By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. – Charli Turner Thorne is intrigued by the possibilities that new assistant coach Briann January presents.
When the Sun Devils standout and current Indiana Fever point guard hits the recruiting road in September, she'll be able to flash that WNBA championship ring, and when January jumped on a Facetime chat with ASU's players on Wednesday, she was already in inspire mode.
"She went right into this speech, telling them 'it's all about the now,'" said Turner Thorne, who officially announced January's hiring on Wednesday. "Players listen to me because I'm old and this is all I've done, but she brings a different, meaningful perspective. Most of the kids we recruit aspire to be professional players and the ultimate is making it to the WNBA. She has just recently done what they are working so hard to do so she will have some great experiences to share with them."
Turner Thorne had a hunch that January was coaching material when she was leading the Sun Devils offense and defense from 2006-09. January is ASU's career leader in assists and free throw percentage; she is second in steals and ninth in scoring. She was Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009, and All-Pac-10 first team in 2009 when the Sun Devils reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
January wasn't even sure she wanted to play in the WNBA as her ASU career was winding down, but five years into her professional career, she dipped her toes into the assistant coaching waters along with a couple of WNBA friends -- Ivory Latta at North Carolina and Alysha Clark at Middle Tennessee State. January spent the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach at Adelphi University and the seeds were planted for a future beyond her playing days.
"It was not staffed like a DI school so I had a hand in everything," said January." I was exhausted every day but I loved every day and I learned so much. After that I was like,' this is what I want to do.'"
The Fever selected January with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2009 WNBA draft. She has been Indiana's starting point guard since 2011, making the WNBA All-Defensive team each of the last five seasons and being named an All-Star in 2014. The Fever won the WNBA title in 2012 with January averaging 11.5 points and 3.8 assists during the playoffs.
January has also played five WNBA offseasons overseas to earn enough money -- two in Turkey, two in Israel and one in Brazil. She will continue to play for the Fever, whose training camp begins on Sunday, but Turner Thorne said she would do so with the full support of ASU.
"She'll miss summer training and recruiting," said Turner Thorne, who started talking to January in earnest about the ASU job after Sun Devils assistant Amanda Levens left to take the head coaching job at Nevada. "Whenever she decides to retire, it will be awesome to have her year round but she's still going to bring so much."
January should help develop ASU's guards -- junior Sabrina Haines and sophomores Reili Richardson, Robbi Ryan and Kiara Russell. She admits that her current WNBA gig may have an influence on the Sun Devils' players, but she's not sure how long it will last.
"The first I time I raise my voice it might go away," she said, laughing. "But it is a great opportunity. I would have loved to have the same experience when I was at ASU -- to have a pro player coach me. That's what we all want, to get to that next level."
January said she is still getting a handle on her new schedule.
"During the summer, I'll be completely dedicated to the Indiana Fever, but I'll be watching hours and hours of film, catching up on the team and opponents and getting acquainted with everything before I get to campus and work with kids," she said.
"Alysha Clark told me 'be prepared to be exhausted.' It's a different kind of grind that I'm taking on. There's so much more to college coaching than just getting on the court and helping kids get better."
Even so, January can't wait to work with Turner Thorne again.
"She's an amazing woman; a great role model," January said. "She is a mentor, one of the greatest mentors of my life so to have an opportunity to coach under her is a dream come true. I know I still have so much to learn from her; more than I have already."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
TEMPE, Ariz. – Charli Turner Thorne is intrigued by the possibilities that new assistant coach Briann January presents.
When the Sun Devils standout and current Indiana Fever point guard hits the recruiting road in September, she'll be able to flash that WNBA championship ring, and when January jumped on a Facetime chat with ASU's players on Wednesday, she was already in inspire mode.
"She went right into this speech, telling them 'it's all about the now,'" said Turner Thorne, who officially announced January's hiring on Wednesday. "Players listen to me because I'm old and this is all I've done, but she brings a different, meaningful perspective. Most of the kids we recruit aspire to be professional players and the ultimate is making it to the WNBA. She has just recently done what they are working so hard to do so she will have some great experiences to share with them."
Turner Thorne had a hunch that January was coaching material when she was leading the Sun Devils offense and defense from 2006-09. January is ASU's career leader in assists and free throw percentage; she is second in steals and ninth in scoring. She was Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009, and All-Pac-10 first team in 2009 when the Sun Devils reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
January wasn't even sure she wanted to play in the WNBA as her ASU career was winding down, but five years into her professional career, she dipped her toes into the assistant coaching waters along with a couple of WNBA friends -- Ivory Latta at North Carolina and Alysha Clark at Middle Tennessee State. January spent the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach at Adelphi University and the seeds were planted for a future beyond her playing days.
"It was not staffed like a DI school so I had a hand in everything," said January." I was exhausted every day but I loved every day and I learned so much. After that I was like,' this is what I want to do.'"
The Fever selected January with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2009 WNBA draft. She has been Indiana's starting point guard since 2011, making the WNBA All-Defensive team each of the last five seasons and being named an All-Star in 2014. The Fever won the WNBA title in 2012 with January averaging 11.5 points and 3.8 assists during the playoffs.
January has also played five WNBA offseasons overseas to earn enough money -- two in Turkey, two in Israel and one in Brazil. She will continue to play for the Fever, whose training camp begins on Sunday, but Turner Thorne said she would do so with the full support of ASU.
"She'll miss summer training and recruiting," said Turner Thorne, who started talking to January in earnest about the ASU job after Sun Devils assistant Amanda Levens left to take the head coaching job at Nevada. "Whenever she decides to retire, it will be awesome to have her year round but she's still going to bring so much."
January should help develop ASU's guards -- junior Sabrina Haines and sophomores Reili Richardson, Robbi Ryan and Kiara Russell. She admits that her current WNBA gig may have an influence on the Sun Devils' players, but she's not sure how long it will last.
"The first I time I raise my voice it might go away," she said, laughing. "But it is a great opportunity. I would have loved to have the same experience when I was at ASU -- to have a pro player coach me. That's what we all want, to get to that next level."
January said she is still getting a handle on her new schedule.
"During the summer, I'll be completely dedicated to the Indiana Fever, but I'll be watching hours and hours of film, catching up on the team and opponents and getting acquainted with everything before I get to campus and work with kids," she said.
"Alysha Clark told me 'be prepared to be exhausted.' It's a different kind of grind that I'm taking on. There's so much more to college coaching than just getting on the court and helping kids get better."
Even so, January can't wait to work with Turner Thorne again.
"She's an amazing woman; a great role model," January said. "She is a mentor, one of the greatest mentors of my life so to have an opportunity to coach under her is a dream come true. I know I still have so much to learn from her; more than I have already."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter