Geno Auriemma Notes How Paige Bueckers Can 'Recruit' Next Wings Coach
The Dallas Wings' Chris Koclanes experiment was not a success.
Dallas' front office hired Koclanes, who was then an assistant coach for the USC Trojans women's basketball team, to be their head coach in December 2024. Before working at USC, Koclanes (who has a close working relationship with Wings GM Curt Miller) worked as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Sparks and the Connecticut Sun, both under Miller.
Despite the breakout season of 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers (who was fresh off winning an NCAA national championship trophy with the UConn Huskies, under legendary head coach Geno Auriemma), the Wings finished the 2025 regular season with an abysmal 10-34 record, which was tied for the worst record in the WNBA. Koclanes was relieved of his duties on September 30, 2025.
Koclanes received a lot of criticism from the women's basketball community for seemingly being out of his depth in this head coaching role, effectively wasting Bueckers' first season of professional basketball.
Now the search is on to find Koclanes' replacement. And given her importance to the franchise, there's a case to be made that Bueckers should have a say in who the Wings' front office hires.
Geno Auriemma's Stance on Dallas Wings Coach Search Raises Eyebrows
It sounds like Auriemma thinks Bueckers should play a role in Dallas' coaching search, which he conveyed when speaking with the media on October 21.
"I told Paige this the other day: A great player can play for any coach—if they want to," Auriemma said, per an X post from @TheAnastasia25. "Now, if they get a coach that doesn't believe and doesn't have a collaboration with Paige, then that would be a difficult journey.
Paige Bueckers and Geno Auriemma are the last to leave the stage pic.twitter.com/6sdCQe5w3N
— Maggie Vanoni (@maggie_vanoni) April 6, 2025
"There are a lot of coaches out there that would be really, really good for [Bueckers]. And she would be good for them. But it's got to be someone that there's mutual trust. And I always say, 'You've played one year of professional basketball,'" Auriemma continued. "Embrace what the pool is, talk to all of them, whoever they are.
"And it's like recruiting. Recruit the person you want that has the qualities. But at the end of the day, whoever the coach is, you can make it work for them, or you can make it not work for them, provided there's a good roster around you. So I think the roster is gonna be more important than the coach, even though the coach is crucial, obviously," he concluded.
Geno Auriemma on the Dallas Wings Coaching Search #WINGSUP pic.twitter.com/xlW3gCjyKT
— Anastasia (@TheAnastasia25) October 21, 2025
While Bueckers doesn't have the same recruiting experience as Auriemma, perhaps she can use him as a resource when deciding what to look for in her next head coach.
Recommended Reading:
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.
Follow GrvntYoung