When the 12-player U.S. Women’s Basketball roster was revealed for this summer’s Paris Olympics, it caused an uproar at the omission of Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark. Perhaps more surprising, though, was the fact that the roster also did not include former Notre Dame star Arike Ogunbowale.
It’s Ogunbowale, after all, who’s second in WNBA scoring through a dozen games. Not Clark. Ogunbowale is having a career year for the Dallas Wings at age 27. She’s never averaged more than the 24.9 points per game she’s currently pouring in. She’d undoubtedly make an impact for Team USA in France. Maybe she’d even lead the squad in scoring.
But she pulled the plug on her own chances of doing so a long time ago.
“I pretty much had an idea that I wouldn’t be on [the roster],” Ogunbowale told the “Nightcap” podcast. “There are trials and stuff that go on throughout the year. You do it and you see the vibes. Me being me, I just felt the vibes.
“Honestly, when it comes to that stuff it really doesn’t have much to do with your game. It’s really about who they feel like fits with the team. That’s on the men’s side too. You could have said Kyrie [Irving] should have made it.”
She continued, “I could already tell that wasn’t the type of vibe they want so I actually took my name out of the pool months ago. When the list came out, I knew everyone was like, ‘Arike should have been on it.’ I knew I wouldn’t be on it. That’s not saying I didn’t think maybe last year I would be on the team, that I was good enough to make the team. But when the list came out, I knew I would not be on that one at the time because I took my name out of the pool.”
Notre Dame will be represented in Paris by Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm and Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces. Loyd is fifth in WNBA scoring at 19.8 points per game. Young is tied for ninth at 17.8. For reference, Clark is 17th at 16.1.
The other 10 participants are Napheesa Collier, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Alyssa Thomas and A’ja Wilson.
“It’s subjective who they think should be on the team,” Ogunbowale said. “Everybody is great in the WNBA. So who they choose is who they choose, and I can’t really control that one.”
That didn’t stop Ogunbowale from implying ulterior motives are at play when coming up with national team rosters and things of that nature. The baller just over six years removed from delivering Notre Dame a second national championship in program history is not oblivious to the workings of the powers that be.
“I can’t really speak to USA Basketball in general, but when I think of women’s basketball in however many years I’ve been playing college and pro, politics are always surrounding it. Whether that’s USA basketball, whether that’s all-star teams, whether that’s first-team and stuff like that, it’s politics. Even with the men, there are politics in everything. I’m just going to leave it at that.”
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