Ever since the Indiana Fever fired Christie Sides from the position of head coach, fans have been speculating about who could take the job next. And the two names that seem to rise up in every discussion are Stephanie White and Cheryl Miller. While Miller did enjoy coaching Clark in the WNBA All-Star Team, White seemingly had a connection with the ROTY that has come to light now.
“I was able to go to Caitlin Clark’s first ever regular season WNBA game and I’m watching the morning shoot around and Caitlin Clark. I would describe as someone who is a little reserved, maybe shy, and as other players are engaging with each other as the two teams are swapping opportunities to practice on the court, the first person that Caitlin Clark spoke to was Stephanie White,” Ayala divulged.
When Clark was about to be drafted in the W, White had commented, “To me, I think it’s Caitlin Clark,” opining that she was the most W-ready player among the new batch. Furthermore, since White had observed the former NCAA Queen in college, she recounted that “she has gotten better every year, she put on six pounds of muscle from a season ago… and she reads the game.” Therefore, if Sides has been fired so as to get a new coach who can form the team around Clark then, White might be the perfect choice.
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“Now Stephanie White, has covered Caitlin’s games as a part…of the broadcast for Big Ten, and was very complimentary of Caitlin Clark. So again, if Christie Sides maybe wasn’t the right fit, if this indeed is a move to activate and get more from Caitlin Clark, then Stephanie White is likely at the top of the list,” Ayala added on CBS Sports.
Moreover, when the Connecticut Sun clashed with the Fever during the regular season, and Clark struggled to do her bit, the 47-year-old praised the Iowa-alumna, expounding, “She is going to be fine. It’s two games in, are you kidding me?” She even defended Clark at that time, expressing that “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, in two weeks.”
Meanwhile, according to the latest update, White has parted ways with the Connecticut Sun. She stayed with the Sun for the 2023-24 season. And in that time she helped the Sun get to the WNBA Finals. Therefore, it came as a shock when she agreed to go in different directions. Maybe this is her first step towards taking a role with the Indiana Fever. However, the question remains if Sides was fired to make the team more conducive to Clark’s style of play.
Was Christie Sides opposing Caitlin Clark?
There is no doubt that Sides initially did not make Clark the center of the game. Therefore, before the Olympics break, the Fever were struggling. There were even some games where Clark wasn’t given the final shot, despite the team trailing by margins when the former NCAA Queen could have turned the tables with her logo threes. However, that changed after the Olympics break was over.
Once the Fever got back from the Olympics break, they made a team round Clark. While Kelsey Mitchell supported her in the backcourt, Lexie Hull, Aliyah Boston, and Katie Lou Samuelson gave their best support to the 22-year-old. Thus, Fever lost only 5 games out of the 14 they played. And that got them a place in the WNBA playoff for the first time since 2016.
Though internally it isn’t known if Sides favored Clark or not, there is no denying that she did take the Fever to a wonderful position. Hopefully, the next coach will help the Indianapolis-based team in the pursuit of their second WNBA title, and perhaps Clark will be at the center of it.
