Stephanie White must feel 22 when it comes to coaching Caitlin Clark

Perhaps the most important domino to fall in the WNBA's offseason coaching carousel fell on Friday when the Fever announced the hiring of former Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White.

Indiana is making White its head coach for several reasons. Not only has she played for and coached the Fever in the past, but her admiration for Indiana franchise player Caitlin Clark – who clearly supports the hiring – has been made clear.

White even went so far as to compare Clark to global music icon Taylor Swift on an April 2024 episode of the Fieldhouse Files podcast with Scott Agness.

“I've been fortunate enough to call a number of their games throughout my career, but there's been nothing like this this season,” White said of Clark on the podcast. “In fact, I called their Maryland game.” . I'll never forget it because I was in the same hotel as her.

“I come down the escalator three hours before the game. The hotel is just full. Hundreds of people. It's locked down like it would be for an NBA team or an NFL team. There are security guards everywhere.

“These people were in the lobby of the hotel just to get a look at Caitlin Clark and this Iowa Hawkeye team. In fact, I spoke to someone yesterday who said she was the Taylor Swift of women's basketball. That's what a non-basketball person calls her. “It’s the craziness of this team and Caitlin Clark’s ability to captivate a national audience,” she added.

Clearly White feels like “22”; Both because it's Taylor Swift's legendary song and because Clark wears number 22 for Fever.

And 22 is also the number White wore during her playing days with the Fever.

Spirits in Indiana are currently high.