Indiana Fever's Stephanie White on Caitlin Clark

INDIANAPOLIS – New Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White always knew what Caitlin Clark would become.

White, who was head coach of the Connecticut Sun from 2023 to 2024, played two of the first four games of the season against the Fever. She and most of the league's other coaches and players 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 a league-record 10 turnovers in her WNBA debut against the Sun.

Fever fans new and old had a lot to say about these early fights on social media. But as an experienced coach at the college and WNBA levels, White knew it was a process.

“I look at all these things that people talk to Caitlin Clark about, and it's like, 'Guys, relax,'” White said earlier in the season. “She'll be fine. It's been two games already, are you kidding me? She is a student of the game. She got better every year. You're not just going to absorb all the new information that comes your way in two games and two weeks. It takes time. She will, I have no doubt about it.”

White knew she would be right. And 38 games later, when Clark had broken the rookie scoring and assists record, the league game and season assists record and finished fourth in MVP voting, the early season problems were miles away.

Of course there is still a lot to work on. Clark said after the season that she is 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 learning the game and will continue to improve,” White added. “And those are also things that coaches bring up: 'Hey, let's keep working on this,' but it's really difficult to work on some of these things during the season. So that could 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 have time in the offseason, we’ll work on the next step, the next level.” .'”

As it turns out, White will guide Clark through the next steps after a historic Rookie of the Year season.

White officially returned to the Fever franchise as the 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 serves as a color analyst for NBA and Big Ten basketball games during the WNBA offseason. During her time at Iowa, White attended many of Clark's games, and the two developed a bond as a result.

“I think she has a really great basketball spirit,” Clark said in May. “I think she did a great job hosting the college games. It was great to see them at NBA games. I think what she did is just, honestly, she was obviously a trailblazer. I think she's someone who supports my game. “And she's been fun to talk to at shootarounds throughout my college career and she's always been very supportive.”

The Fever have already undergone a lot of development in 2024, improving to a 20-20 season and a No. 6 seed in the playoffs under Christie Sides, who was fired Sunday. It was their first playoff berth since 2016 and 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 season scoring record, and Clark finished the game just two points ahead of Mitchell and led Indiana in scoring.

The Fever had three All-Stars, with Boston joining Clark and Mitchell in Phoenix in July.

“When you talk about the work that Kelsey and Caitlin have done from the rim, it's a backcourt combination that's really hard to compete with,” White said before the playoffs. “And then you've got Aliyah Boston on the interior, certainly along with what NaLyssa (Smith) brings, and Lexie Hull, in terms of the energy and the shots, they're playing really confident basketball. “They play really well together and are a tough opponent.”

The Fever's top players seemed excited about White's signing, with Clark reposting the announcement on her Instagram Story and commenting, “Fevv showwwwwww.” Boston and Hull also posted the announcement on their Instagram Stories, with Boston adding: “Let's get it!”

Smith, who spoke openly about her frustration with her lack of action in the 2024 season after her minutes fluctuated, also added “@indianafever” back to her Instagram and X-bios following Sides' firing. Smith had already removed that tag from her bios after the season and replaced it with “@wnba.”

Smith also posted the Fever's announcement of White as head coach on her Instagram Story, adding the intro to the song “KYLIE!!!” from Lucki, which states: “Well, we play whatever time the championship is taking place. B, this is the time we play / When is the championship time?” This is the time my team plays.”

Indiana Fever's Stephanie White on Caitlin Clark

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