Wittenberg grad lands another WNBA head coaching job
This time Brian Agler is in Seattle
Friday, April 04, 2008
Brian Agler isn't a ring person. He doesn't wear many rings, he said, but he still has the one he earned as a freshman point guard on Wittenberg University's 1977 national championship team.
Thirty-one years later, after almost three decades as a women's basketball coach, Agler is in a position to add a new ring to his collection.
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Get latest headlines via RSS feedsThe Seattle Storm, the 2004 WNBA champions, hired Agler as head coach in January, and the recent months have kept the former Tiger busy. Since he was hired, the team has signed All-Stars Swin Cash and Sheryl Swoopes. They will team with former Connecticut star Sue Bird and the reigning WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson to give the Storm a power-packed lineup.
Training camp begins April 21, and Agler said his new team has realistic championship goals.
"There's a lot of good teams," said Agler, a 1980 Witt grad who lives in Columbus in the offseason. "It doesn't take a whole lot for a team to get on track. At the same time, it's really hard to win a championship.
"You've got to have special circumstances go your way. You've got to peak at the right time. There are only 14 teams in the league, so every team's pretty good."
This is Agler's second stint as a WNBA head coach. He was the head coach and general manager of the Minnesota Lynx from 1999-2002. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Columbus Quest in the now-defunct American Basketball League, leading the team to back-to-back titles in 1997 and '98.
"I stuck with it, tried to get another opportunity," Agler said. "I stayed in the WNBA as an assistant coach for four years just to get another opportunity. There was no guarantee that was going to happen. When I got this opportunity, I was thrilled."
Agler tries to attend at least one Wittenberg game every season, and he was in Springfield in January when the Tigers beat Wooster. Agler walked his family through the Old Field House, where basketball games were played until the HPER Center opened in 1982.
Agler ranks second in assists and 15th in scoring in Witt history. He said he is often reminded of his playing days in Springfield — especially that championship season of 1977.
"If you just look and think about my whole career, both playing and coaching, I can't say anything would top that," Agler said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.
