Heartbreak News Now: The Liberty head coach and two players have announced their departure from the team.
It became clear to Dan Hughes when he watched Liberty this season. The offensive possessions of the squad Sandy Brondello now coaches showed glimmers of her WNBA skill set. Brondello was a guard who led offenses in Detroit, Miami, and Seattle.
The movement was the same in Liberty.
the identical player behavior. When there was a contested shot or an approaching closeout, the ball needed to be cycled.
With Hughes’ Storm in 2003, Brondello emphasized a fast tempo; 20 years later, the Liberty had the fifth-fastest pace in the WNBA.
Olaf Lange, the spouse and assistant coach of Brondello, told The Post that a rookie coach cannot create their own system.
However, Brondello progressively created one that, as San Antonio evolved into Phoenix and finally Brooklyn,mirrored her style of play and helped to mold the Liberty team’s playoff trajectory, which starts with Sunday’s Game 1 versus the Las Vegas Aces.
Brondello accepted the difficult responsibility of leading a superteam, a term she despises, and learned how to combine unique abilities and personalities. The talent of Liberty made this job, according to Lange, her easiest. Brondello described the job as difficult because they added three starters.
The ecstatic wife of the Giants’ Darren Waller, Kelsey Plum of the Aces, is in the WNBA Final
Beneath the accolades bestowed upon the most recent phase of a coaching career approaching its twilight years is Brondello’s WNBA triumph.
One of her former San Antonio Silver Stars, Becky Hammon of the Aces, will play against her in the league’s inaugural championship where both head coaches are Brondello was the perfect fit for this position because she was an alumnus and had insight into the game, according to Lange and Hughes.
Lange stated, “She knows her own system.” She is able to instruct this squad in proper play since she is aware of what she wants, what she doesn’t want, and what works and what doesn’t.
“She’s a different caliber of coach, so this team was the right team at the time, but the team in Phoenix was the right team for her at that time.”
However, Brondello was unemployed following the 2021 season, which culminated with a Finals trip versus the Chicago Sky. Lange, who wed Brondello in 2005, was an assistant on that team. She and the Mercury mutually parted ways once her contract expired. That was a challenging Given that Brondello lived in Phoenix for eight years, Lange said it was time for her.
