As soon as Caitlin Clark got to know that White had been hired as the new Head Coach, she jumped in with both feet. “I have the source now”, she must have thought. She needed to know how they managed to limit her production to just 11 points on 23.5% shooting from the field. And well, the next thing you know is that Clark is making an unusual demand, as ESPN’s Alexa Philippou shared, “White actually told me that Clark asked for the scouting report that they used against her when White was with the Sun last year“.
Yeah, well, that is just how Clark is: “I crave wanting to be better.” True to the Kobe logo on her boots, the Indiana Fever star continues to wow the entire league with her work ethic and drive to get better. You can coach basketball, you can coach basketball IQ, but the desire to hustle? No one in the entire world can coach that into a player. How she described herself to Philippou? As self aware. And she truly is. She does not beat around the bush. For her success means one thing right now: A championship.
And she also knows that her logo threes won’t be the only assets that will propel her there. It’s what she holds in common with the team, her defense. The team last season gave up 87.7 points last season, allowed opponents to shoot 44.1% overall and 36.1% from beyond the arc. Now, anyone who knows basketball knows that such numbers don’t get you anywhere near a ring. As for Clark herself, of course, she’s not a traffic cone, but she’s certainly not like Maya Moore either.
Remember Fever’s 89-72 loss to the Sun, when Sides benched Clark with three other starters and well, was brutal in what she said. “I’m gonna start with — you can’t, at this level, coach effort,” Sides had said. “I thought we let little things on the offensive end frustrate us and we didn’t play good defense. Everything they got was easy“.
Hence, comes the urgent plea from Ros from the show Good Follow. “When we interviewed Stephanie White, the coach of the Fever, she said we’ve gotta be a better defensive team,” the reporter said. “And the good news is, they really only got one way to go defensively, and that is up.” However, Clark won’t be alone in her hustle either.
White, ever since she joined, has been very clear about working on defense and she wasted no time in getting to work. She added Brianna January as the assistant coach. Just google her and you will understand why she is a treasure-box pick for Fever’s defensive aspirations. She then added veterans like DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard. Even their draft picks were made keeping in mind the urgency on this particular front. So, Indiana is now filled with great defensive presences, so the ball is now in Caitlin Clark’s court.
Luckily, we know what she is like when backed into a corner. And she has seen this move before at Iowa as well. There’s no doubt that Caitlin Clark will go the extra mile to outwork her competition, and upping her defense is certainly on the cards. She has put herself through hell this off-season, and we can’t wait to see what results she brings!
However, all is not well for the Indiana Fever. Sophie Cunningham, a major piece of the puzzle for Indiana’s offense, is uncertain for their season opener. But what does Caitlin Clark have to say about this injury following some interesting practice footage? Let’s find out!
Caitlin Clark backs Sophie Cunningham after ankle injury
Injuries are a part and parcel of playing basketball, especially at such a high level. But when Sophie Cunningham rolled her ankle during a team practice on May 10th, Fever fans felt some panic. After all, Cunningham solidified her place in the squad because of her sharp-shooting and scoring prowess.
Without her, Indiana’s second-unit guard play would definitely take a huge hit. However, even though she was listed as uncertain for their season-opener on the 17th, Cunningham could be seen participating in the Fever’s practice before the game. Not only that, she sank a shot from half-court and declared her fitness to the entire team. “I told you guys I’m ready to play!” She said.
Washington Mystics Emily Engstler (21), Indiana Fever Sophie Cunningham (8) and Washington Mystics Sonia Citron (22) fight for a loose ball Saturday, May 3, 2025, during a preseason game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Retweeting a video clip of Cunningham’s half-court shot by Scott Agness, CC summed it up quite well. “I think her ankle is fine.” Clark said, putting her trust in her teammate’s words. After all, a half-court shot wipes almost anything away!
However, as per updates from just hours ago, White and Co. have made the tough decision to sit her out. And as of now, when she would return remains unclear. But if we can trust Cunningham and Clark, it should not be long. This decision, though, is probably for the best, as White said, “I mean, you take off three days of practice and then come and try to get the money at a half-court shot….I think that’s a little fraudulent. I think that she’s made great progress, you know, I think the biggest thing is perspective, right? We don’t want to do anything that will set her back, that will hinder her progress.”
Her player-first approach reflected greatly in her words: “Sometimes you have to save players from themselves“.
Anyway, the team has proven against the Mystics that they can do just fine with one star player out. So, we don’t any reason to doubt them as they take the stage against Angel Reese and the Sky at 3 p.m. ET on ABC on Saturday.
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