Despite the United States women's basketball team's strong start to the Olympic pool play, ESPN basketball analyst Seth Greenberg has expressed his lack of interest in the team's performance.
The United States women's basketball team opened their Olympic pool play with a commanding 102-76 victory over Japan on Monday. However, former college basketball coach and self-proclaimed basketball junkie, Seth Greenberg, has admitted that he has not watched a single second of the team's performance.
During an appearance on OutKick's "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich," Greenberg expressed his reasons for not being interested in watching the women's team play.
Seth Greenberg Not Impressed by Team USA Women's Basketball Performance
"I haven't watched one second of the women's [basketball team], and I probably would have watched if [Caitlin Clark] was playing," Greenberg said.
Greenberg went on to explain that he found the play of the women's team to be uninteresting compared to other Olympic events.
Seth Greenberg Not Impressed by Team USA Women's Basketball Performance
"During watching some other Olympic activity this week, they clipped [to] the game against Japan, and some 5-foot-2 player was guarding someone who was a good player. It was uninteresting, to be honest with you. No disrespect, it just wasn't interesting. It didn't grab me. Watching women's gymnastics grabs you. Watching beach volleyball grabs you."
Greenberg further expressed that if Caitlin Clark had been selected to play on the team, he would have been more likely to watch their games. Clark, a 22-year-old WNBA rookie phenom, was not chosen to be on the roster, a decision that has been met with some controversy.
Seth Greenberg Not Impressed by Team USA Women's Basketball Performance
Dawn Staley, South Carolina women's basketball head coach and member of Team USA Women's National Team Committee, suggested during an interview with NBC's Mike Tirico on Sunday that Clark's recent play warranted her selection.
"As a committee member, you're charged with putting together the best team of players, the best talent," Staley said. "Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA, wasn't playing bad but wasn't playing like she's playing now. If we had to do it all over again, the way that she's playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people."
Despite Greenberg's lack of interest, the U.S. women's team remains the heavy favorites to win gold again. The team is seeking its eighth consecutive gold medal this year at the Paris Olympic Games.
Caitlin Clark's absence from the team has undoubtedly affected the level of interest in the team's performance. The WNBA has seen both attendance and ratings soar in Clark's rookie season, indicating her ability to attract eyeballs to the sport.
Team USA has two more games in pool play:
* August 1, Belgium vs. USA (3 p.m. ET)
* August 4, Germany vs. USA (11:15 a.m. ET)
Whether or not Greenberg decides to tune in for these remaining games remains to be seen. However, it is clear that the absence of Caitlin Clark has had an impact on the level of interest surrounding the U.S. women's basketball team's Olympic performance.
