Stephanie White Expects Caitlin Clark’s Injury-Plagued Season to Be a “Blip” in Her Career
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White expressed her hope that star Caitlin Clark’s injury-marred second season will be a mere blip in her career. White believes Clark will learn from the adversity she has faced so early in her professional journey.Clark, the first pick of the 2024 draft, was only able to participate in 13 games this season. Her last appearance was on July 15, when she suffered a right groin injury in the final minute of the Fever’s victory over the Connecticut Sun. Previously, she had been out with injuries to her left quadriceps and groin. In addition, in a training session in August, she suffered a bone contusion in her right ankle, which forced her to rehabilitate simultaneously with her groin injury. White revealed that the team has had a “preliminary conversation” about how Clark’s ongoing rehabilitation will be until the end of the season. A more in-depth discussion about the plan for the offseason is planned once the Fever season ends. Clark “has been working very hard to be able to return,” White said. The team’s recent trip to the West Coast was a crucial opportunity to assess whether they could integrate her into the game with contact and regain her stamina at a high level on consecutive days. However, with the end of the regular season on Tuesday and a playoff spot not guaranteed, the Fever felt like they were running out of time. “We just couldn’t get to where we thought we needed to be for her to participate at this level,” White explained. “This is partly physical, in terms of rehabilitation, and partly stamina and the ability to play at the required level. We need to rebuild that stamina to play, because all these matches are now like playoff games. There’s a sense of urgency and a level of intensity in how they’re played.”“There’s a hunger and a motivation that comes from not having played and not wanting to go through that again,” White commented, a day after it was confirmed that Clark would not play again this season. “This will be reflected in her training, her mentality, and her preparation, aspects as important as what she learns about the game and her teammates.”
Stephanie White
Before this season, Clark had never missed a game during her college career at Iowa or in her rookie season in the WNBA, where she earned first-team WNBA honors and finished fourth in the MVP voting. However, her second season, which began with much promise, saw Clark absent from more than five consecutive games. She missed the Indianapolis All-Star festivities and ultimately missed the final eight weeks of the season.
“All the injuries she’s had and the amount of work she’s done to be in a position to play and, ultimately, make this decision, generate disappointment,” White commented. “There’s the obvious frustration of not having been healthy all season. But ultimately, I think the big picture is the most important thing, and those are conversations we continue to have. The message has been that her long-term health and well-being, and being 100% when she’s ready to play, are the most important things.” Clark is the fifth Fever player to be ruled out for the season due to injury, joining Aari McDonald (foot), Sydney Colson (knee), Sophie Cunningham (knee), and Chloe Bibby (knee). Nevertheless, Indiana (22-20) is still on track to achieve its second consecutive playoff berth and is competing alongside the Seattle Storm and the Los Angeles Sparks for one of the two remaining spots. The Fever defeated the Chicago Sky on Friday with a score of 97-77. They will face the Washington Mystics away on Sunday and the Minnesota Lynx at home in the last game of the regular season on Tuesday. Indiana needs to win just one of its remaining games, or for the Sparks to lose one of their three remaining games, to qualify for the postseason, which would be the team’s second consecutive playoff berth. With Friday’s win, the Fever also secured back-to-back finishes above .500 for the first time since 2015-16, after which the team languished and missed the playoffs for seven consecutive years. “It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” said Kelsey Mitchell, the longest-tenured player on the team, who finished with 20 points and 8 assists on Friday. “I think it’s important that we enjoy this a little bit, because I remember where this group was [before their change].”However, Indiana doesn’t want to let their guard down, knowing they must play better to secure a spot in the postseason.
“The work isn’t done,” Natasha Howard stated. “We still have things we need to work on before the start of the playoffs… we need to focus on playing defense and defending without committing fouls. If we achieve that, it will be something terrifying for other teams.”
