There are moments in life that are permanently ingrained in our memories for a multitude of reasons. Over 8,000 miles away in a foreign country for the first time, then-Wisconsin-River Falls women’s basketball assistant coach Blake DuDonis made an addition with one of his first interactions with former South Florida head coach Jose Fernandez, who is on the cusp of filling the coaching vacancy on the Dallas Wings, according to SB Nation’s Mitchell Northam.
“I was actually in Bangkok for the World Championships,” said DuDonis, who’s now an assistant a the University of Fairfield. “This was back, I don’t know, six or seven years ago now. I was running down the street trying to find a taxi, trying to get back to the hotel, and I looked across the street and he was just staring at me, smiling. I look at him like, hey. He’s like, ‘I just got a taxi. You want to hop in?’ So, we shared a taxi ride back to the hotel.”
In 25 seasons at the University of South Florida, Fernandez compiled 12 20-win seasons,10 NCAA Tournament appearances, several wins in March, nine seasons boasting a Top 25 ranking as a mid-major, and 485 overall victories as a program. His resume includes two AAC Coach of the Year awards and two AAC titles over the last five seasons.
Accolades like these are not achieved overnight in a college basketball space that is as competitive and versatile as it has ever been, from the coaching staff down to the athletes. Under his leadership, South Florida is home to seven WNBA draft picks, 40+ all-conference players, and several All-Americans. Of Fernandez’s abilities as a coach, his history of player development and buy-in is legendary as a leader at a non-P4 program. When constructing his rosters, Fernandez’s reputation as a seasoned tactician, recruiter, and scout of the international basketball scene is well-renowned.
“If you’re in college coaching for long enough, inevitably your path is going to cross with Jose Fernandez”, said DuDonis. “He’s just one of those people. In a sport where we’re all competitive and trying to beat each other, he still somehow rises above. He’s just so beloved, and he cares about the sport so much that any type of personal animosity someone might have towards him because of recruiting or coaching against him gets outweighed because he’s always thinking about what’s best for the sport and always trying to help people.
Off the court and on his own time, Fernandez is as visible as he is reachable for those seeking to pick his brain on the inner workings of the profession. Whether that form of communication is a call, text, or carrier pigeon, Fernandez will get back to you.
“The number of times I’ve called him just randomly with a question about international recruiting or something else,” laughed DuDonis. “He picks up every single time. He’ll text me with information, and he’ll email me information. He’s just someone who is looking out for the best interest of the sport.”
To DuDonis’ point on the respect that Fernandez garners from his colleagues, perhaps no greater example is the view that Huskies Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma holds of his nature in the game.
“I think he’s a tremendous coach, obviously, as everybody knows, but he cares deeply about the game itself,” Auriemma said earlier this year when Fernandez was named president of the Women’s College Basketball Association. “He’s been involved in various committees. So he puts in the time and the effort that it takes.
International basketball players took the WNBA by storm this past season. Two members of the All-Rookie Team are from France: Dominique Malonga and Janelle Salaun. In their expansion draft, the Golden State Valkyries selected seven players who hail from outside the United States.
“The international part … that wasn’t my mindset,” Nakase said after the draft. “It was building the best team that I wanted to build.”
In her first season as a head coach, Nakase won Coach of the Year for her efforts in leading the Valkyries to history in several cases, including the most wins for an expansion team and the first to secure a playoff berth in its inaugural season. Golden State powered through a season filled with lows due to numerous injuries and losing players to EuroBasket, but Nakase’s experience and eye for talent that flew under the radar were crucial as her team navigated uncharted waters.
As an expert in international recruiting himself in the collegiate ranks and the inheritor of a roster led by 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers and perennial All-Star Arike Ogunbowale, North Texas will be Fernandez’s canvas to produce the roster and culture necessary to extract the best out of his two superstars.
From Dudonis’ point of view, Dallas couldn’t be a more perfect landing spot.
“If you’ve been following women’s college basketball closely and paying attention, Jose has been at the forefront of the changes. He’s not adjusting to trends; he’s setting trends. He spends an absurd amount of time overseas, and it’s not just to the big countries everyone thinks about. He’s going to small islands. He’s going to uncharted territory to look at players, and he’s been doing it for 15-plus years. The rest of the college basketball world hasn’t been doing it for that long. Not only his eye, but he knows what it looks like over there. He knows what he’s looking for, but the deep-rooted connections that he’s built. Anytime there is a player of college basketball and WNBA caliber, he’s getting calls from people because he’s been there. They know him, he’s coached their players, they trust him, and they like him.
“So, I think that piece is really being undersold as being able to get in on the ground floor level with these prospects earlier than others”, Dudonis continued. “He’s been doing it for a long time, and I think it’s really going to benefit him in a time where the league is becoming more and more international every year.”
In an era where international players are not only earning spots in the WNBA but staying in them, a leader at the front of the bench who has their finger on the pulse of the international basketball scene is paramount. No longer are European basketball concepts being integrated without the talent to execute them. Women’s college basketball players have been students of these principles for quite some time, and they’re finally panning out on the professional stage stateside. As an innovator in a myriad of fields, North Texas’ market will play a considerable role in Fernandez’s success in the international market.
After a 10-34 campaign and the dismissal of the franchise’s fifth head coach in the last seven seasons, Fernandez brings the stability, integrity, and experience needed to lift the Wings into the air again. When a new collective bargaining agreement is reached between the league and the WNBPA, Dallas will have two expansion drafts to finalize preparations for and an impending free agency period where virtually every household name in the league will be on the open market.
“Over the years, he’s been someone who’s able to craft what he does based on the roster that he has,” Dudonis said. “There are a lot of coaches who say this is how we play, always, no matter what, even if they don’t have the players to do it, where Jose is not so hardheaded. He’s like, ‘Okay, even though we’ve done this in the past and it’s worked, we don’t have players of that skill set. We’re going to change and do this so that we can utilize our good skill set.’ I think that’s an underrated sign of a good coach being able to adjust, change, and not just try to get everyone conformed. I think, especially at the pro level, when your roster gets changed, it’s tough. Trades happen, then free agency happens, so you might think your team looks one way, and it looks a different way. He’s someone who, over the course of his career, has been able to and willing to adjust and switch.”
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Born and raised in Chicago, Christan Braswell is a women’s sports journalist with a focus on the WNBA and women’s college basketball. He’s an avid fan of elevator screens and stuffed-crust pizza. Outside of sports, he’s an avid cook and lover of the great outdoors.
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