Tag: Stephanie White

Indiana Fever hire new head coach

Caitlin Clark has her next head coach.

Caitlin Clark has her next WNBA head coach.

The Indiana Fever announced on Friday that they have hired Stephanie White as the franchise’s next head coach. White succeeds Christie Sides who was fired on Sunday.

“As we enter this new era of Fever basketball, I am thrilled to welcome Stephanie back to the franchise,” Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said. “Stephanie is a part of the fabric of this franchise, both as a former player and as a member of our championship coaching staff, so I’m quite familiar with her elite basketball IQ and leadership style. I am confident there is no one who better understands our culture or is more equipped to lead our group of players to the next level.”

White takes over the Fever after two years as the head coach of the Connecticut Sun. Under White’s direction, the Sun compiled a 55-25 mark over the past two seasons, earned the No. 3 seed both years and advanced to the WNBA Semifinals.

During the 2023 season, White was named WNBA Coach of the Year and the Associated Press Coach of the Year, as well as being named a head coach in the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game.

White shared her excitement to take over the reins of the Fever franchise.

“I am incredibly proud and honored to return home to Indiana and lead the Fever during such a pivotal moment in this franchise’s history, as well as during such an important time throughout women’s athletics,” White said. “This franchise has and always will be committed to winning and I look forward to working every day to help deliver another WNBA title to the greatest basketball fans in the world.”

White’s appointment confirms the initial report from the Chicago Sun-Times’ Annie Costabile that the Fever would hire White as their next head coach.

That initial report gained traction when the Connecticut Sun announced earlier this week that they had parted ways with White.

White’s connections to the Fever franchise run deep.

White has close ties to Indiana senior advisor Lin Dunn and Fever president of basketball and business operations Kelly Krauskopf. After starting her WNBA coaching career as an assistant with the Chicago Sky from 2007-10, White became an assistant coach for Indiana from 2011-14 under Dunn.

Then, Krauskopf, who was the Fever’s president from 2000-18, gave White her first WNBA head coaching gig with the Fever in 2015 after Dunn retired from coaching. White led Indiana to the WNBA Finals in her first season and to another postseason appearance in 2016.

White also played five seasons in the WNBA, including from 2000-04 with the Fever. Her ties to the state of Indiana include her time at Purdue where she led the Boilermakers to the 1999 national championship and was named the Big Ten Player of the Year.

White also served as Vanderbilt’s head women’s basketball coach from 2016-21.

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3 things to know about Stephanie White, the new head coach of Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever

The Stephanie White hire is brilliant for Indiana

It was shocking to see Christie Sides being let go of by the Indiana Fever after having such a successful season.

You just knew that, if Sides was on the way out, the Fever had to have a plan to bring in someone who might be able to take the Fever to the next level.

That’s exactly what they’re getting with Stephanie White.

The former Connecticut Sun head coach is heading to Indiana to coach Caitlin Clark and the Fever, according to the latest from ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. White is heading back to Indiana after leading the Sun to the WNBA Semifinals for two straight seasons.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Fever’s new head coach.

She’s been here before

(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Quite literally. White was on the Fever coaching staff from 2011 to 2016 and was actually the team’s head coach in 2015 and 2016. She coached the Fever to the WNBA Finals in 2015 before losing to the Minnesota Lynx in five games.

White’s first tenure as the Fever’s head coach ended with her record at 37-31 with a playoff appearance and a WNBA Finals berth. That’s not bad at all.

She’s an Indiana basketball legend

She was a member of the Indiana Fever’s inaugural roster in 2000 and played for the team for four seasons from 2000 to 2004.

She’s also an Indiana native and was a star at Purdue before moving to the WNBA and playing professionally. She was the National Player of the Year in 1995, the state’s all-time leading scorer when she graduated and she even won a national championship with Purdue in 1999.

Stephanie White is the best of Indiana basketball.

Caitlin Clark is excited about the hire

The Fever star liked the team’s post on Instagram announcing the hire and she also commented underneath the post.

She seems ready to get to work.

Connecticut Sun part with head coach Stephanie White

The Connecticut Sun announced they are parting with head coach Stephanie White, clearing the way for a possible return to the Indiana Fever.

The Connecticut Sun announced on Monday that they have parted with head coach Stephanie White.

“We parted on good terms because some of (White’s) decision-making process was not just about basketball,” Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti told ESPN.

White went 55-25 with Connecticut, steering the Sun to 27-13 and 28-12 regular season marks each of the past two seasons. Connecticut earned the No. 3 seed and advanced to the WNBA Semifinals each of the past two campaigns.

This move by the Sun clears the way for White’s reported return as head coach of the Indiana Fever. After Indiana fired former head coach Christie Sides on Sunday morning, multiple sources indicated to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Annie Costabile that White was expected to be the Fever’s next head coach.

White was previously the head coach of the Indiana Fever during the 2015 and 2016 WNBA seasons. In 2015, White led the Fever to the WNBA Finals. In 2016, Indiana advanced back to the WNBA Playoffs.

White compiled 20-14 and 17-17 regular-season records with the Fever during the 2015 and 2016 WNBA seasons. White also played four WNBA seasons with the Fever from 2000-04.

White has close ties to Indiana senior advisor Lin Dunn and new Fever president of basketball and business operations Kelly Krauskopf. After starting her WNBA coaching career as an assistant with the Chicago Sky from 2007-10, White became an assistant coach for Indiana from 2011-14 under Dunn.

Then, Krauskopf, who was the Fever’s president from 2000-18, gave White her first WNBA head coaching gig with the Fever in 2015 after Dunn retired from coaching.

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The Fever firing head coach Christie Sides fuels Stephanie White reunion speculation

The Fever are seeking a new coach after their first playoff berth since 2016.

It was weird to hear reports last week that the Indiana Fever were interviewing Stephanie White for head coach considering the incumbent coach, Christie Sides, was still technically on the team.

Don’t get me wrong, White is a great coach and any team would be lucky to have her. She was, after all, the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year, and she led the Connecticut Sun to a combined 55-25 record the last two years. But the Fever already had a coach. And Sides led them to the playoffs this year for the first time since 2016.

Well, that’s no longer the case. Indiana has parted ways with Sides, the team announced Sunday, clearing the way for a potential reunion with White, whose first head coaching job was with the Fever in 2015 and 2016.

White also played the majority of her career with the Fever, from the team’s inaugural year in 2000 to 2004. And she was an assistant with the Fever from 2011-2014, which includes the team’s only championship in 2012.

Of course, the ball is in White’s corner to make a decision. The Chicago Sun-Times’ Annie Costabile reported Wednesday the Fever were one of three teams vying for White’s services, along with the Sun and Chicago Sky.

However, considering her history with the team, and the Fever having the brightest young star in the WBNA, Caitlin Clark, the opportunity in Indiana may be too good to pass up.

Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles officially ruled out for the season

What we hoped wasn’t true has been realized.

Saturday began with the hope that injured Notre Dame All-American guard [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] would play this season. Before the Irish’s 82-67 upset of UConn, Miles was spotted taking shots on the court. There even was speculation that she would play in this game, but she soon changed back into the bench garb she’s worn all season.

While the game still was going on, the Fox announcing team of Gus Johnson and Stephanie White casually let it slip on the air that Miles had told them she wouldn’t play at all this season. This fueled speculation about how true that was. Although [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] didn’t confirm it in her postgame news conference, a Notre Dame official soon confirmed to several Irish beat reporters that the worst fears were in fact true:

This obviously puts a damper on a great night and is a tough blow for the player who was the face of the program until [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] started turning heads this year. The good news is Miles will have two years of eligibility remaining, so she and Hidalgo still will have time to be teammates on the court. Still, Irish fans can’t help but wonder how differently this season would have gone had she been able to play.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty receive WNBA awards

This is the first time the Liberty had an individual win Executive of the Year.

The WNBA awards season is upon us and the league most recently announced the Executive of the Year and the Coach of the Year recipients. The Executive of the Year was voted on by the general manager of each of the league’s 12 teams while the Coach of the Year was voted on by a national panel of 60 sportswriters and broadcasters.

New York Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb was named the 2023 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year, the first time the Liberty have won the award.

Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White was named the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year. White is the fourth former player to win the award, joining Becky Hammon (2022), Sandy Brondello (2014) and Suzie McConnell-Serio (2004).

The rest of the season awards will be announced in the coming days:

  • Sept. 18: Sixth Player of the Year
  • Sept. 21: Most Improved Player
  • Sept. 26: Most Valuable Player
  • Oct. 2: Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie team
  • Oct. 5: Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defensive teams
  • Oct. 13: All-WNBA first and second teams
  • Oct. 24: Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award

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What are the challenges for a first-year head coach like Joe Mazzulla?

Mazzulla and his peer helming the Connecticut Sun, Stephanie White, break it down for us.

The NBA is no place for head coaches to rest on their laurels unless they also happen to be the architect of a championship dynasty. Even then, the room for error is surprisingly small in many cases.

This is even more true for first-year head coaches, both in the NBA and WNBA, as the Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla and the Connecticut Sun’s Stephanie White can easily attest.

The status of new coach can test the person at the helm of a team in a number of ways, from their relationships with the players, front office and the officials to how they get on with the media, ensure they don’t miss small but important details, or juggle competing interests.

And that’s just naming a few examples — if you want a better view of what it’s like to become a team in the league that is the pinnacle of your sport, listen to what White and Mazzulla had to say about it in a recent interview put together by the Celtics to such an end.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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