INDIANAPOLIS — While Stephanie White, Aliyah Boston, and Caitlin Clark were away with Team USA for the FIBA World Cup, the rest of the Indiana Fever were in Indianapolis getting in valuable practice time ahead of their stretch run.
Assistant coaches Austin Kelly and Briann January led the tune-up sessions, which almost all began in the morning. That left afternoon openings for the Fever to watch most of Team USA’s games in Berlin so they could keep up with their teammates and head coach in their pursuit of a gold medal.
“We’ve been locked in the whole tournament, just supporting our girls and watching high-level basketball,” January said on Monday, the day after Team USA beat France in the first-place game.
High level indeed. The United States were tested multiple times throughout the tournament — first by Italy in the group stage, then by Spain in the semifinals. Despite a talent edge, Team USA spent a few games searching for solutions.
They found a way to win every time, ending the tournament with a perfect 6-0 record. In the title battle against France, Team USA trailed by double digits in the second quarter and were struggling on both ends. Yet Boston acknowledged that it was important that the team had previously dealt with some challenges — they were prepared for the intensity of a moment in which they needed to fight back.
“Even when we were down 12 … there was no panic,” she said.
Those are the moments that defined this USA group. They were not as dominant as they were in past tournaments, but new head coach Kara Lawson and her 12 stars were able to solve problems and win games. As the younger players on that Team USA roster — including Clark and Boston — age with the national team, that experience will suit them well.
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For the Fever, the hope is that experience will suit their team well this postseason. White has coached teams that reached the WNBA Finals before. Clark and Boston have both gone on deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and Boston won it all at that level. All three have previous big-game experience.
And yet, there is always something to be learned from winning with the best. Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Jackie Young, and Breanna Stewart were all starters for Team USA during the World Cup, and they’ve all won a WNBA championship before.
Observing their practice habits and getting to know them will be valuable for Clark and Boston. White, meanwhile, got to work with a talented staff that featured Lawson, Phoenix’s Nate Tibbets, Golden State’s Natalie Nakase, Dallas’ Jose Fernandez, and Duke assistant Tia Jackson.
“I think just seeing their approach to everything,” Boston said of the benefits of learning from her star teammates. “I think it’s always great to be able to play with a team like that. … Everyone who puts on that jersey, it is just competitiveness.”
Clark likened the World Cup atmosphere to a playoff setting, something that awaits the Fever after their next four games. They resume regular season play Friday; then, after a quartet of matchups, they’ll be in the playoffs. Boston noted they’re only guaranteed to play six more times.
Locking in to championship habits is a must with the FIBA break in the rearview mirror. That’s why it’s so important that Clark and Boston got more eyes on those habits in Berlin.
“I think just being around people that are winners, you learn the things that make them tick and the way they prepare for games,” Clark said.
The two Fever stars were both productive and crucial in their roles during Team USA’s run. Clark led the team in assists and was fifth in minutes. Often, she checked in alongside other young players and jump-started the offense. Units featuring Clark, alongside a combination of veterans and less experienced players, typically performed well.
Boston was the team’s best available center and could switch on defense, which was vital for Lawson’s strategies. She led the team in three-point percentage as well, providing important versatility.
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Those two, along with White, shared some dinners together. The team was able to explore Berlin a bit and saw the Berlin Wall. Boston finished some shows and did some reading in her downtime.
White called the experience in Berlin “incredible.” The Fever head coach has her gold medal at home, sitting on her dresser. She soaked up new strategies and scouting methods while getting a look at other teams during the World Cup. Sharing notes with other top WNBA coaches and basketball minds — Tibbets’ team reached the Finals last year while Nakase won Coach Of The Year — was naturally helpful.
“Certainly the grind, what it takes,” White said of what she and the two Fever players can take from the experience as they head into the playoffs. “Sometimes, you’ve gotta play in the mud a little bit. (Also), that at any time, anybody on our team can step up. You have to trust everybody to do that. I think you gain that.”
Now back in the States, the three that went to Berlin are trying to get re-acclimated to their normal time zone. They were given a schedule for this week that tried to get their sleep schedule back on track, but it was hard to go to bed after the title game. Some vitamins and supplements are helping with that as well.
Clark and Boston were back in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday and returned to practice on Thursday. They joined star teammate Kelsey Mitchell and the rest of the Fever as they prepared for their final few games before the postseason.
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One player Boston and Clark both hope to take something from going forward? Stewart.
“I really enjoyed playing with Stewie,” Boston said. “I think just her leadership and the way she’s just super vocal was pretty awesome to see in real time.”
“I think for myself, it was really fun being around Stewie,” Clark added. “(She’s) somebody that’s won at every single level that she’s ever played at.”
Clark watched how Stewart, a three-time champion, prepared for games and operated on a day-to-day basis. They were a great pairing in Berlin. And they could be playoff opponents depending on how the final games of the season go for Indiana and the New York Liberty.
The Fever need to win out to guarantee home-court advantage in the first round, and they hope some of the habits they picked up in the World Cup will make that more likely.
White noted that it’s possible for everyone to “grow at all times,” and with the postseason inbound, that growth could be crucial for the Fever.
