ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 The hallmarks of Philadelphia hoops culture are famous for a reason.<\/p>\n
And before their time coaching the WNBA<\/a>\u2019s Dallas Wings, the Koclanes siblings lived it. Chris Koclanes is in his first year as Wings head coach, and Belle is an assistant.<\/p>\n Early in Belle\u2019s career, she was an assistant coach at Penn<\/a> from 2004 to 2008. Calling the Palestra home was moving \u2014 and educational \u2014 for her in what has become a 22-year coaching career. <\/p>\n \u201cPenn was my intro to Philadelphia,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s when I met [now-Villanova coach] Denise Dillon and [Drexel coach] Amy Mallon. We were a block away from each other. That\u2019s when they were just beginning at Drexel. [St. Joseph\u2019s<\/a> associate head coach] Melissa Dunne, she was with them at Drexel at the time. \u2026 So it was those four years, where I was introduced to the Big 5 and Philadelphia world, and all these years later, [I] had an opportunity to come back to Drexel for three years, from those relationships 20 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: These three Big 5 coaches are working to \u2018keep Philadelphia basketball on the map\u2019 | from 2024<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n After assistant coaching stops at Old Dominion and American, seven seasons as the head women\u2019s basketball coach at Dartmouth, and a stint in the nonprofit world, Belle joined Mallon\u2019s staff at Drexel<\/a> in 2022. Though they never played together, they both starred at Richmond before their time in Philly.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve known her all my life,\u201d Mallon said. \u201cWe\u2019ve known each other through the basketball world for so long \u2026 We have a lot of different things that have bonded us, and then, obviously, having the opportunity to work with her on my staff. I tried to hire her like three other times, but each time, she was not in the right position.\u201d<\/p>\n Mallon appreciated the experience \u2014 and ability to read a room \u2014 that she brought to the Dragons players and coaches alike. Belle\u2019s run included a trip to the NCAA Tournament<\/a> in 2024<\/a>, after the seventh-seeded Dragons stormed to a Coastal Athletic Association tournament title.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I really loved most that she added was a leadership quality, really growing them as leaders, and I think that\u2019s so important because that allows them to be the best version of themselves on the court when they\u2019re leading at a high level as well,\u201d Mallon said.<\/p>\n Chris didn\u2019t have as long a stay in the city, but it had an impact on him nonetheless. He worked as a video coordinator<\/a> for Cindy Griffin at St. Joe\u2019s from 2013 to 2015 before coaching at Southern Cal and multiple WNBA stops.<\/p>\n \u201cPhilly basketball, it\u2019s just an incredible tradition, so to be able to experience that for a couple years at St. Joe\u2019s, [I\u2019m] extremely grateful and lucky,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThose were my really formative years there, and Philly is hard, tough-nosed, blue-collar,\u201d he said. So that\u2019s the work ethic, that\u2019s the grit, that\u2019s the toughness and determination, so I take all that with me and try to embody that, day in and day out, with how I show up and how I put in my work for our staff and our players.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Lucy Olsen is carving out a role in the WNBA. Former Villanova teammate Maddy Siegrist showed her how.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Before that, though, he was a financial adviser in his native New York. It wasn\u2019t the right fit, and Belle gave him the push he needed.<\/p>\n \u201cHe called me one day, I\u2019ll never forget it,\u201d she said. \u201cHe said, \u2018Belle, I want to coach.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018You can only run from your blood for so long, brother.\u2019 We\u2019re all educators, coaches, in the family, so it\u2019s in his blood. He\u2019s excellent at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris, 35, is the youngest of five children, with four sisters \u2014 Belle is nine years older<\/a>. So what\u2019s it like having your younger brother as your boss?<\/p>\n \u201cHim and I are very similar in a lot of ways and then different in others, but have just the utmost respect and appreciation of one another,\u201d Belle said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been talking about, over the course of both of our careers, if there was ever an opportunity to be able to do this, in any manner, we would love to. So here we are. [I\u2019m] just grateful that he wants me by his side.\u201d<\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t been the easiest year in the Lone Star State. The Wings, who, as of early June, were the WNBA\u2019s second-youngest team<\/a>, are 9-24 (11th in the 13-team league) and have battled injuries to key players like Paige Bueckers and former Villanova<\/a> star Maddy Siegrist all season. <\/p>\n But Drexel\u2019s Mallon believes there\u2019s still valuable growth to be had in a tough season and hopes to see that core group stay together and build on the philosophy the Koclanes siblings \u2014 like many before them \u2014 forged in the city\u2019s basketball tradition. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s like this link,\u201d she said. \u201cIt all seems to come back to Philadelphia. It\u2019s kind of cool how you see that, and you don\u2019t realize it until you start talking to people. \u2026 You definitely feel it and feel what it\u2019s about and why there\u2019s terms like that\u2019s Philadelphia basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 The hallmarks of Philadelphia hoops culture are famous for a reason. 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