INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever franchise officially ushers in the Coach Stephanie White era on Thursday night when the WNBA Draft kicks off the league’s 2015 season.

In many ways, however, the Fever’s player selection process for 2015 and the team’s shift toward White’s free-flowing offensive plans have been under way for quite some time. This week’s draft is merely the continuation.

Last year, the Fever roster began a gradual, incremental makeover. It started getting younger, interspersing key players in their late 20s with a handful of youngsters and the Fever’s star veteran, Tamika Catchings. Player acquisitions and transactions, even in the 2014 draft, were made with this year and the future in mind.

Kelly Krauskopf, the Fever’s president and general manager, noted this week it was “sort of the first attempt to start this slow roster evolution, trying to keep that core together but also starting to build that next level.”

Added White, who was named Lin Dunn’s successor after the 2014 season: “We didn’t completely implode our roster. But at the same time, we brought in enough pieces who are just about that age where you are four or five years into the league, so now you get it. And now you’re ready to make that next step.”

Fever brass loved the talent in last year’s draft, traded to acquire an extra pick in the first round, and chose post players Natasha Howard and Natalie Achonwa. Notre Dame’s Achonwa sat out the 2014 season after undergoing knee surgery, but she is strong once again and the Fever views her as the club’s top pick for this season. Krauskopf said Achonwa would be a top-three pick if she was in the 2015 talent pool.

Barring a trade before Thursday night’s draft, the Fever will make the 21st pick overall, which is the No. 9 selection in the second round. Indiana traded its first-round pick, acquiring Shenise Johnson from San Antonio. Johnson is young (24), skilled at multiple offensive positions, and a strong playmaker – just the type of player that Krauskopf and White want for their roster remodeling.

Johnson, who averaged 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 18 minutes a game last season, is ready to contribute immediately for the Fever. She is expected to fit nicely on the perimeter with prime-time players such as Briann January, Shavonte Zellous and Marissa Coleman. Add in Maggie Lucas, who enjoyed a big winter season in France after showing glimpses of her skills for the 2014 Fever, and the Indiana offense appears to have the ingredients to become a more high-scoring unit.

More offense, more point production. That’s the master plan.

“We want to become that team,” White said, referring to one that can score in multiple ways. “I think when you look at the pieces we have on the roster, we’re definitely trending in that direction.”

White is an offensive-minded coach. Her predecessor, Dunn, built her teams around defense and rebounding.

Dunn, a Hall of Fame inductee, certainly got results as she played a major part in the club’s current 10-year string of playoff appearances. However, as the Fever prepared for Dunn’s retirement after last year, Krauskopf sensed that more offense and an injection of youth were the right focus.

“It’s been hard for us to score,” Krauskopf said. “We’ve won a lot of games off defense and rebounding. I’m anxious to see how (White) is going to implement and create this offensive identity for our players and our team.

“I think that’s going to be important for us. I think the league is so good now, you can’t just win on defense. You have to score points. That’s just the way it is. Stephanie sees the game through an offensive lens.”

The Fever roster may reflect few changes when the 2015 season begins in June. Catchings, who has announced she plans to play two more years, and Erlana Larkins will be back to handle the post positions along with others such as Howard, Achonwa and perhaps the 2015 second-round pick. Guards Jeanette Pohlen, Sydney Carter and Layshia Clarendon and forward Lynetta Kizer also could play big roles.

From the 36-year-old Catchings to the 22-year-old Achonwa, it’s the mix of veterans and youth that Indiana wants.

“We’re just as viable to win a lot of games and win the Eastern Conference as anybody,” Krauskopf said. “But at the same time, we’re being mindful of the future and being mindful of building with young players.

“To start that process last year and start looking toward the future, it’s not easy, but it’s necessary.”

Two of the Fever’s biggest additions during the offseason were assistant coaches, not players. Both are veterans with extensive resumes, seemingly a perfect match for White, who at age 37 has no head coaching experience.

Gail Goestenkors is a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee who has been a head coach at Duke and Texas. Her Duke teams made four Final Four appearances and recorded seven seasons of 30 or more victories. As Krauskopf said, Goestenkors “put Duke women’s basketball on the map.”

Gary Kloppenburg will be the team’s other assistant. He served as an aide to Dunn from 2008 to 2011 before becoming head coach of the WNBA’s Tulsa club. He was an assistant with the Los Angeles Sparks last season.

About Goestenkors, White said: “Her eye for the game, especially on the offensive end, is tremendous. I wanted somebody who had that. I wanted somebody who, in the middle of a game, could draw up a play if need be, or see things that we could adjust or change offensively on the fly. She’s going to help me tremendously in my transition. I was just lucky she was available and she was willing.”

Kloppenburg will play a major role in setting up the Fever’s defense, just as he did when he worked with Dunn.

“He’s like one of those players you always love to have, like a gym rat, somebody who loves to watch film, loves to be in practice, loves to work out players,” White said. “And he has a strong eye for the defensive end.”

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