Happy Monday, Ball-Knowers!

Five Out will hold until Tuesday as we have a special feature for you to open the week. It’s rare that you go to a game with the intention of a profile on a role player and that player actually goes out and has a career evening. So a special thank you to Makayla Timpson for bringing it last night in Atlanta.

And be sure to subscribe to the newsletter (and consider upgrading to the Ball-Knower’s tier) if you haven’t already!

My recap from State Farm Arena last night…

Caitlin Clark and Makayla Timpson’s postgame press conference…

And Stephanie White’s as well…

And if you missed any of our watchalong and postgame from last night with Tyler, Greer and Chauny you can catch it here!

by Andrew Haubner

In February of this past season, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White and her staff took a trip to Miami to see some of their players competing in Unrivaled. But there was one player that they were prepared to have a potentially uncomfortable conversation with: rising-second-year forward Makayla Timpson.

“At the time, I think as coaches, we felt like she was a little bit behind where we’d hoped she’d be,” said Fever head coach Stephanie White after Indiana’s 95-91 win over Atlanta. “We went down there in February and just talked to her about, ‘Hey, come in early.’”

And so Timpson did.

With less than a quarter of the regular season left to play, one conversation in February may be the difference between a deep playoff run and a possible title run. Now, coaches can only say so much to motivate a player. That has to come from within. In Timpson’s case, there was no doubt about whether or not she’d rise to the occasion.