New Wings Coach Conveys What Captures His Attention About 'Dynamic' Paige Bueckers
On December 23, the Dallas Wings announced that they had hired Chris Koclanes as their franchise's next head coach.
Koclanes was an assistant coach for the USC Trojans women's basketball team for the past two seasons before being hired by Dallas. Therefore, he had a front-row seat to watch Paige Bueckers (who the Wings are expected to take with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft) while her UConn Huskies faced off against JuJu Watkins and Koclanes' Trojans squad on December 21.
The Trojans ultimately secured a 72-70 win against UConn in what was a thrilling game from start to finish. Bueckers scored 22 points on 9 of 22 shooting from the field, including 2 of 8 from three-point range.
This performance (plus everything else she has shown on the court across her college career) clearly impressed Koclanes because he had some high praise for Bueckers during his January 7 appearance on In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams.
"She's dynamic," Koclanes said when asked about what part of Bueckers' game stands out to him. "Her efficiency, number one, I would say it's pretty incredible as a guard, with the efficiency that she's able to score the ball. She can score at all three levels, she can pass it, and I think she's got great size, too. There's some versatility there.
"There's no doubt Paige is a tremendous talent," he added. "She's gonna be part of a great class in that Draft class."
Dallas Wings head coach Chris Koclanes joins Khristina to talk about Paige Bueckers’ potential and why she’s considered a top prospect for the 2025 WNBA Draft.
— In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams (@ICYMIwithKW) January 9, 2025
Link: https://t.co/a81Ys3tQQZ pic.twitter.com/rydgJUn8pn
It might not be long before the women's basketball community gets to see Koclanes coaching Bueckers instead of coaching against her.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.