Caitlin Clark Made Her Opinion of Rumored Next Fever Coach Stephanie White Very Clear
Earlier on Monday, it was announced that 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year Stephanie White will not be returning as the head coach of the Connecticut Sun next season.
While White and the Sun parting ways wasn't necessarily a surprise given recent reporting on her rumored departure, the timing is interesting given that the Indiana Fever fired head coach Christie Sides on Sunday.
The expectation around the league is that it's now only a matter of time before the Fever announce that they have hired White to replace Sides.
Not only does this pairing make sense because White is an elite coach who has both played and coached for the Fever franchise in the past, but she has also offered clear praise of Fever superstar Caitlin Clark.
Early in the season, White said, "When I'm looking at all these things that people are talking about with Caitlin Clark, it's like 'Guys, chill out.' She is going to be fine. It's two games in, are you kidding me?" during a postgame press conference.
"She's a student of the game, she got better every year. You're not just going to absorb all of the new information that's coming at you in two games... It takes time. And she will, I have no doubt about it," White continued.
Stephanie White telling everyone to chill out on Caitlin Clark after her first 2 games. She’s going to be the perfect coach for the Fever. pic.twitter.com/wYY0SeysAT
— chris (@cxrtichris) October 27, 2024
And a recently resurfaced comment from Clark earlier this year shows the adoration appears to be mutual.
"She has obviously called a lot of my games all throughout college, and I just think she has a really great basketball mind," Clark said of White during a Fever press conference, per X user @slowlyslide.
"I think she has done a great job calling college games... She's a trailblazer, honestly. I think she has always been somebody who has been supportive of my game, and it has been fun to talk to her at shootarounds," Clark continued.
Notice how caitlin described stephanie white. You think she ever called christie a “great basketball mind”? Its always shes a kind lady lmaoo pic.twitter.com/j03U07tOnb
— sofia (@slowlyslide) October 29, 2024
Now it seems that Clark will get to benefit from White's great basketball mind very soon.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.