The Connecticut Sun went global with their head-coaching hire.
The team hired Rachid Meziane as its next head coach, it announced Wednesday, with Meziane joining the Sun after most recently coaching the Belgium national team and the French professional club Villeneuve d’Ascq.
He is replacing Stephanie White, who parted ways with the franchise in October and was later hired as the Indiana Fever’s head coach. Meziane’s French club, ESBVA-LM, announced he is leaving the team on Dec. 31.
Meziane’s first WNBA coaching experience will be with Connecticut, but he is no stranger to coaching with or against WNBA players. He has been the coach of Belgium since 2022, leading the nation to its first-ever FIBA EuroBasket title in 2023. With Belgium, he coached 2019 WNBA Finals MVP and two-time WNBA All-Star Emma Meesseman, Washington Mystics guard Julie Vanloo and Los Angeles Sparks guard Julie Allemand.
Since 2019, Meziane has also been the head coach of Villeneuve, where he guided the club from EuroCup competition into the EuroLeague (Europe’s top league), and eventually to second-place in the 2023-24 season. There, he has coached current New York Liberty forward Kennedy Burke, WNBA veteran Shavonte Zellous, the No. 9 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft Carla Leite and the No. 12 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft Maia Hirsch, among others.
“I am honored to represent a franchise like the Connecticut Sun, a team and organization with a rich history and a passionate fan base,” Meziane said in a statement. “I look forward to working with our talented roster and assembling a dedicated coaching staff, as we continue to build upon the Sun’s legacy and strive for a championship.”
Meziane’s hire comes amid a broader moment of transition for the Sun. On Tuesday, the Sun announced they were promoting assistant general manager Morgan Tuck to the GM role, with Darius Taylor, Connecticut’s GM since 2022, moving over to a new position as Connecticut’s chief basketball strategist and director of scouting. Tuck, the former No. 3 pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft, joined the Sun’s front office in 2021.
“He brings a wealth of experience, passion, and a proven track record of success that will help elevate our players and team as a whole,” Tuck said in a statement. “Rachid’s dedication and commitment to growing women’s basketball, internationally and domestically, brings a unique perspective both on and off the court that aligns with the values and vision of our organization.”
With his hire, the Wings and Mystics are the only two franchises with head coach openings.
What does Meziane’s hire mean for the Sun?
After White and the Sun parted ways at the end of October, Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti told ESPN she hoped Connecticut would be a “place where you can have some time to build the roster and the program the right way.”
It’s possible, then, that the Sun’s roster will also look drastically different this season than the one that won 28 games in 2024 and reached the semifinals for the sixth consecutive year. Star forwards Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner are both unrestricted free agents, as is All-Star center Brionna Jones. The 2024 Most Improved Player, DiJonai Carrington, is also a restricted free agent. How the franchise handles each situation in conjunction with its first-year head coach will be worth watching.
Meesseman hasn’t played in the WNBA since 2022, but she has starred for Belgium internationally, leading all players in scoring during the Paris Olympics while also winning consecutive EuroLeague MVPs and EuroLeague titles for the Turkish club Fenerbahçe. She is currently a free agent and could help Meziane transition to the WNBA if she elects to return this summer.
Meziane also has vast experience in the French development system, where he was an assistant coach with the national team from 2014 to 2021. France has become a hot-bed for international players, and the Sun selected Leïla Lacan with the No. 10 pick in last year’s draft. Though she elected not to play in the WNBA, Lacan was a key player for France during their silver-medal run in the Paris Games and at just 20 years old, she could be a foundational piece for the Sun for years to come.
How have international coaches fared in the WNBA?
Multiple franchises that hired head coaches this offseason said their candidate pools included international coaches, yet the Sun’s decision to go ahead and hire an international coach reflects a willingness to make a non-traditional move.
Hiring a head coach without any WNBA experience is a rarity across the league’s history. Meziane will be the league’s first foreign-born head coach since Emre Vatansever, though Vatansever was promoted to the Chicago Sky’s interim head coach role during the 2023 season after previously serving five seasons as assistant coach.
Pokey Chatman also did not have WNBA experience before the Sky hired her in 2011 toward the end of her successful stint as the head coach of the Russian club Spartak Moscow, though she had coached at LSU.
James Wade, Sandy Brondello, Olaf Lange, Yoann Cabioc’h and Christie Sides are other coaches who had notable international coaching experiences by the time they were hired as either WNBA head or assistant coaches.
In 2003, the Mystics hired Tom Maher as their head coach, with the Australian-born Maher coming to the WNBA despite having no experience coaching in America.
Meziane will be the WNBA’s second-ever French head coach, joining Wade, who was naturalized as a French citizen after spending part of his playing and coaching career in the country.
What’s Meziane’s style of play?
That Meziane was able to take Villeneuve d’Ascq to the EuroLeague final last season was significant, as the club is not regarded as one of the traditional powers across Europe. For its success, he was named as the EuroLeague Coach of the Year.
Villeneuve d’Ascq also won the LFB title last season, with an average margin of victory of 17.7 points per game. ESBVA-LM led the French league in points per game (86.0), 2-point field goal percentage (55.0), and 3-point percentage (38.6). In France, his clubs have been regarded for playing a free-flowing, up-tempo style of offense and for their physical and aggressive defense. Young players, such as French forward Janelle Salaün, have also developed significantly under him.
“Having had the privilege of coaching against Rachid in various FIBA competitions, I’ve witnessed firsthand his exceptional basketball IQ and his ability to prepare his teams to compete at the highest level in any situation,” Rizzotti said in a statement. “As we looked for a key differentiator to elevate Connecticut’s success and cultivate a championship mindset for the future, Rachid’s extensive experience and passion for the game stood out.”
Required reading
(Photo: Tom Goyvaerts / Belga Mag / AFP via Getty Images)
