"She's Taylor Swift 2.0" – Stephanie White lauds Caitlin Clark's rookie resilience, expounds on coaching strategies for Fever star

In her rookie season, Caitlin Clark cemented her place as not only one of the biggest stars in the WNBA, but also as one of the biggest stars in US sports.

After Clark's rookie season, the Indiana Fever parted ways with coach Christie Sides, who spent two seasons at the helm of the franchise. They replaced her with Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White.

Ahead of her first season as coach of the Fever, White spoke on the "Coaching U" podcast to discuss her strategies, and how she plans to handle the role of coaching a player like Clark. She compared the emerging superstar to Taylor Swift when it comes to star power.

While talking with former NBA assistant coach Brendan Suhr, White stated that it all starts with having basketball conversations. As she discussed, with Caitlin Clark being as big of a star as she is, it's hard for others to understand what she's going through.

"I don't think that any one of us can really probably understand you know, what she goes through on a daily basis. She carries a heavy load with our league, and with her abilities, certainly, but where we are from this tipping point in the WNBA and from popularity, that I say, she's like Taylor Swift 2.0."

Stephanie White explains she's focused on helping Caitlin Clark evolve as not just a player but as a leader too

During her rookie season, Caitlin Clark cemented her place as not just a star, but also one of the top guards in the WNBA. In addition to breaking and setting a number of league records for viewership, Clark made history with her on-court play.

On top of being the WNBA Rookie of the Year and leading the league in assists, Clark was named an All-Star and was part of the All-WNBA First Team. The way Stephanie White sees things, the next stage of Caitlin Clark's evolution won't center around her skills, it will be around her leadership abilities.

"She adjusted really quickly to this league and now it's about becoming not just a great player, but becoming a great leader for this team so that we can win not just a championship, but championships," White said on the same podcast. ...

"For me too, just as someone who's been a part of this league for 25 years, who's been a part of the Indiana Fever franchise, just being there to help her navigate some of the things that she's navigating," she added.

With the Fever making their return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season (when White was coaching the team) the season ahead is sure to create plenty of buzz.