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As the search for Sandy Brondello’s replacement continues, the Liberty might not have to look far to potentially find her successor.
The Liberty’s top in-house option might be assistant coach Sonia Raman, who joined Brondello’s staff last offseason.
Raman is in the Liberty’s pool of head coaching candidates, sources said.
General manager Jonathan Kolb made it clear in his exit interview last month that he would be taking his time during the vetting process. Several sources have indicated he’s looking for someone with NBA experience. And when Kolb was previously asked whether a candidate would need to have prior WNBA experience, he said, “I don’t think we want to limit our scope on a candidate.
“We want to have a really diverse pool of candidates to speak with,” he said.
Raman is in the group under consideration.
She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table as a college head coach along with time on NBA and WNBA benches.
Former Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins once lauded Raman for her high basketball IQ and “tremendous ability to teach the game.”
Those traits are part of the reason the Liberty hired her last winter for their title-defense attempt.
Raman shares similar analytics philosophies as the Liberty front office. In a midseason conversation with The Post, Raman said she’s “very analytically driven” though she also acknowledged “that numbers can … paint any picture you want them to paint.”
“If I see something number-wise, I usually like to then look at accompanying clips to go with it and see if it’s a real number or not,” Raman explained. “And if it is, what can we take out of it? What was the context around? So I very much like a feel and a number at times.”
A former Tufts walk-on, Raman got her first shot at being a head coach in 2008 when she was hired to lead the MIT women’s team.
During her 12 years guiding MIT, the Engineers went to two Division III NCAA Tournaments and she captured the program’s first two New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference championships in 2018 and 2019. She was named NEWMAC Coach of the Year twice, and remains the winningest coach in program history.
Raman joined Jenkins’ staff in Memphis before the 2020-21 season. Early in her NBA assistant career, she handled scouting responsibilities for a few teams and worked in player development.
In her first two seasons, she was on the defensive side of the ball and focused on doing deep dives into the Grizzlies’ defense and how it can improve. She transitioned to the offensive side of the ball after that.
“Sometimes I just kind of assigned myself projects and then I would go into Taylor’s office and say, ‘Hey, I looked at this and … this is what I found,’ ” she recalled. “He’d be like, ‘That’s great, let’s run with it.’ ”
Raman’s proactive approach was vital in her building trust with Jenkins, who gave her more responsibilities as the years went on.
Raman reportedly interviewed for multiple WNBA head coach jobs prior to the Liberty hiring her before last season.
While she had been a longtime fan of the league, Raman credited assistant coach Zach O’Brien for helping her with the transition to the WNBA.
Raman worked closely with Rebekah Gardner and Kennedy Burke — the latter of whom had a breakout season.
Gardner and Burke praised Raman for her supportiveness as well as helping them during tough times throughout the season. And Gardner said Raman helped her stay focused and prepared during the stretch of the season when Stephanie Talbot jumped her in the rotation.
Raman’s familiarity with the inner workings of the franchise as well as her relationships with core players may give her a leg up on her fellow interviewees.
If she were to get the job, she’d be the first Indian-American to hold a head coaching position in the NBA or WNBA.
She previously said she’s “really proud” to represent Indian-Americans on the bench.
“It’s really important to have representation and for younger people to be able to see that this is a viable option,” she said. “And something that they can work toward to be a coach at this level. I take that responsibility really seriously. I think about it in everything I do. So I want to do a really good job so that the opportunities come for the next group.”
Being a head coach, though, would only raise her profile.
