Thank you to everyone who wrote in about this head-scratcher of a Sky (6-13) season! Keep the questions coming. We’ll do another one soon.
How does [general manager Jeff Pagliocca] justify his decision to sign 3 players [Azura Stevens, Courtney Vandersloot, DiJonai Carrington] who are/were injured such that they were not able to start the season? — Doressia H
That’s the big question, isn’t it? The simplest way to put it is that Pagliocca and coach Tyler Marsh really wanted these players in the program, so much that they were willing to wait for them. They love Stevens as a floor spacer and think she has a ton of upside offensively. They love Vandersloot’s ability to run a team, and Carrington for all the things she’s known for.
The second piece of it though is that they believed the rest of the roster was strong enough to “hold it down” in their absence. Maybe that would have been true if they hadn’t lost Rickea Jackson to injury, or shot so poorly to start the season, or if Marsh had more experience — I’m really not sure. But they certainly weren’t expecting to be 5-12 when Vandersloot returned.
How do they recover from Rickea Jackson’s injury? [Jackson, the team’s leading scorer, tore her ACL in the fourth game of the season.] — X
I think the team is starting to discover a way forward. They’ve won two of their last three and are averaging 100+ points during that span. Everyone from the Wings’ Paige Bueckers to the Aces’ Jewell Loyd has told me that the Sky are far more dangerous than their record shows.
But it’s taken a lot of progress to get to this point. Stevens had to regain her confidence after a knee injury. Kamilla Cardoso had to find another gear. Sydney Taylor had to prove herself, and Marsh had to trust her with the starting slot.
If only they could’ve hammered some of these things out before sinking to the bottom of the standings! But, changes are bearing fruit: over the last eight games, the Sky are a top three offense in the league.
Will the return of DiJonai Carrington be able to turn this thing around? What’s the timeline for her return? — Kayla M.
To start with the positive: having a great wing defender like Carrington is a huge asset. There are many great guards around the league — think Rhyne Howard, Olivia Miles, Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark — who require special attention and Carrington is just the player to give it to them.
The leadership piece will help too. Carrington is clearly a fountain of knowledge on defense, and the Sky want to define themselves on that side of the ball.
But I think what’s at the heart of your question is: the Sky have put themselves in a pretty big hole at 6-13, so it’s tough to see one player digging them out of it. That’s totally valid! Especially because Carrington will need time to settle in whenever she does return.
When exactly, will that be? What I can tell you is that she’s been doing individual workouts (meaning shooting, ball-handling, etc.) and rehab, but has not returned to practice. The team has not given any sort of target date.
Why does the offense stray away from Kamilla Cardoso? — X
That was an early-season failure that the team recognizes and has gotten much better at. I think the last five games prove it: Cardoso has been consistently involved, averaging 21.8 points on 75% shooting during that span.
Her avoiding foul trouble is key — when Marsh has to pull her out, it disrupts the flow and shortens her window of opportunity. Also, it does take more effort to get her involved than some of the better scorers in the league, many of whom you can just give the ball to on the perimeter and let go to work.
Is there a favorite song making its way through the team right now? — Mike P.
I asked rookie forward Aicha Coulibaly about this and she couldn’t think of one. But she did say that she’s been singing “Say My Name” every day in the locker room, and veteran guard Rachel Banham is tired of it.
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