Sports
Caitlin Clark has a new coach. Here’s what to expect from Indiana Fever’s Stephanie White
Stephanie White couldn’t hide her enthusiasm at her introductory press conference for the Indiana Fever. Beyond her extensive ties to the organization and the region, White is stepping into a particularly exciting role as the head coach of a talented young team, led by the last two rookies of the year, Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark.
It was Clark’s historic rookie season that vaulted the Fever into the next phase of team building and prompted the franchise to seek out a coach of White’s pedigree — one who could make Indiana a championship contender. White has already been effusive in her praise of the Fever guard, suggesting that Clark could be the greatest point guard of all time and that her No. 22 (which was also White’s number as an Indiana player from 2000-2004) won’t ever be worn by another Fever player. Clark was already one of the best players in the league before White arrived in Indianapolis, but a primary role will be further developing Clark.
GO DEEPER
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever championship timeline accelerated by sudden coaching change
Here’s how she’ll try to do it:
• White’s desire to reduce Clark’s ball dominance has emerged as a theme. Although Clark was prolific as a passer and scorer, carrying both duties was a heavy weight. A 2025 goal will be to reduce that burden. That means playing Clark for fewer minutes but also experimenting with her role.
“Helping her anticipate what’s going to be coming her way, trying to move her around a little bit more on the floor so she’s not quite as easily predictable in what action’s happening,” White said.
• Looking back at White’s previous two seasons in Connecticut, much of the facilitating came from Alyssa Thomas in the frontcourt, which allowed the Sun to spring their shooters off the ball in a variety of ways. No other forward in the league can match Thomas’ playmaking, but Boston and NaLyssa Smith have enough passing ability to replicate one of Connecticut’s favorite sets.
The Sun often started possessions with Thomas at the top of the key, and a guard or wing running off of a stagger from the corner to then setting a screen for Thomas in the middle of the court. The staggered screens already put the defense in a bind to start the play, and if Clark were the backcourt player coming, that would put additional pressure on defenders to navigate the screens to stay attached. Even if the defense managed that, the result would be the ballhandler able to rumble her way through the paint. Smith seems ideally suited for that role.
That play is one of many examples of Connecticut stacking actions on top of actions. Look at this possession from opening night of 2024 when three separate screens led to a pick-and-roll for Ty Harris and Thomas. Presumably, the defense wouldn’t go under if Clark acts as the ballhandler, but with all the space cleared on that side of the floor, the screen-setter would at least have an easy roll to the basket.
More @ConnecticutSun stacking actions
Drag by ONO.
AT swings and then they set a stagger for Dijonai.
AT sets a wide pin for Ty Harris.
Empty corner PnR with Thomas & Ty.
The Indiana defense goes under and that’s too much airspace to give Ty Harris = Ty 3. pic.twitter.com/g8tq4llrHX— Evin Gualberto (@evin_gual) May 15, 2024
• White has expressed how impressed she is by Boston’s passing in the half court. Several of the Sun’s layered sets were intended to result in a big catching the ball at the elbow, where Boston (mimicking Brionna Jones) could then direct the action from the post. Indiana has great cutters, specifically Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull, for Boston to find from that setup in the elbow. Again, the idea is Clark factoring into the play by drawing her defender beyond the 3-point line but not required to create the scoring chance.
Of course, the combination of drag screens, pin-downs, and flares could all be decoys to eventually get Clark the ball anyway, albeit with the opportunity to attack a shifted defense rather than a set one.
“We can get to the same action on the second or third side,” White said. “We can get to it after a first or second action, being able to move her around a little bit more.”
White noted that Clark needs to add strength, which would aid in all of the goals she has laid out for the star guard. Strength should help Clark’s consistency on her jumper and her durability down the stretch of games — she shot 31.3 percent on 3s in clutch situations compared to 34.4 percent overall. It could also make her a better screener if she can generate more contact, and shooters already make the deadliest screeners because defenders don’t want to leave them.
• Clark’s main area of improvement, one that White has coached to great effect in Connecticut the last two years, will be focused on defense. Clark has been a non-factor on that end, and a player that the Sun even tried to hunt. In their first-round playoff series, Connecticut regularly ran the offense through the perimeter player Clark was defending and found a series of wide-open 3-pointers on the wing when Clark was unable to close out.
During the 2024 season, five of the top 20 players in defensive win shares came from the Sun, with Marina Mabrey, who arrived midseason, just missing the cut. A White-coached team will demand more defensive accountability, even from Clark. Success will require being “a little more tough-minded team on the defensive end of the floor.”
White has proven to be among the more adaptable coaches in the WNBA during her recent tenure. After Jones was lost for the 2023 season, she pivoted to a small-ball lineup, using Thomas essentially as a point center. The next year, Connecticut went back to the double-big look but still had the flexibility to downsize when necessary.
In Indiana, White’s creativity won’t be necessary to keep the Fever afloat. Her No. 1 priority will be to maximize a deeper roster with more talent and get the most out of Clark.
(Photos of Caitlin Clark and Stephanie White: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images, Chris Coduto / Getty Images)
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For the first time in more than two decades, the Illinois men’s basketball team will still be dancing when the Final Four tips off.
Iowa’s underdog run in the NCAA Tournament ended Saturday with a 71-59 loss to a dominant Illinois team. Before Illinois could cut down the nets at Houston’s Toyota Center, a buzzer malfunction caused a loud, roughly 10-minute delay.
The buzzer initially sounded signaling the end of a media timeout with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. The horn continued blaring for about another seven minutes.
A referee talks with the scorer’s table during an official’s timeout due to a broken shot clock horn during the first half of an Elite Eight game between Iowa and Illinois in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Players stood on the court ready to play for a couple of minutes before both teams started to warm up as the buzzer continued to sound.
It was finally silenced, to cheers from the crowd, but then the main scoreboard and video screen that hangs over the middle of the court went dark.
The game ultimately resumed with the big scoreboard still off. Two smaller scoreboards at each end of the arena were working.
Freshman guard Keaton Wagler scored 25 points to help secure Illinois’ first Final Four berth since 2005.
Keaton Wagler (23) of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles against Isaia Howard (23) of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Toyota Center March 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
This will be the sixth overall trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. The Fighting Illini will face either Duke or UConn next week in Indianapolis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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BASEBALL
CITY SECTION
Palisades 2, North Hollywood 1
South Gate 5, Sun Valley Poly 4
SOUTHERN SECTION
Alta Loma 5, Schurr 3
Anaheim Canyon 6, Segerstrom 4
Beaumont 13, San Jacinto Valley Academy 3
Bethel Christian 15, United Christian Academy 1
Brea Olinda 8, Tustin 2
Buena Park 5, Savanna 3
Cajon 9, Granite Hills 5
Claremont 13, Littlerock 2
Compton 12, Compton Centennial 3
Covina 9, San Marino 6
El Segundo 13, Palos Verdes 4
Ganesha 13, Santa Ana Foothill 3
Golden Valley 9, Lancaster 8
Hesperia 8, Miller 7
Katella 6, Canyon Springs 3
La Serna 5, Alhambra 2
Linfield Christian 10, Woodbridge 0
Long Beach Cabrillo 17, Hawthorne 1
Montclair 2, Vista del Lago 0
Moorpark 16, Foothill Tech 11
Oxford Academy 7, Century 6
Rancho Mirage 1, Indian Springs 0
Rancho Verde 9, Riverside Poly 5
San Dimas 13, Irvine 2
Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 14, HMSA 11
Sonora 7, Long Beach Wilson 6
St. Paul 5, El Modena 3
Troy 5, Hacienda Heights Wilson 2
Valley View 16, Carter 10
Whittier Christian 9, Estancia 3
INTERSECTIONAL
Dominguez 13, King/Drew 2
Downers Grove 11, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel
Downtown Magnets 12, Long Beach Jordan 5
Inglewood 10, Stella 0
Layton 5, Schurr 4
Kentucky Trinity 5, St. John Bosco 0
Murrieta Valley 10, Galena 7
Orange Lutheran 7, Florida Venice 6
Santa Barbara 14, Douglas 6
Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 16, Collins Family 1
St. Bernard 7, San Diego University City 5
Tonopah 23, Lone Pine 8
SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION
San Fernando 5, LA Roosevelt 3
San Pedro 11, Legacy 1
Sun Valley Poly 8, LA Roosevelt 2
SOUTHERN SECTION
Alemany 9, Canyon Country Canyon 1
Burbank Burroughs 2, Rosary Academy 1
California 16, Whittier Christian 13
California 7, San Clemente 1
Camarillo 4, Chaminade 3
Camarillo 18, Rio Mesa 0
Capistrano Valley 9, Beckman 3
Chino Hills 15, Chino 3
Corona 10, Ridgecrest Burroughs 0
Crean Lutheran 11, Avalon 2
Crean Lutheran 13, Avalon 2
Edison 7, Crescenta Valley 5
Edison 2, Vasquez 1
Irvine 7, Long Beach Wilson 5
JSerra 2, Capistrano Valley 1
Leuzinger 11, Hawthorne 0
Marina 2, Los Alamitos 1
Mater Dei 10, Redondo Union 0
Mira Costa 9, Newport Harbor 3
Palos Verdes 2, Los Altos 1
Paraclete 11, Saugus 1
Rancho Mirage 14, Cathedral City 6
Rosary Academy 7, Fountain Valley 2
San Clemente 7, Whittier Christian 2
Simi Valley 7, West Ranch 1
Simi Valley 5, St. Bonaventure 5
St. Genevieve 7, Sacred Heart of Jesus 4
St. Paul 6, Warren 2
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy d. Hoover, forfeit
Thousand Oaks 8, Rio Mesa 0
United Christian Academy 13, Bethel Christian 5
Vasquez 4, Woodbridge 0
Warren 5, La Serna 0
Westlake 4, St. Bonaventure 2
Westlake 0, Chaminade 0
Westlake 4, St. Bonaventure 2
West Ranch 10, Thousand Oaks 4
West Torrance 6, Hart 0
INTERSECTIONAL
Alemany 11, Arleta 1
Arleta 10, Canyon Country Canyon 8
Downey 6, Legacy 0
Downey 10, San Pedro 0
Granada Hills 8, La Serna 5
Muir 8, San Fernando 4
Muir 12, Sun Valley Poly 3
San Luis Obispo 7, Torres 6
St. Paul 8, Granada Hills 4
Sports
‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin avenges Olympic disappointment with backflip for third straight world title
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It seems like Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” has done a nice job of moving on from his Olympic heartbreak.
Last month, the 21-year-old Team USA star was the overwhelming favorite to bring home the gold in the men’s free skate. But the unimaginable happened as he fell twice and dropped all the way to eighth place.
However, he has begun to avenge the loss and is now a three-time world champion.
Ilia Malinin from the United States competes during the men free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from the Olympics after days of being tormented by his mistakes.
Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total of 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.
Malinin was blunt about his Olympic performance when speaking to NBC afterward, saying simply, “I blew it,” and said it was a clear mental hurdle from start to finish.
“I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose, and almost, I think, it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit. I’ve been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences,” Malinin told reporters.
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin from the United States waves to spectators after the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
LINDSEY VONN KEEPING RETURN TO SKIING ON TABLE DESPITE INJURIES: ‘I DON’T LIKE TO CLOSE THE DOOR ON ANYTHING’
“So, I just feel like it’s the pressure of especially being that Olympic gold medal hopeful. It was just something I can’t control now. The pressure of the Olympics, it’s really something different, and I think not a lot of people understand that. They only understand that from the inside and going into this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, really good,” he added. “But it really just went by so fast I did not have time to process.”
But with some pressure off, Malinin was able to show who he truly is on the ice.
Gold medalist, Ilia Malinin from the United States waves before the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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