Fever coach accused of snubbing Caitlin Clark with odd response after heroic fourth quarter
Caitlin Clark finally found her shot Friday night against the Washington Mystics, hitting five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including the game-tying shot with 1.7 seconds left to force overtime.
That, in itself, could be the story. Clark has stunk this season from beyond the arc, but she found her shot when it mattered most.
The game-tying three was a thing of beauty. Frankly, the WNBA should be foaming at the mouth today. Forget the noise. They need Clark to be good. Believe me, I've seen the numbers.
When she's hitting buzzer beaters and going viral on social media, it's a fever dream for the WNBA and the folks in marketing. Nobody else in the league comes even close.
Yeah, the execs LOVE that. Trust me.
Anyway, that's not the story today. The Fever went on to lose in overtime. That's also not the story.
Instead, the story is this ... odd ... response by Fever coach Stephanie White after the game when asked specifically about Clark's late-game heroics.
Take a look:
"I thought our whole group showed resilience in that rally we showed the ability to make tough shots," White said. "We showed the ability to make tough shots. We had some really good time and execution moments, offensively and defensively ... we just have to have more of it consistently."
So, everyone is mad at this response today. Social media is a cesspool, and the pitchforks are aimed at Stephanie White right now.
Fans are accusing her of snubbing Clark. Ignoring Clark. Downplaying her fourth quarter effort, which included 17 points. She finished with 32 points and seven 3s, by the way.
Not bad!
I could go on and on. It's a bloodbath over on Elon's app today. Everyone is fired up.
Personally ... I don't really see a problem with the answer. It's coach speak 101. Some folks say White has never liked Caitlin Clark. Perhaps. I don't know that for sure. Nobody does.
FEVER COACH STEPHANIE WHITE REVEALS SHE WAS FINED OVER APPARENT CRITICISM OF WNBA OFFICIATING
But I'm not sure what she's supposed to say here that we don't already know? We all saw Clark hit the game-tying shot. We saw what she did in the fourth quarter. We know she's a great player. Do fans really need the coach to vindicate them by stating the obvious? Seems petty to me.
Coaches are ALWAYS hardest on the best player. Again, it's coaching 101. It comes with the territory. What's that old quote from "Remember the Titans?"
"You wanna be a star, you'd better give me a star effort."
Feel like that's what we have here between Caitlin Clark and Stephanie White. The Fever lost. Clark, for as good as she was in the fourth quarter, still shot 10 of 28 from the field. Frankly, I would hope Caitlin Clark had no interest in getting her roses after a loss, no matter how good she was down the stretch.
Anyway, where does everyone stand on this? Big deal or non-story?
Let me know!