Head Coach Tanisha Wright On Challenging The Team
By: Jameelah Johnson
Atlanta Dream head coach Tanisha Wright is no stranger to what constitutes a “good” defensive player, some would even argue “great.” The former guard won WNBA All-Defensive honors in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. She also was named to the Second Team WNBA All-Defensive in 2015 and 2016. In addition to those accolades, Wright was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
A block that sends the ball into the crowd, a steal that leads to a dime on the fastbreak, a trap that forces the bad pass for the turnover. These are just some ways to recognize effective defensive plays. But how individual players, and sometimes even coaches, attack the topic of defense can vary.
“As a player, you’re looking at it just as a competitive standpoint. Like, I’m out here competing. ‘Yea, Diana (Taurasi), you might get 30, but you gonna go work for this 30,’” Wright said when viewing defense from her playing days. From the coaching perspective, what she looks for has changed. “Now as a coach, it’s more ‘Can we execute? Can we execute a defensive scheme? Can we put people in position that they’re just not as comfortable?”
The Dream are top five in lowest opponent field goal percentage in five out of six of the shooting zones according to WNBA.com statistics. Opponents are shooting 42.2% from the field and 32.6% from three against Atlanta’s defense.
“I’ve been wanting to become a bigger threat on defense. Coaches and my teammates have challenged me to continue to do that thus far,” the Dream’s Rhyne Howard said following the team’s win over the Minnesota Lynx.
Howard had three steals and a block in that game and also sacrificed her body to draw a couple of charges. Wright’s emphasis on defense has been evident in Atlanta’s gameday approach and has players desiring to improve that category of their game.
“I think it’s always important to try to dictate instead of react ‘cause once you react you’re kind of just at the mercy of the offense,” Atlanta’s Nia Coffey, one of the team’s defensive anchors, explained in her approach to defense. “As my years in the league have come along, the schemes and understanding the game has helped me a lot. When I was younger, it was just like ‘Energy and effort!’ But now it’s having both and understanding just what we’re trying to get out of any possession.”
Coffey, with six years of experience under her belt, has established herself as an effective defender and would tell young players who are trying to improve their defense to place importance on the obvious “energy and effort” that are often emphasized but also “just understanding the schemes, what are you allowed to give up, what are we wanting to stop? Understanding those things. And then also, personnel. Personnel is huge. Knowing your person, knowing everybody on the team but knowing your person and what they’re going to try to get to. And then watch games.”