Would the USA Women's B-Ball National Team have a shot at beating a good men's team at any level?

[johnson1]

Assuming the USA women's Olympic team is probably the best female team in the world:


Would they have a shot at beating any men's college D1 team? D2? D3?

How about men's High School Varsity?



In my opinion, and this is nothing against women, but they wouldn't have a shot. Just the speed, size and physicality would be overwhelming.

 

[rook]

They'd beat most mens college teams.

 

[Clyde Frog]

Not any D-1 team. Idc if they got a Lisa Leslie in her prime or Brittany Griner in her future prime. You throw it down low to any 6-10 250 pound forward that every D-1 team has, drop step, elbow to the ribs, and they'll have the wind knocked out of them for an entire week. A men's D-1 team could win with 99% of the points coming from the block.

I feel like this thread pops up a lot. The answer is D-1 or better, no. D-2 or lower, possibly. High school, yes.

 

[darthska]

*sigh*

Tameka Catchings rollin over in her grave.

Diana Taurasi rollin over in her grave.

Maya Moore ro...

 

[darthska]

First off, yes, our women's team is the best in the world. Our women's team is like the 92 mens' team. Other teams have 1 or 2 stars on the roster, but our entire roster is talented.

second, there's no way to guarantee that our women's team would beat a d1 team, because there's absolutely no way to prove or disprove that. It will never happen, the game will never be played. but to say that there's no way our women's team could beat a d1 team is ludicrous. Heck, I live by a small d1 school that I feel would get waxed by our girls.

If there are two opponents... one slightly undersized and extremely skilled, and the other far less skilled but a little more size... give me the more skilled opponent.

 

[demps]

idk about bball, but the US womens soccer team played an u16 team and got outplayed..the boys were too athletic for them.

 

[Clyde Frog]

You're right it's one of those irritating questions cause you'll never get an answer. All we can do is speculate given what we know.

What we do know is that men are far superior in athleticism, strength, and height compared to women. In regards to the less skilled but bigger vs more skilled smaller, that would only matter if you were playing against your own sex because there's such a big gap in size/athleticism between men vs female athletes. It outweighs any skill factor. It doesn't take a huge amount of skill to use your 100 lb weight 7 inch advantage to back a female down in the post and Shaq her *** into the student section. Dunking the ball over a fragile ****** would take the same amount of skill as repping 225 bench presses that they do every day.

I just looked up the worst college basketball team which is apparently the Towson Tigers. They have 2 centers at 6'10 230 and 250. 4 forwards at 6'8 210, 215, 220, and 245. Where as you got Tameka Catchings and Maya Moore as your forwards at 6'2 165lbs. I think it's safe to assume they'll have a tough time getting any kind of shot off. And if they drive I think it's safe to assume much good wont come of it once they run into two 240 pound towers. They even have a 6'5 205 pound PG. I don't see Tuarasi, who is as far as I know the biggest beast of a Gaurd, doin much on offense at PG with a 5 inch 50 pound disadvantage. And it's not just height and weight. Men are quicker and faster than women as it is. But then to think that they are D-1 athletes...I'll put my money on them destroying the women in any kind of speed or agility competition.

The height and athleticism gap is too big for any skill the women have to really matter. The men could win without shooting a single perimeter shot. Fast breaks, driving to the hoop, and post dominance would win the game.

I've never done this before but...

/thread

 

[darthska]

if sports were played on paper, then no, there would be no discussion here.

but since they are not played on paper, I find it interesting that your rebuttal was all stat based. Have you ever seen a bad D 1 school play? And have you ever seen the women's team play?

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Assuming the USA women's Olympic team is probably the best female team in the world:


Would they have a shot at beating any men's college D1 team? D2? D3?

How about men's High School Varsity?



.

The USA women's team would slaughter any High School team this current season . I've seen most the big time high school teams on CBS or ESPNU this season.

 

[Clyde Frog]

if sports were played on paper, then no, there would be no discussion here.

but since they are not played on paper, I find it interesting that your rebuttal was all stat based. Have you ever seen a bad D 1 school play? And have you ever seen the women's team play?

I've caught a few glimpses, nothing more. Too slow and too boring to hold my attention. It really doesn't matter though.

Its true basketball isn't played on paper but again that would matter more if we were talking about the same sex playing against each other. But we're not, men have an obvious advantage physically. So it does matter by how much. Are you aware of how much height and athleticism matters in basketball? Half their team is taller than the women's tallest player. That matters. It doesn't matter how much more skilled the Women's team is than their inferior, same sexcounterpart who are the same size. It doesn't matter how good their 6'5 post player is against a defender is also 6'5. It doesn't matter how good her footwork is, her post moves, her hook shot, or simply her ability to put the ball in the hoop. Put her in the post with a male who is 6'10 250, NONE of that matters. You're not moving him, shooting over him, or going around him. If you try the ball will already be in the men's teams hands on a 3-1 fast break past half court. It doesn't require skill to be 6'10 250, he just is. Even then he's a D-1 basketball player so its not like he doesn't have a clue either. Swap sides with the guy on offense. It doesn't take skill to move someone half your size and dunk the ball either.

I don't even wanna get into the physicality of the sport. Like, we're talking about a contact sport with males against females in which the males are twice the size of everybody. The only way the guys let it be close is if they're too afraid of breaking the girl.

 

[johnson1]

The USA women's team would slaughter any High School team this current season . I've seen most the big time high school teams on CBS or ESPNU this season.

you, my friend, are out of your mind. Don't you realize that some high school run out all D-1 bound starting fives?

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

^ Have you ever seen Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi play ?

 

[darthska]

I'm absolutely aware of the importance of athleticism, more than you realize. But do you understand the importance of skill?

I heard Jerry Rice say once, (and I am obviously paraphrasing terribly here so this isn't even close to word for word), that he was never the fastest guy out there and didn't have the most endurance and couldn't jump the highest... but you were not going to out study him.

I know my Lakers have a disastrous w-l but I hope that I could bring up Steve Nash without you using the Lakers demise to say that Nash is a terrible basketball player. He has some athleticism, sure, but a ton of skill.

Granted, a player with a ton of skill and absolutely no athleticism would accomplish nothing... but we're not talking about that type of player. Similarly, a player with freakish athleticism and no skill whouldn't accomplishment things, either, but we're not talking about that type of player.

There isn't a team in the league that wouldn't want Pau Gasol, but what does he do in dominant fashion athletically? Jump? Run?

 

[datznasty]

Pau would be the MVP of the WNBA though. And I believe no. Hell, Beg Borrow and Deal (an ESPN reality show that didn;t last long), one of the challenges was for somebody to get a game of 1 on 1 against a WNBA all star. In both cases, they had dudes who wear just average dudes and they both lost to different WNBA all stars (one was the center from Indiana) by 2 and again neither was a basketball player. They were just men though, stronger, faster and even despite being shorter they blocked shots, outathleted them, etc. Hell, check with your local college girl's team if you are in school and ask them, most practice against men (ringers), again less with basketball background than just someone who is going to be more athletic and more physical than them.

Brittney Griner for example, most physically athletic female in maybe ever right? She's 6'8, 205. That's great she can jump, but she's not moving anybody on the block. Forearm in her back and now what?

 

[ham city]

I'm inclined to say no. I'll give an example as to why I feel that way. 

The United States Women's soccer team is composed of the best women soccer players in our country and is also the best women's soccer team in the world. 

Fairly regularly they play practice matches against the United States U15 and U16 Boys teams during training camps. These youth teams aren't really a collection of the best 14 and 15 year old boys in the country, they're good prospects but they're not the undisputed best at their level the same way the senior women's team is. 

These 14 and 15 year old boys ALWAYS beat the women's national team convincingly and it's gone that way since the days of Mia Hamm.

The contrast between women vs men in soccer and women vs men in basketball are actually very similar. I'd argue that skill trumps athleticism more so in soccer than it does in basketball. As young as 14 years old the the athleticism possessed by boys is too great for even the most skilled women soccer players to overcome, women who are 10x more skilled than their 14/15yo boy counterparts. 

I can't imagine that the U.S. Women's hoops team could compete with any powerhouse D1/D2 (3A and above if you not from CA) high school program. 

 

[nychiphophippo]

Jelly of the 14 year old that gets to check Alex Morgan

 

[tennhouse2]

The womens team would wax any high school team easily

 

[nycknicks105]

You guys are out of your minds

I think the USA national women's basketball team can beat out most High School and some D-1 schools. I got to agree with Ska on this one. You guys are underselling skill and over selling power/athleticism.

I don't think they can win convincingly against the D-1 school, but they will keep it competitive. Obviously, there are exceptions to this with the D-1 "Powerhouse" schools, but for the most part I think they can beat some D-1 schools.

I think you guys are forgetting that these women already play in the WNBA and are the best of the best in women's basketball. The US women's national basketball team is comprised of the best of the best players in the WNBA (and one or 2 college players). You guys really believe that they can't beat some D-1 schools?

They'll run fast breaks, hit open jumpers consistently, and ball movement would break apart most defenses. (It's a shame that I have to say I'm being serious).

 

[trasoul82]

What size basketball would they use?

 

[ham city]

You guys are out of your minds

I think the USA national women's basketball team can beat out most High School and some D-1 schools. I got to agree with Ska on this one. You guys are underselling skill and over selling power/athleticism.

I don't think they can win convincingly against the D-1 school, but they will keep it competitive. Obviously, there are exceptions to this with the D-1 "Powerhouse" schools, but for the most part I think they can beat some D-1 schools.

I think you guys are forgetting that these women already play in the WNBA and are the best of the best in women's basketball. The US women's national basketball team is comprised of the best of the best players in the WNBA (and one or 2 college players). You guys really believe that they can't beat some D-1 schools?

They'll run fast breaks, hit open jumpers consistently, and ball movement would break apart most defenses. (It's a shame that I have to say I'm being serious).

Nope. You're on one if you think they could beat any D1 NCAA school. I'm certainly not under selling skill and over selling athleticism. In my experience, I've actually found that knowledgeable fans are more likely to undervalue athleticism in these types of discussions.

You can't run fast breaks when you're outright slow relative to your competition, you don't get open jumpers when your competition closes you down faster, and is both taller and longer than the competition you're used to. It's tougher to break apart a defense with ball movement when that defense rotates faster and covers more ground than the competition you're used to. It just wouldn't work like that. 

I really don't think the USA women's team vs any D1 or D2 NCAA mens squad would be a fair contest. Games against section bound D1 and D2 California high school teams could be competitive, but I still see them losing 9 times out of 10 against top squads where  on average 60% of the starting lineup is going on to play college ball. 

The difference in physical athleticism between elite male athletes and elite female athletes is far greater than people realize because you don't really get to see the two in direct comparison that often. 

 

[dland24]

Color me shocked that Ska is defending the USA Women's team.

The USA Women would get destroyed by a D-1 or D-2 team.

 

[Clyde Frog]

The difference in physical athleticism between elite male athletes and elite female athletes is far greater than people realize because you don't really get to see the two in direct comparison that often. 

This.

Back in high school the guys basketball team would play against the girls basketball team every once and a while to prep them if they had a big upcoming game and we would just destroy them. The girls coach would even give us rules that we couldn't jump for rebounds. But the athleticsm was far too apart. It was really pick your poison with them playing zone or man too. It was actually very satisfying being on another level over your opponent. You know what was the biggest thing I noticed though and what is also most over looked? Playing in a much faster environment develops a higher intellect on the court. The pace of a men's game is 10x faster which means your decision making is 10x faster than women's. it was like playing with a cheat code where your opponent is in slow motion. They're not used to someone sitting on the block covering 15 feet of ground the second you pass the ball to pick it off for an open lay up. They aren't used to the cuts and movements being my made by the men on offense. Im gonna go ahead and put this in caps. THEYRE NOT USED TO SOMEONE GOING BACK DOOR FOR AN ALLEY OOP DUNK I'm not kidding when it felt like it was a cheat code cause we were wall making crazy plays we would have never been able to do against other guys due to them being on par with us in terms of athleticsm.

Honestly, I would imagine high school girls and boys are closer in terms of athleticsm than a
D-1 team and the US Women's team. Any D-1 team has a dude who can probably throw the ball off the backboard and windmill it. Where as you got WNBA all-stars looking like this


You know after watching that video. I have just come to the conclusion if you think any women's team of any kind can beat a D-1 men's team you are not only wrong but out of your damn mind. WNBA All-star with a 6 inch vertical

 

[Gex the Damaja]

^That video was wow, She was happy as hell too.

 

[doitallpaul]

no

 

[ham city]

^That video was wow, She was happy as hell too.

The announcer, "That was fuuuuuun" 

In all seriousness, I have a lot of respect for women's athletics.

I've coached women's soccer before and in different ways it can be even more enjoyable than coaching men's soccer but people don't do woman athletes any favors when they lie to themselves.