Christie Sides, the head coach of the Indiana Fever, knows one thing that other teams won’t be able to do against Caitlin Clark and her team: train.
“You’re not going to be able to double-team us,” Sides told reporters on Sunday, after the first day of camp. “There will be players on that court who can shoot it.”
It comes down to Clark’s passing, which Sides said is the Fever’s new strength in a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016. Clark averaged 8.2 assists per game during her four years at Iowa, where she was compared to “Pistol” Pete Maravich.
Sides said, “It’s amazing how well she can set up the floor for us.”
At the Fever’s first practice, Clark’s throwing skills stood out, but Sides didn’t like how the team missed layups. Sides said that her team is “just not used to having… someone who can make some of those passes” all the time.
Last season, Fever guard Erica Wheeler had 6.8 assists per night, which was the most on the team. Guard Grace Berger also had an average of 4.6 assists per night. They can both pass the ball well, but neither is as good at executing as Clark.
“Sometimes I’m just in love.” I need to go around because I’m about to get really excited, and Sides said, “I can’t do it in real life.”
Friday is the Fever’s first preseason game.
The Fever’s preseason game is this Friday in Dallas, just a few days after the start of training camp on Sunday.
With a laugh, Sides said, “So we’re supposed to gel by Friday.” “We’re way ahead of the game with what we set up last year.” We’re off to a great start, but it will take time.
It was practice time again for Indiana on Tuesday. The Fever did more to gel, and Clark threaded the needle with more of her powerful passes.
Sides liked how the newbies for the Fever adjusted on the first day of training camp.
Sides said, “I mean, Caitlin, Celeste Taylor, and Lei are very different from each other.” “I mean, they’re also just trying to figure us out.” I believe each of them had a wonderful day today.
With the 15th pick in the draft, the Fever chose Taylor from Ohio State. Taylor scored 14.67 points, grabbed 4.8 boards, passed the ball 2.3 times, and stole two times per game in college.
Sides said, “Celeste is a great defender.” “She talks quite a bit. We don’t do well at that, so I hope that rubs off on some of our other guys.
Sides said, “I talked to her about that, and she did exactly what I asked her to do.”
Correa, who was picked 27th in the draft, has had a great career with Florida for the past two years. Before that, he played well for three years at St. John’s in New York. She scored 15.2 points, grabbed 4.7 boards, passed the ball 1.9 times, and stole 1.4 times per game.
