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The Dallas Wings were defeated by the Seattle Storm 83-77 on Tuesday night. The Wings fell to 1-7 with the defeat. DiJonai Carrington led Dallas with 22 points as Paige Bueckers missed her second consecutive game due to concussion protocol. Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale was noticeably quiet in the defeat, scoring just eight points on 4-15 shooting from the field.
Ogunbowale has been the best player on this Wings roster over the past few years. The 28-year-old has made four consecutive All-Star teams. Ogunbowale's struggles so far in 2025 have been impossible to ignore, however.
Through eight games in the '25 campaign, Ogunbowale is averaging 16.1 points on forgettable shooting percentages of 34.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc. Ogunbowale has never been the most efficient scorer, but she's found the bottom of the net on a consistent enough basis to cement herself as a star in the past.
In new Wings head coach Chris Koclanes' offense, though, that simply hasn't been the case.
“Just continuing to connect with her and help her, right? Is it off the ball, is it on the ball, you know, it's tough here when you're playing without a couple point guards,” Koclanes said of Ogunbowale's struggles, pointing to the difficulties of playing without guards Paige Bueckers and Tyasha Harris due to injuries. “You know, DiJonai (Carrington), thankfully, is able to step in and kind of fill that role for us here, but that makes it even harder, right? When those generals aren't out on the floor… Just continuing to find her shots and her spots and her comfort.
“Whether that's as the primary in the tunnel, is it on the wing, is it moving her? You know, we're exploring and she will continue to get more and more comfortable.”
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Are Chris Koclanes' Arike Ogunbowale comments concerning?
Koclanes' comments suggest that the Wings don't know how to utilize Ogunbowale to the best of her ability within the offense. If that is indeed the case — which it may not be — then that would be concerning. Coaching staffs should know how to place their superstars in the best possible positions to find success.
Koclanes has received a significant amount of criticism on social media. He hasn't been perfect by any means. It's clear that he's making the adjustment as a WNBA head coach. With that being said, he does not deserve all of the blame.
There have been plenty of stars in both the WNBA and NBA who have found success regardless of how talented a coach is at their job. Arike Ogunbowale has failed to make the adjustment to this new offense. More importantly, her struggles down the stretch of games have been nothing short of alarming.
Good basketball teams often feature reliable “closers,” players who can take care of business and lead their teams to victories late in contests. In clutch time (five minutes or less, five-point or less score difference), Ogunbowale has averaged 2.2 points on 33.3 percent field goal shooting. The Wings are 0-5 in those games.
Ogunbowale is not the entire reason for Dallas' struggles. However, the Wings have played a number of competitive contests and Ogunbowale clearly wants the ball late in games. If she isn't going to get the job done in clutch time, though, perhaps a player such as Paige Bueckers (once she returns from injury) should begin receiving the opportunity to take extra shots late in the fourth quarter.
