Briann January ‘grateful to still be around the game,’ brings out the best of Connecticut in second year coaching

LAS VEGAS – The scene is Mandalay Bay, roughly two hours before Eastern Conference powerhouse Connecticut Sun and two-time defending champion Las Vegas lock horns in the Aces’ raucous home venue.

Spokane native Briann January is on the court doing what she does best: sizing up league MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas during warmup.

Only these days, January is an assistant coach, and her pregame ritual is to get her players ready, applying stringent defense.

Nevertheless, nearly two years removed from playing in the WNBA, the former Lewis and Clark star looks like she could lace up a pair of Jordans and step on the court as a player at any given moment.

“I’m just grateful to still be around the game and grateful to still be in the W and with a great team,” said January, now in her second season as an assistant with Connecticut. “They keep me on my toes. They keep me locked in. They fill that joy that I had playing, they fill that for me, which has been awesome.”

Just the same, she’s adding to the joy for some of the best players in the league, not to mention Connecticut’s younger contingent, instilling her knowledge while pushing them to be the best they can be.

“It’s been cool to be a part of her journey,” said Thomas, who was once teammates with January. “Bri was a dog on defense. I really enjoyed playing with her, she took the biggest matchups every night, and now as a coach she’s trying to translate that into our guards. She’s really spearheaded the defense. Credit to her and how our defense has been playing. She has a mind for it.”

And that’s why second-year Connecticut coach Stephanie White called her the team’s defensive coordinator.

“She’s one of my favorite human beings,” White said. “She’s just a great person, she was a great teammate, she was a great leader when she played for me in Indiana, she’s a hard worker, she’s just a kind soul.”

Calming Bri

White said she appreciates how January brings “a humanities aspect of” coaching to the sidelines, providing a personality the players and coaching staff can connect with.

It’s a calm and pleasing nature, but also with a blend of the right toughness, similar to what we see from Seattle coach Noelle Quinn on the sidelines.

“I love that she’s coaching, she has a great mind for basketball, and I know her future is very bright,” Quinn said. “That mentality and physicality have carried her in her playing/coaching career. She made her mark in the league on the defensive side of the ball … she constantly worked on her game. I always appreciated how hard she worked, how committed she was to the game, to herself; she keeps herself in amazing shape.”

Wearing her trademark smile, Quinn quipped while waving her hands in front of her to demonstrate how she’s always been impressed by how January kept in shape in applying her martial arts background, suggesting that’s where she’s bolstered her physicality.

January said she still employs her martial arts discipline in her training and conditioning, which is probably why she can still post up anybody on the Sun’s deep and talented roster.

Heading into the weekend, Connecticut ranked No. 1 in the WNBA in allowing 73.1 points per game and was No. 2 with its defensive rating (93.0).

The Sun’s fierce defense has translated into offense, too, as they rank second in the league with 18.8 points off of turnovers.

“I’m more of an offensive mind, and she has that defensive mind,” White said. “I told her I wanted her to own being the defensive coordinator of this team while she’s still growing in other areas.”

Next in line

January said she’s always been aware and grateful when playing for organizations that cared for their players, but her mindset has shifted, and she’s become appreciative in her new role.

“All of our players are dedicated to their craft, and they show up and they do everything they need to do so they can show up and be their best selves,” January said. “I can go down the list of everybody on our team, just their approach to the game. I played with almost everybody on this team, I played against almost everybody on this team, so I’ve known them for a very long time. And so that relationship helps has helped.

“To see behind the scenes everything that’s going on, to provide for our players, to just put them in a position where they just have to go out there and play basketball, I really do appreciate what our organization does for our players.”

Both White and Quinn acknowledged that January won’t last long as an assistant, as she’s well on her way to becoming a head coach when she’s ready to pull the trigger.

“She’s gonna be a head coach in this league,” White said. “She’s seasoned, she understands, she’s a really good communicator, she’s got a great feel and good instincts. I don’t anticipate having her for very long. She’s gonna get her shot at being a head coach in this league soon.”

Modestly, January downplayed the notion and said she’s content growing as best she can as a member of White’s staff.

“Anything I do, I’m constantly trying to be the best,” January said. “And I’m learning every day. I’m growing every day and trying to be the best coach that I can be and hopefully, one day preparing myself and putting myself in the position to be a head coach.

“But I’m being very intentional in my time and just trying to grow as much as I can daily with all the experiences that I have.”