From European Glory to Connecticut Chaos: Rachid Meziane’s Turbulence WNBA Baptism | Connecticut Suns

After three of the biggest career achievements in eight months, Rachid Meziane crossed the Atlantic Ocean and made personal history.

People from southern France join the WNBA Connecticut Sun In December, it was the first born head coach in the league. Four months ago, Meziane directed Belgium to achieve her best in the Olympic women’s basketball competition: fourth place in the Paris Olympics. In the four months before that, he led French club ESB-Villeneuve d’ASCQ to his first national women’s championship since 2017 and his first ever Europa League final.

“I know it’s a new challenge, a new story,” Mezia said of the move. “When you are a coach, you want to compete with the highest level in the world. I think ‘W’ is the best league in the world, with the best players in the world, the best coach in the world. It’s a big opportunity. I can’t pass this opportunity.”

Meziane, who coached Belgium at the 2023 European Women’s Championships, said his recruitment dream came true at his introductory press conference. But this dream quickly turned into a vibrant nightmare.

Meziane’s new team will end with the worst record in history and is the poorest. WNBA This season. Mixed with a former player’s harsh criticism of social media, there is constant uncertainty around it, and the ingredients are annoying seasons.

However, management foresaw this anger. The Suns chose to rebuild after six straight appearances in the WNBA semifinals, including two finals. All five starters last year left through trade or free agency. Only two members of the 2024 lineup retained five rookies.

“It’s a full 180,” said Marina Mabrey, a Sun guard who returned to the team. “Last year, there was a lot of experience and the veterinarians sniffed the championship year after year.

General Manager Morgan Tuck also believed in her first year that Meziane had the right qualities to oversee reconstruction.

“We know our roster will really turn over even before we hire Rashid,” Tuck said. “I think he has the right traits we are looking for. I think he is a very stable guy. When you suffer a lot of losses and don’t have a lot of success on the court, you can sometimes easily press the panic button and just try anything and get rid of the plan. So, I’m very proud that he sticks to the plan.”

The program involves integrating WNBA physical games with European emphasis on tactics and teamwork.

“My style is excellent in rhythm and very aggressive in defense,” Mezia said. “I try to integrate my coaching style and skills to teach my team to play with a team-first mindset, share the ball, play a lot of ball sports.”

But early results made the combination look as stable as a mixture of Perryl and Penz oil.

The Suns lost their first five games and then won two of the next three games before suffering a 10-game winning streak, which gave them a 2-16 record on July 6. Entering the week, the team scored every game, 3-point shooting percentage, assists and defensive rebounds, and shared their last spot on wins and total rebounds. With about two weeks left, the Suns can outpace most of the WNBA’s losses, which was set by Los Angeles Sparks at the age of 32 last year.

“The body is the most different thing in this league,” Mezia said. “This game plays more pace and more rhythm here. Having a back-to-back game with me, playing every two days is something new for me. Everyone has a lot of talent. You can see in this league that the best teams may lose every team. Each game is its own story. Sometimes in Europe, you can win all the games in Europe, win all the games, win 20, 30 or 50 or 50 points.”

At the end of that 10-game winning streak, a former player from Mezia posted criticize On June 29, on the ESB-Villeneuve d’ASCQ championship lineup on X. Kelsey Bone, he called him “the worst coach I’ve ever been to so far” because “he lacked the aggressiveness and confidence to attend the rally and lead the locker room.”

Mezia’s response?

“She is not my enemy,” he said. “I helped her a lot when she came to France because she had horrible things to leave. When we started our camp, I allowed her to be super late. So if she was the only one who thought about me, I didn’t care. I could look in the mirror. I wish she could do the same.”

Meziane’s response reflects a calm, focused view in the chaos, whether it’s social media or reports that suggest a possible sale. One of two potential ownership groups will move the team to Hartford, Connecticut. Another, led by former Celtics Minority owner Steve Pagliuca, moved the Suns to Boston, who played in the regular season this year and last year. But the WNBA has not approved any sales yet and can buy the team itself.

“He was just adjusting it,” Marbury said of the reports. “He really doesn’t rattle emotionally. He doesn’t give his energy to social media. I think it’s cool from an American perspective because [we’re] Identity, self, something similar. But he has stopped this and has done it, if you linger, then sway. If not, then not. ”

Despite his commitment to his system, Meziane tries to give players the opportunity to create.

“He likes giving people the freedom to play, especially the way they play,” Suns guard Haley Peters has played for two seasons in France at Meziane. “He will let the players do their best, and I think that’s his advantage. We have a system that we want to stick to, but we have good offensive players and we want them to be enterprising.”

Despite his commitment to his system, Meziane tries not to force players into preconceived templates.

“There are a lot of people who want to change me and want me to be emotionally different,” Marbury said. “He made me myself and helped me guide it, accept criticism and keep moving forward.”

As his players adapt to him, Meziane faces his own cultural challenges.

“English is not my native language,” he said. “Sometimes, when you want to express your emotions, it’s not easy to do this every time it’s not your natural language. The biggest challenge for me is trying to stay natural and make sure my players understand what I’m trying to express to them and try to teach them.”

Suns center Tina Charles, a 16-year WNBA veteran and the most valuable player in the league in 2012, sympathizes with him.

“I’ve been playing overseas for 11 years,” Charles said, winning three Olympic gold medals for the United States. “Anything uncomfortable is growing up, even as players, with his growth as a coach. It’s just patience, having grace and helping him all the way.”

As the sun is about to rebuild, patience and grace become the most important tools of Mezia.

“I’m still optimistic about the future performance of my team even if our results are not reflected well,” he said. “I think many of our new players are growing. I can put my hands on this reconstruction process, but I don’t have the magic to change everything overnight.”