Atlanta Dream introduces new Head Coach Karl Smesko

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Dream introduced new Head Coach Karl Smesko on Tuesday.

Channel 2 Action News was there as Smesko was welcomed to Atlanta.

Smesko, the founding head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast University Women’s basketball team, is credited with building FGCU into a perennial NCAA tournament team.

“I’m excited about the team we have and what we are going to be capable of building here,” Smesko said Tuesday. “We share a vision for Atlanta Dream basketball that we hope to put in place and make the city proud.

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Former Dream Head Coach Tanisha Wright was fired after three seasons with the team. The announcement was made just after the team was knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the New York Liberty.

“What became clear was we wanted a proven winner, we wanted someone with an innovative basketball mind and we wanted a team and culture builder,” Atlanta Dream General Manager Dan Padover said.

Smesko brings over two decades of head coaching experience to the Atlanta dream. His 672 total wins rank eighth overall among active head coaches.

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