dominance in the FIBA World Cup, some have wondered why Caitlin Clark continues to be a bench player for the undefeated squad.Clark played 19:31 in reserve and tallied 10 points and nine assists in the 108-56 quarterfinal win Thursday over Hungary.“Our starting group’s done a pretty good job of getting us off to good starts,” Team USA coach Kara Lawson said Wednesday when asked about Clark potentially being a starter.“Rotationally from game to game we could change things, but I like where we are right now.”Clark’s role on this USA squad has been debated at times due to her standing and popularity within the sport at large while balancing the roster construction of a national team.Lawson has opted for veterans for her starting backcourt, with 28-year-old Jackie Young, 32-year-old Kahleah Copper and 33-year-old Chelsea Gray all starting.That has left Clark, 24, and other young stars like Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese in reserve roles.A coach deferring to her veteran players isn’t a novel idea in sports and we’ve seen how some of the world’s best players — think Jayson Tatum for Team USA in 2024 — can get lost in the shuffle.There are vocal Clark supporters, though, who question why she isn’t one of the starting five.However, even in a reserve role, Clark is getting significant run and is leading the team with her 21.5 minutes per game average and has paced the team in three of the four games.She played a team-high 25:19 in the 94-61 win over China on Sept.

4, logged 18:30 in Team USA’s 55-52 triumph over Italy on Sept.6 in its tightest game to date, tallied a team-best 21:54 in the 105-64 throttling of Czechia on Sept.

7 and her 20-plus minutes Thursday in the one-sided affair again led the team.In the Italy win, in which Clark logged her fewest minutes, she went 0-for-6 in a one-point effort.Clark hasn’t indicated that the lack of a starting role bothers her, and s...