USF's JoseF to Dallas Wings | The Boneyard

USF's JoseF to Dallas Wings

Vowelguy

Vowelguy

Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
26,060
Reaction Score
70,652
Wings are reportedly in hot pursuit of Fernandez. News expected soon.

Wow, Utah and FGCU (last year) and now USF losing their coaches just before the season. Big shift in pro vs college dynamics.

(via Mitchell Northam via SkimM)
 
1761242015999.png
 
.-.
.-.
.-.
Jose has always done well recruiting and coaching international players, as well as coaching in USA Basketball. Dallas has a couple (Li Yueru, Luisa Geiselsöder), and his experience in these areas will certainly help. It could also be beneficial in attracting international free agents.
 
Great choice by Dallas, great opportunity for Jose - a talented coach who has rarely had the chance to coach extraordinary players. Dallas is poised to build around Paige and has the dollars and draft picks to do so quickly. Jose and Dallas are going to surprise a lot of pundits and opponents next year.
 
Interesting hire. A few thoughts on this:

1. I think it’s likely a solid upgrade from Koclanes.

2. Friendship or ties between Fernandez and Geno, plus with Geno’s public commentary lately I wouldn’t be surprised if he played a big part in making this happen.

3. Tough loss for USF team to have their coach bail at the start of the season. Curious to see how that pans out for their season.

4. For Fernandez, I think this is a very risky endeavor unless he got a massive salary boost or several years guaranteed (not sure if such a thing exists in the pros). He’s well paid (800k/year) and was on contract through 2029. The WNBA has to be the least stable job environment out there considering all but two franchises have new coaches in the last 2-3 seasons. I get the appeal though of wanting a new challenge, he’s done about as much as he can at USF and will have an opportunity to coach elite players in the pros.

5. College coaches directly leaving for the pros, what’s the track record there? Not the best as far as I’m aware:
-Carolyn Peck won with Purdue and then struggled in the pros.

-Pokey Chatman didn’t move directly to the pros but had a great run at LSU and limited success in the pros

-Lynne Roberts is only one year in but LA had a tough season

-Stephanie White has been great but was is known to be a pro coach rather than a collegiate one

-Karl Smesko had a great first year in the pros. His experience coming from a mid major in 2024 might be the best parallel

I guess time will tell here. But moral of the story, finding success and sticking in the WNBA is HARD for coaches to do.

6. This is my own preference, but for a league that’s so pro-women and women first, it’d be nice if they hired more women coaches. Especially considering the NBA never hires female head coaches. I’m all for hiring the best candidate but I think there are probably some good women being overlooked for these roles. Especially when considering that the best coaches in the league right now are all women (Hammon, Reeve, Nakase, and White).
 
Last edited:
.-.
bballnut90 said:
5. College coaches directly leaving for the pros, what’s the track record there? Not the best as far as I’m aware:
-Carolyn Peck won with Purdue and then struggled in the pros.

-Pokey Chatman didn’t move directly to the pros but had a great run at LSU and limited success in the pros

-Lynne Roberts is only one year in but LA had a tough season

-Stephanie White has been great but was is known to be a pro coach rather than a collegiate one

I guess time will tell here.
Expand ...
big omission: You forgot about Smesko and Atlanta, who was very successful in year 1
 
Jose was a candidate for the position last year, but it was speculated either Dallas wouldn't pay him what he wanted, or his buyout was too high. Reporting indicates his buyout has been lowered from $1mil to 250k, and the Wings have decided to invest in a good coach. I think this is a great get for Dallas and Paige, so hopefully we will see good things start to happen over there.

He apparently has his pulse on the international/overseas game, which is really interesting and could prove really valuable to the Wings.
 
I may be a bit of a contrarian, but suspect Dallas looked around and could not find a talented coach with pro experience who wanted the job. If I was Jose, would kick the tires and renegotiate his existing contract. Even with Paige and some new talent, they are likely to be at the bottom of the barrel for several more years. Losing is not fun.
 
HopJim said:
Even with Paige and some new talent, they are likely to be at the bottom of the barrel for several more years. Losing is not fun.
Expand ...
You may be correct in your take about the Wings future success, but, given all the unknowns between now and next season, I think that it's quite a leap to reach that conclusion.
My take would be: they've gotten a head coach with a great reputation in the college ranks, but there is still much to be accomplished in this off-season once a new CBA is agreed upon (& only time will tell if Kurt Miller has gotten it right).
IMO, the team will, at the very least, take a major step forward next season.
 
Jose is an excellent coach who’s been successful for years at a program and in a conference where he is limited in his ability to recruit the top talent to compete at the highest levels.

Also, if the Wings secure the first pick, expect that they will draft Awa Fam, the 6’6”, 19 yr old, soon to be superstar from Spain. So it certainly doesn’t hurt that Jose is a fluent Spanish speaker.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,482
Messages
4,577,543
Members
10,487
Latest member
husky62


Top Bottom