Dallas Wings look to change franchise culture

Dallas announced the hiring of head coach Chris Koclanes on Dec. 23. While this is Koclanes’ first head coaching job, he has a wealth of experience in the collegiate and professional level in women’s basketball. His experience has prepared him for the opportunity to begin a new chapter for the Wings.

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“I’ve been lucky enough to work in this game for awhile and to have been able to be around incredible coaches and leaders who have given me opportunities and put me in positions to gain all sorts of experience to be able to now step into the role of head coach and give a shot at doing this thing my way,” Koclanes said on a recent episode of the podcast In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams.

Koclanes has been described as a defensive tactician by the team. This is exactly what the Wings need after having the worst defense rating in the league last season. He is currently serving as an assistant coach in his second season with the USC women’s basketball program. During his most recent time in the WNBA, he worked in Connecticut under the tutelage of Dallas’ new executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager, Curt Miller.

During the introductory press conference for Koclanes on Jan. 9, Miller spoke on how he came to decision that he was the right person for the job.

“The more we vetted, we narrowed to a second wave, we narrowed to a third wave, and as we continue to keep narrowing, narrowing, and it got right down to decision making time, obviously, knowing how talented Chris is … I watched the reaction of [director of player programs and development coach] Jasmine Thomas, an important piece in all this, who played under Chris for eight years, and how excited she was for the organization, how excited she was — I knew we had made the right decisions,” Miller said.

While last season Dallas looked far from the team that lost to the Connecticut Sun in the 2023 semifinals, they still have a decent core to build around. However, the team will lose one key piece in free agency. Per Alexa Philippou of ESPN, Satou Sabally announced that she will be moving on from Dallas.

Sabally was an injury-prone player that was still an asset for the team. Recently, she was hardly on the court, but replacing someone of her caliber will not be an easy feat. The Wings can continue to build around the backbone of the franchise all-star Arike Ogunbowale. They also still have the twin towers in 6’7 Teaira McCowan and Kalani Brown. And last season, the development of forward Maddy Siegrist was shown, prior to her sustaining a finger injury that kept her out for a significant amount of time.

“I think for Arike … I’m excited to just see how I can help her get to that next level,” Koclanes said in that Jan. 9 press conference. “And that next level is leading a team … So I’m excited to be able to partner with Arike and use her as a thought partner and value and leverage all her experiences.”

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Can Wings build a foundation that will last?

Outside of Fred Williams, who coached the Tulsa Shock and was the first coach of the Dallas Wings when they relocated, the team has had a new head coach every two years. Koclanes is new blood in the head coaching, so perhaps he will get a little more grace. The fact that he will be working with Miller and Thomas again might aid his success as well. Miller said that foundational is the word of the year.

“We’re trying to build something that out of the gates is foundational and sustainable,” Miller said. “That’s a pillar of mine throughout my coaching career, and 35 years in women’s basketball, is the ability to have sustained success; and so I will look out for the franchise, but I also will try to help put the roster together that Chris would love to coach. He’s the chef. I’m trying to help with the ingredients so he can go cook with these players and who we can be successful with.”

The organization has a chance to do exactly that with the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft and the talent that will be available in free agency. The Wings get to begin again, and may possibly look like the best version of themselves.