It’s time for another episode of the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast. This episode features host Howard Megdal and The Next‘s Dallas Wings beat reporter Arie Graham to talk about Vickie Johnson and despite two years of on-court progress, the Wings are moving on from coach Johnson.
Arie talks about her initial reaction to the Dallas Wings letting go of coach Johnson after just two seasons:
“Well, when I first heard about it, I was very, very surprised. I thought people were going to be ready, like Sue Bird, one more year, one more year just to get it together. I mean, with the rotational issues, it just seems like she was still trying to feel her way through things in her second year. And she was making that progress. So I can see why they’re in a win now mode. But changing that coach and having another new coach, they’re gonna lack that consistency that they have been struggling to find.”
Arie talks about why Dallas didn’t give Charli Collier a fair opportunity in her second year with the team:
“I know that Dallas had a real opportunity just with the depth. And like you said, if players were given the opportunity, wasn’t just Charli Collier, I mean, you had guards sitting on the bench, Tyasha Harris was sitting there, but then Veronica Burton gets more minutes. But yeah, all of these different players, all this talent and with the number one pick, sitting on the bench, even number two with Awak Kuier, neither one of them were utilized very much. And then Charli Collier, in her first year, she was thrown to the fire, she was just like, here you go. Let’s see what you can do. And they were trying to fill that gap that Teaira McCowan holds.”
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