Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White is not one to mince words - in regards to officiating, or in regards to the effort from her own team. It's a huge part of why she was the perfect hire for the Fever this offseason. A team led by two young stars in Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston needs direction from a coach like her.
Sheprovided some direction, so to speak, about her team after their 77-58 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday, commenting on the lack of physicality that she saw from Indiana and their inability to handle that same thing from the Dream the entire game.
"I think they hit us in the mouth. Their physicality on the defensive end really affected us. It took us out of what we wanted to do, and forced us to rush offensively...Our ability to match that physicality on the defensive end, our positioning, our connectedness, I thought wasn't there. And they took advantage of it," said White in her postgame press conference.
One part that specifically stood out from her press conference, though, was what she said about whatshe wants to see change in practicemoving forward.
"We've just got to get the guys that we practice against to continue to beat the s*** out of us, to be physical and to make things difficult for us. We've got to be able to handle that. I think growth, in terms of mental toughness, in terms of being able to stay focused and locked in... are all things that we can continue to work on in practice."
White doesn't mince words regarding the Fever's lack of physicality
White might be exaggerating, especially considering she was laughing a bit when speaking to this issue for Indiana, but then again, they could definitely use some more physicality on their defense.
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White iscoming from years of coachinga Connecticut Sun team that featured players like Alyssa Thomas and Bri Jones, two very tough WNBA players on both ends of the floor that are far from being afraid of contact. That entire Connecticut team, as a matter of fact, was known for being a physical team that could handle hits.
She's definitely trying to get Indiana to that point since the Sun were so successful by being that sort of unit. While the Fever might not have the personnel at the moment to establish that identity, having players like DeWanna Bonner, Aari McDonald (for now), and Aliyah Boston help to create a foundation for handling physicality.
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