Caitlin Clark’s former coach has advice the Fever can’t afford to ignore

Building around a generational talent like Caitlin Clark isn’t always easy. So far, the Fever have met the challenge fairly well, building a veteran-heavy potential contender around Clark in only her second season. After years of losing, the Fever want to establish a winning culture in Indiana, with Clark at the center of it. 

Clark’s former coach, Lisa Bluder has some advice on building and maintaining a good culture around Caitlin Clark that the Fever should try to heed as best as possible. 

In a recent interview with The Athletic, Bluder spoke on the culture she built around Caitlin Clark at Iowa and all the work that went into it.

“But I also think sometimes people think culture is…I don’t know, people think, ‘Oh, we got Caitlin, so we got a good culture,’” Bluder said. “No, we had a good culture, and that’s one of the reasons we got Caitlin. So it’s a work in progress all the time. Because you have to reestablish that culture every single year. You can’t just assume it’s going to happen again.”

The Fever must maintain a good culture to ensure long-term success

Her comments are great advice for a Fever organization trying to garner long-term success with Clark as the face of the franchise. Building and reestablishing a good culture year after year is the key to doing just that. Not only will a good culture ensure that Clark is happy in Indiana and that she sticks around for as long as possible, but it will also allow the team to attract other big-time players. A good culture is how Bluder got Clark to play for her team and that is also the way the Fever can surround their core with other great players.

Playing with a generational talent will always be intriguing to WNBA players, especially veterans hoping to compete for a championship while helping the next generation along in the progress. However, the lure of a great talent is not always enough. Players also want to play for teams that have established winning cultures that allow every player to succeed and thrive. 

That is what the Fever must build and establish year after year to ensure that Clark is always surrounded by the best players possible. Free agency is one of the best ways to build a contender in the WNBA—if players want to play for your team. The Fever experienced that first-hand this offseason. As soon as DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard joined the team in free agency, Indiana was elevated to contender status. 

The Fever can’t just rely on the appeal of playing with Clark to attract players or on Clark’s presence alone to create the team’s culture in the future. The front office, the coaching staff, and the core players will have to work together to follow Bluder’s advice and reestablish a positive culture every season.