rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
As the WNBA calendar flips toward another season, Indiana Fever country finds itself buzzing with anticipation.
Last year, Caitlin Clark exploded onto the professional stage, rewriting rookie record books and turning Gainbridge Fieldhouse into a near-capacity spectacle night in and night out.
Advertisement
Now, with Stephanite White, a former Indiana Miss Basketball, returning to Indianapolis, the Fever have made a statement that’s sending shivers through the rest of the league.
Yet no one expected her very first public message, delivered on an episode of the Good Follow podcast with Ros Gold-Onwude, to sound like a warning siren to the rest of the WNBA.
White’s challenge is simple: make Clark even harder to game-plan against.
“From a basketball perspective, making sure we help her diversify her finishing ability so it isn’t predictable,” White explained. “We can’t be as fundamentally predictable with as much athleticism, speed, quickness, and as much as the gameplan is going to be geared towards her.”
Advertisement
By turning Clark from a handle-centric maestro into a multifaceted threat, capable of setting screens, attacking from the weak side, and unleashing counterattacks, Indiana plans to keep opposing teams constantly on their toes.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22). © Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
White, a 1999 NCAA champion at Purdue who led the Fever to the 2015 WNBA Finals and just clinched Coach of the Year honors in Connecticut, has big plans for her homecoming.
For rival WNBA head coaches, this message is unsettling to say the least.
If Clark’s already historic rookie season (19.2 ppg and WNBA-best 8.4 apg) was just the opening act, what does year two look like under White’s tutelage?
Advertisement
Related: WNBA Rookie Makes Feeling of Caitlin Clark Very Clear
Related: Caitlin Clark Latest Television Appearance Turns Heads Before WNBA Draft
