What was originally reported in an Athletic piece was made official on Thursday afternoon as the Dallas Wings held a virtual press conference to formally announce its new head coach – Vickie Johnson – to Big D.
Johnson is familiar with being a WNBA head coach in the state of Texas as she once was the coach of the San Antonio Stars before they moved to Las Vegas. She was recently one of Bill Laimbeer’s assistants with the Aces.
This is an incredible moment for me. I’d just like to thank the Dallas organization and Greg (Bibb) for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to coach your team. This is a very young team, a very exciting team and I’m looking forward to the opportunity.
–Vickie Johnson, Dallas Wings coach
That young team the Wings field includes Arike Ogunbowale, the WNBA’s leading scorer last year who found herself in the MVP conversation. It also includes Satou Sabally, who was the second-overall pick in the 2020 draft, as well as Ty Harris and Bella Alarie who were also first round selection by Dallas.
It also includes other talented pieces such as Megan Gustafson, Kayla Thornton, Astou Ndour, Allisha Gray and Katie Lou Samuelson.
The Wings will also have the second overall pick in the 2021 draft in addition to two other first-round selections.
Dallas’ hire of Johnson is significant not only because of it representing a new era in Wings history, but she is the only Black woman head coach in the WNBA.
There are two other Black male coaches – Derek Fisher (Los Angeles Sparks) and James Wade (Chicago Sky) and four other woman coaches in Nicki Collen (Atlanta Dream), Sandy Brondello (Phoenix Mercury), Marianne Stanley (Indiana Fever) and, of course, Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx).
I know this is an incredible moment for all of us, for the league especially, that’s why I wanted to thank the Dallas Wings for giving me an opportunity an opportunity to present myself as a Black woman.
–Vickie Johnson, Dallas Wings coach
It’s very important for me, as a Black woman, to be a role model. Not only for the Black athletes in our league, but also for the white athletes as well, for all players. I am a coach and I take pride in that every day.
–Vickie Johnson, Dallas Wings coach
One of the elements that had Johnson ready to take the job, she says, was the opportunity to work alongside young players that, many of whom, came from winning college programs to bring that culture of winning to Dallas. She also emphasized how to win off the court as well.
Johnson remarked that her young players enable her to field a Wings team that can get up and down the floor and score points with the W’s best, but also wanted to make it known that success comes with stopping the other team from scoring.
I preach defense first. That’s my philosophy. I feel like defense wins championships.
–Vickie Johnson, Dallas Wings coach
Johnson mentioned she wanted the Wings to lead the WNBA in pace and in steals. Bibb agreed, given the team’s youth.
I like playing with pace. I think, first it creates exciting basketball. But the way our roster is currently constructed I think it’s going to be important that we get up and down the basketball court … that’s a strength that we can play to, maybe a strength we haven’t played to as much as we could have in the recent past.
–Greg Bibb, Dallas Wings general manager
Given Laimbeer himself is also a defensive-minded coach, it is no surprise why he brought in Johnson as part of his staff when he assumed the coaching role in Las Vegas. Bibb credited Johnson for pursuing the assistant job under Laimbeer after the Stars moved to Las Vegas in what Bibb called a “non-traditional transition.” Johnson believes that the most important aspect of coaching she has learned is to not try to change her players into something they may not be.
I just want you to be who you are. You’re here for a reason, you’re in this league for a reason and you are enough and … I’m going to help them to reach another level in developing their skills to fit into a system that will highlight their talent as individuals and as a team.
–Vickie Johnson, Dallas Wings coach
She also stressed chemistry and sisterhood. Johnson mentioned that it was a no-brainer for her to assume the coaching role with the Dallas Wings since she lives in north Texas. She also made a promise to the Dallas fans.
We’re going to build something great here … we will build a championship team…
–Vickie Johnson, Dallas Wings coach
Building that championship in the WNBA takes several elements – one of the being the ability to establish a winning culture, one we have seen first hands with teams such as the Seattle Storm that have won two of the last three WNBA championships. Johnson believes that culture starts with one of trust – including the trust that a team places in each other when it navigates choppy waters.
And when adversity comes our way, we’re able to stand as one, and not fall … in good times and bad times, winning or losing. I don’t say we lost, it’s an opportunity learn and get better.
–Vickie Johnson, Dallas Wings coach
Another element of the Johnson hire that may help is that she herself is a former player. In her introductory press conference, she spoke about her ability to identify with players who are currently overseas, missing their families and missing the holidays – particularly during a pandemic. That ability to relate to players was something Bibb said was tops on his wish list when Dallas was in the midst of its head coaching find.
I think the athlete of today is a little different than the athlete of yesterday and I think the importance of being able to relate to them, and many times relate to them in ways that have nothing to do with what’s happening on the basketball court, is really important. And I think if you’re someone who has literally walked in their shoes previously, as a former player, that gets you along way toward achieving that goal.
–Greg Bibb, Dallas Wings general manager
Johnson also made mention of how that adjustment from overseas back to the WNBA is especially a lot for some players because they may be featured stars for some teams, then go back to being role players for their W teams. Johnson described the WNBA as being “the best league in the world.”
Bibb says that Johnson’s time as a player gives her immediate credibility in a locker room – and also believed that her tenure in San Antonio was a plus, instead of a minus, for her coaching candidacy.
It’s very easy to look at an eight-win season and say, ‘Well, gosh that wasn’t a very good job.’ But if you look closely, first and foremost it was … a challenging environment. It was a pretty short deck she was dealt as a first-time head coach and that team struggled mightily at the beginning of the year. They finished 5-5 over the last 10 games.
–Greg Bibb, Dallas Wings general manager
The eight-win season Bibb referenced was, of course, the 2017 season in which the Stars went 8-26, had major attendance problems with drawing fans to the AT&T Center and was in the process of being sold to MGM Resorts.
A newsworthy note that she did announce at the presser? That she will be hiring her own assistant coaches. Those coaches will help Johnson with preparing for opponents and she expressed confidence her Wings team will be ready for every opponent on its schedule.
That confidence extends into Johnson’s ability to be a WNBA head coach, which she was in San Antonio. Johnson and Bibb apparently have known each other for a while and she said she interviewed for the Dallas job in 2018 after the controversial firing of Fred Williams.
With (Greg’s) expertise on the business side and my expertise on the basketball side, we’re going to build some great things here in Dallas. And we’re going to touch markets that hasn’t been touched in Dallas yet.
–Vickie Johnson, Dallas Wings coach
That culture of winning Johnson mentioned also has grounds in how a team approaches the draft. She has seen the first hand with the Aces in how A’ja Wilson, the first pick in the 2018 draft out of South Carolina, has become a superstar and one of the faces of the WNBA.
On one hand, it can be hard to motivate some young players once they step onto a WNBA court and find out it is entirely different than the college or high school levels. On another hand, young players have a hunger to them that encourages them to go further and push forward when the chips get down. She says that it is important for young players to set goals for themselves – and the team.
It’s very important for each player on our team to understand their role – and what they have to bring to the table in order for us to be successful.
–Vickie Johnson, Dallas Wings coach
Johnson says that after leaving the wubble following the sweep in the Finals by the Storm, she went back to Dallas to recuperate after what was a taxing season mentally. She says she was home when she got the call from Bibb that she would be Brian Agler’s successor as the Wings’ next head coach.
