Atlanta Dream tap Karl Smesko from FGCU as new head coach

On Wednesday, the Atlanta Dream hired Karl Smesko, who had been the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast (FGCU) since 2002, as the team’s new head coach.

Owner of the third-highest winning percentage (.845) among active head coaches in NCAA Division I women’s basketball (behind only UConn’s Geno Auriemma and LSU’s Kim Mulkey), Smesko led FGCU to 611 wins, 14 Atlantic Sun (ASUN) regular season titles, 11 ASUN tournament championships and 10 NCAA Tournament berths in 23 seasons behind an innovative offensive style that heavily emphasized 3-point shots, using the threat of long distance shots to then open easier scoring opportunities around the basket.

He’ll now import that offense to an Atlanta team that tended to stagnant on that end of the floor, finishing last in offensive rating for the 2024 WNBA season. As Atlanta general manager Dan Padover noted, “The one thing that we know for sure is we’re going to play highly efficient basketball.”


https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/2024/11/13/24295765/wnba-atlanta-dream-head-coach-hire-karl-smesko-fgcu-raining-3s-offense-shooting-dan-padover-howard