January back with Sun as assistant
WNBA
UNCASVILLE — Briann January knew she wasn’t done with basketball just because she was retired from playing.
She wanted to be involved. She wanted to give back to the sport, and the league, that gave her so much.
So she returned to the coach and the organization that always made her feel supported.
“Oh, I couldn’t leave it,” January said, laughing. “I played in this league for 14 years and I’ve seen it grow year after year. And when the opportunity came along for me to stay a part of it, help it grow, help younger players, you know, do all those things, I couldn’t pass on it. I believe in this league and I want to see it be successful, so why not be a part of it?”
January begins her first season as a WNBA assistant coach this summer serving under new Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White. Not only did White help coach January to a WNBA Championship in Indiana, but the former guard played for the Sun for two seasons before retiring this past fall.
Now, she’s ready to get her first taste of the other side of the WNBA as the Sun begins its new era under White.
“My people are here. I believe in the people here, and it’s exciting. It’s really exciting,” January said.
January, from Spokane, Wash., got her start in the WNBA when the Indiana Fever drafted her with the
No. 6 overall pick out of Arizona State in 2009.
Two years later, White joined the Fever’s staff as an assistant coach after previously playing for the franchise from 2000 until she retired in 2004.
Immediately, January noticed how White made everyone feel cared for. She went out of her way to get to know each player beyond their talent on the court. For January, who sat out the majority of the 2011 season with a torn ACL, having a coach invest in her as an individual meant the world.
“She wanted to get to know me,” January said. “This is a business and that was the hardest thing coming from college to the W is realizing like, ‘Whoa, like, this is my job. That’s my boss. I need to perform if I want to stay here. I don’t get as many times to mess up like I did in college and get another shot.’ But having a boss, having a coach like Steph, really kind of alleviated some of that stress and allowed me to be me and go out and do what I do.”
In 2012, with White on staff and January in the starting lineup, the Fever defeated Minnesota for the franchise’s first WNBA Championship.
With January, Indiana reached the WNBA Finals three times in seven years. She was named a 2014 All-Star and a seventime All-Defensive Team selection. White left the franchise in 2014 but continued supporting January from afar throughout the remainder of her professional career.
Connecticut acquired January through a threeteam trade involving Phoenix (she played for the Mercury for two seasons) and Atlanta ahead of the 2020 season. Despite
the pandemic forcing the WNBA to play in a bubble format in Florida that summer, January said the Sun staff and community always made her feel welcome.
“I felt so much love and appreciation from the fans, from the organization top to bottom, everybody that worked for the Sun ... “she said. “I had nothing but a great experience all around.”
January started in 29 games the following year in her first, and only, normal season with the Sun in Uncasville. She became a key to the team’s backcourt and recorded 202 points, 89 assists and 25 steals that summer.
But as much as she loved playing, and still does, January knew her body was slowing down. She suffered ongoing knee and foot injuries throughout her career, including tearing her ACL and meniscus.
Heading into the 2022 season, January knew it was time to listen to her body and announced she’d retire after the summer.
She concluded her playing career back in her home state of Washington with the Seattle Storm. January played in 36 games, making five starts and averaging 7.9 points and 3.4 assists in 16.9 minutes per game in her final season.
“If my body could be OK, I’d still be out there and that’s the unfortunate fact,” she said. “... I still have the spirit and passion for the game and so to be around it and give back, I want to do that.”
January entered her first offseason as a retiree already with collegiate coaching experience after being an assistant coach at her alma mater in Tempe during the 2017-18 season. That year, the Sun Devils (a No. 7 seed) reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Being at Arizona State and being on the other side and especially at the college level with all the things they have to do with recruiting, traveling, you know, dealing with the kids, taking care of the kids — you know, making sure grades are up — all the things, I definitely had a new appreciation for like how much they worked,” she said.
When the opportunity to return to Connecticut arose, January knew she couldn’t pass on the chance to learn under White again. It was White who first showed her just how much of an impact a coach can have.
“The way Steph approaches her teams and approaches being a coach, inspired me to coach honestly,” January said. “She’s one that just the way she cares about her players and the way she loves this game and thinks about the game and is very detail oriented; like all of those things are like, yes, that’s how you’re supposed to do it.”
With the Sun’s training camp just getting started this week, January has enjoyed meeting the new players, helping the rookies and reuniting with her former teammates. January played with longtime veteran and Sun forward/ guard DeWanna Bonner for two years while in Phoenix and two years in Connecticut.
“It’s nice knowing the players already because I can help them,” January said. “I can help put them in positions to be successful and positions to really help this team get over the hump and hopefully get a championship.”