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BREAKING: Seattle Storm fire head coach Jenny Boucek, name Gary Kloppenburg interim coach

By Howard Megdal

UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT- August 8: Seattle Storm head coach Jenny Boucek on the sideline during the Connecticut Sun Vs Seattle Storm WNBA regular season game at Mohegan Sun Arena on August 8th, 2017 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT- August 8: Seattle Storm head coach Jenny Boucek on the sideline during the Connecticut Sun Vs Seattle Storm WNBA regular season game at Mohegan Sun Arena on August 8th, 2017 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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The Seattle Storm, bowing to player discontentment and a performance below expectations, announced that they have replaced head coach Jenny Boucek, effective immediately.

Gary Kloppenburg, who had been an assistant in Seattle and has previous head coaching experience, will be taking the interim reins.

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“I believe new leadership is needed at this time to give our team the best chance at short and long term success,” Seattle Storm president and general manager Alisha Valvanis said in a press release Thursday afternoon. “I am grateful for the passion and commitment Jenny has demonstrated throughout her time with the Seattle Storm.  She has been an important part of our organization and we wish her well in the next steps of her career.”

Boucek finished her Seattle tenure with a 36-58 record over three seasons. She ascended to the head coaching job when Brian Agler left the Storm to take the head coaching position with the Los Angeles Sparks.

After a 10-24 campaign in 2015, the Storm added Breanna Stewart as the first pick in 2016 and improved to 16-18, reaching the playoffs. But the Storm have struggled to repeat, let alone improve upon their 2016 play, with a 10-16 mark so far this year.

In recent weeks, the discontentment grew louder among Boucek’s own players, while Valvanis declined to give Boucek a vote of confidence in an interview with The Summitt on July 27.

Kloppenburg, 64, previously served as an assistant in numerous other stops, and coached the Tulsa Shock in 2012-2013. He is a knowledgeable basketball mind, and how he tries to mold the Storm over this final stretch of the season, one in which the team is still within range of the playoffs, will be fascinating.

TULSA, OK – AUGUST 23: Head coach Gary Kloppenburg of the Tulsa Shock eyes the clock in the final moments against the San Antonio Silver Stars during the WNBA game on August 23, 2013 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Shane Bevel/NBAE via Getty Images)
TULSA, OK – AUGUST 23: Head coach Gary Kloppenburg of the Tulsa Shock eyes the clock in the final moments against the San Antonio Silver Stars during the WNBA game on August 23, 2013 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Shane Bevel/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Consider that a potential defensive buy-in that was clearly missing this year from a Storm team that dropped from fourth last year in defensive efficiency to tenth this season could prove definitive over this final push.

Also worth remembering: the Storm are currently fourth in the league in three pointers attempted. Both of Kloppenburg’s Tulsa teams led the WNBA in long-range attempts, with the 2012 Shock checking in at 714 threes attempted.

The Kloppenburg Storm debut on Saturday, August 12, when they face the Phoenix Mercury on the road.

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