I assume you're talking about Coach Raman and not the Sparks head coach. I did write about her a little bit in this article under the Rookies + Rookie Coach subtitle.
For the most part, it's difficult to judge because of the things I laid out in that article, like not having Ezi for the first two months, not having Awa for nearly the first month, etc. I feel the defense is better than the offense currently, and the stats back that up. They rank 7th in Defensive Rating (middle of the league), but they are 13th in Offensive Rating (bottom 3).
Overall, I think it's going to take time to truly get a full evaluation. And it honestly will probably take more than one season to truly get a feel for things. But what I can say is that I don't think she's completely out of her realm or overwhelmed. I'm not seeing a Chris Koclanes situation (Wings HC last year). I like that she is willing to play her bench more than Coach Quinn did.
Another thing I'd be interested in is interviewing the rest of her coaching staff as well. And maybe do a larger article after talking with all of the assistants. I know Coach Jarell Christian works a lot with Flau'jae Johnson. But I'd like to learn more about all of them and their roles. The Storm are on the road for the next two weeks, so it's not something I'll have the opportunity to do until late July/early August at the earliest, but thanks for the suggestion. I think a lot of fans would love to hear more about the coaches!
I agree that it’s hard to evaluate Coach Rama this early in the season. Along with interviewing her assistants, I’m curious about her relationship with the players. So far, it seems like the players trust her and I really liked that tidbit about the leaderboard.
Been enjoying the Substack, thanks for the in-depth reporting!
I agree. She's sort of an enigma there on the sidelines. I haven't gotten much of a sense of her personality yet, except that she does appear to be a steady, calm presence with a really great basketball mind.
I’m sure it won’t surprise you, Jeff, that I, too, would hear more about the assistants, their backgrounds, and roles. Head coaches get the attention, but the assistants do so much of the foundational, nitty-gritty, positional work, only a fraction of which is visible during pregame.
I second (or third…) the request for more information about the assistant coaches. Ultimately, you never really know about a head coach until they’re much further along in their career. But my early impression is that coach Raman is exactly what you need if your plan is to develop a young group over the course of a few years. Most nights, nine or ten players are getting double digit minutes of playing time. And I never see her berate her players or look disgusted when they screw up. She seems all about the learning curve.
That's a great idea to do in-depth interviews with all the assistant coaches. You may have to do one at a time depending on how in-depth your interviews are.
Just watched Sparks postgame presser. Talk about listless, moribund and lost! All the hallmarks of Dead Coach Walking. Nobody had good answers for anything…
Flaújae is such a special player. I can see a very high ceiling for her. It makes me think that it's possible that she may turn out to be more of an All-Star player than either Awa or Dom.
I don't see her over Dom, who was named a WNBA All-Star today. I think Malonga can win the league MVP at some point in her career. Interestingly, both Flau'jae and Awa are putting up similar numbers this season. Flau'jae is averaging 12.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.7 APG. Awa is averaging 11.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.8 APG. I hope that both of them are named to the WNBA All-Rookie team. The major positive is that all 3 players have shown great promise this season. And that's two rookies and a second-year player who is 20 years old.
Flau'jae is having a very comparable season to Jewell Loyd's rookie season. The competition wasn't as fierce for Jewell, and Loyd won rookie of the year while averaging 10.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 41% FG (21% from 3-PT). Flau'jae has better numbers in points, rebounds, and assists, but a worse FG % (37%); Johnson has been better at 3-PT (rounded up to 30%).
Great article! Would love to hear your thoughts on the new coach in an article.
I assume you're talking about Coach Raman and not the Sparks head coach. I did write about her a little bit in this article under the Rookies + Rookie Coach subtitle.
https://www.stormchasersbasketball.com/p/storm-lose-10th-in-a-row-part-2
For the most part, it's difficult to judge because of the things I laid out in that article, like not having Ezi for the first two months, not having Awa for nearly the first month, etc. I feel the defense is better than the offense currently, and the stats back that up. They rank 7th in Defensive Rating (middle of the league), but they are 13th in Offensive Rating (bottom 3).
Overall, I think it's going to take time to truly get a full evaluation. And it honestly will probably take more than one season to truly get a feel for things. But what I can say is that I don't think she's completely out of her realm or overwhelmed. I'm not seeing a Chris Koclanes situation (Wings HC last year). I like that she is willing to play her bench more than Coach Quinn did.
Another thing I'd be interested in is interviewing the rest of her coaching staff as well. And maybe do a larger article after talking with all of the assistants. I know Coach Jarell Christian works a lot with Flau'jae Johnson. But I'd like to learn more about all of them and their roles. The Storm are on the road for the next two weeks, so it's not something I'll have the opportunity to do until late July/early August at the earliest, but thanks for the suggestion. I think a lot of fans would love to hear more about the coaches!
Yes. I would love to learn more about the coaching staff. Thanks for everything you do!
Thanks for the reply! Yup, Coach Raman.
I agree that it’s hard to evaluate Coach Rama this early in the season. Along with interviewing her assistants, I’m curious about her relationship with the players. So far, it seems like the players trust her and I really liked that tidbit about the leaderboard.
Been enjoying the Substack, thanks for the in-depth reporting!
I agree. She's sort of an enigma there on the sidelines. I haven't gotten much of a sense of her personality yet, except that she does appear to be a steady, calm presence with a really great basketball mind.
I’m sure it won’t surprise you, Jeff, that I, too, would hear more about the assistants, their backgrounds, and roles. Head coaches get the attention, but the assistants do so much of the foundational, nitty-gritty, positional work, only a fraction of which is visible during pregame.
I second (or third…) the request for more information about the assistant coaches. Ultimately, you never really know about a head coach until they’re much further along in their career. But my early impression is that coach Raman is exactly what you need if your plan is to develop a young group over the course of a few years. Most nights, nine or ten players are getting double digit minutes of playing time. And I never see her berate her players or look disgusted when they screw up. She seems all about the learning curve.
That's a great idea to do in-depth interviews with all the assistant coaches. You may have to do one at a time depending on how in-depth your interviews are.
Just watched Sparks postgame presser. Talk about listless, moribund and lost! All the hallmarks of Dead Coach Walking. Nobody had good answers for anything…
Flaújae is such a special player. I can see a very high ceiling for her. It makes me think that it's possible that she may turn out to be more of an All-Star player than either Awa or Dom.
I don't see her over Dom, who was named a WNBA All-Star today. I think Malonga can win the league MVP at some point in her career. Interestingly, both Flau'jae and Awa are putting up similar numbers this season. Flau'jae is averaging 12.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 2.7 APG. Awa is averaging 11.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.8 APG. I hope that both of them are named to the WNBA All-Rookie team. The major positive is that all 3 players have shown great promise this season. And that's two rookies and a second-year player who is 20 years old.
Flau'jae is having a very comparable season to Jewell Loyd's rookie season. The competition wasn't as fierce for Jewell, and Loyd won rookie of the year while averaging 10.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 41% FG (21% from 3-PT). Flau'jae has better numbers in points, rebounds, and assists, but a worse FG % (37%); Johnson has been better at 3-PT (rounded up to 30%).
I like that comparison. From draft night I've kind of seen her as our jewell loyd replacement, just hopefully without the inefficiency and drama