INDIANAPOLIS — New Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White always knew what Caitlin Clark was going to become.
White, who was the head coach of the Connecticut Sun from 2023-24, played two of the first four games of the season against the Fever. She, as well as most of the other coaches and players in the league, knew about Clark’s star power, the excitement and new fans she brought to the league.
She also had a front-row seat to Clark’s early struggles — including the league-record 10 turnovers in her WNBA debut against the Sun.
Fever fans, new and old, had a lot to say about those early struggles on social media. But, as an experienced coach at the college and WNBA level, White knew it was a process.
“I’m looking at all these things that people are talking about with Caitlin Clark, and it’s like, ‘Guys, chill out,’” White said near the beginning of the season. “She’s gonna be fine. It’s two games in, are you kidding me? She’s a student of the game. She got better every year. You’re not just going to absorb all the new information that’s coming at you in two games, in two weeks. It takes time. She will, I have no doubt about it.”
Indiana Fever news: Stephanie White back in Indiana to coach Fever, Caitlin Clark
White knew she was going to be right. And 38 games later, when Clark had broken the rookie scoring and assists record, league game and season assists record, and placed fourth in MVP voting, those early-season struggles were miles away.
There are still some things to work on, of course. Clark said following the season she’s just scratching the surface with what she can do in the WNBA, and with a full offseason now ahead of her, she has the time to make those changes if she needs to.
“She’s a student of the game, she’ll continue to get better,” White added. “And these are also points that coaches then address, ‘Hey, let’s continue to work on this,’ but it’s really hard to work on some of those things in-season. So this might be an offseason thing: ‘Let’s continue to play to our strengths, let’s continue to get the ball to our players, and then, when we get time in the offseason, we’ll work on that next step, that next level.’”
As it turns out, White will be the one to lead Clark through those next steps after a historic Rookie of the Year season.
White officially returned to the Fever franchise as its new head coach on Friday, tasked with leading Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell (assuming she re-signs) to a championship.
White and Clark already have a relationship, as the new Fever coach is a color analyst for NBA and Big Ten basketball games during the WNBA offseason. White called many of Clark’s games while she was at Iowa, and the two have formed a connection through that.
“I think she has a really great basketball mind,” Clark said in May. “I think she’s done a great job calling college games, it’s been great to see her on NBA games. I think what she’s done is just, she obviously has been a trailblazer, honestly. I think she’s somebody who’s been supportive of my game, and it’s been fun to talk to her at shootarounds throughout my college career and has always been really supportive.”
The Fever already went through a lot of development in 2024, improving to a 20-20 season and the No. 6 seed in the playoffs under Christie Sides, who was fired Sunday. It was their first playoff berth since 2016, as well as their first .500 record in that span.
Clark and Mitchell developed into a dangerous backcourt duo, with Mitchell shooting 40.8% from 3-point range and Clark shooting 34.4%. Both broke the Fever’s single-season scoring record, and Clark finished just two points ahead of Mitchell to lead Indiana in scoring.
The Fever had three All-Stars, with Boston joining Clark and Mitchell in Phoenix in July.
“When you talk about the job that Kelsey and Caitlin have done from a perimeter standpoint, they’re a backcourt combo that is really tough to match up with,” White said ahead of the playoffs. “And then you have Aliyah Boston on the interior, certainly along with what NaLyssa (Smith) brings, and Lexie Hull from an energy standpoint and knocking down shots, they’re playing really confident basketball. They’re playing really well together, and they’re a tough matchup.”
The Fever’s top players seemed excited about White’s hiring, with Clark reposting the announcement on her Instagram story and commenting “Fevv showwwwwww.” Boston and Hull also put the announcement on their Instagram stories, with Boston adding “Let’s get it!”
Smith, who was open about her frustrations with her lack of usage in the 2024 season after her minutes wavered, also put ‘@indianafever’ back in her Instagram and X bios following Sides’ firing. Smith previously took that tag out of her bios following the season, replacing it with ‘@wnba’.
Smith put the Fever’s announcement of White as head coach on her Instagram story as well, adding the intro of the song ‘KYLIE!!!’ by Lucki that says “Well, we play whatever time the championship is, B, that’s what time we play / When’s championship time? That’s what time my team play.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark: Indiana Fever’s Stephanie White on Caitlin Clark
