CHICAGO – Wearing a black Chicago Sky practice jersey with her hair pulled into a tight bun, Skylar Diggins brought the team into a huddle as practice ended on the third day of training camp. She was clearly at ease in the role of the Sky’s leader on the court.
Someone who didn’t know better would have no idea she signed with Chicago just 11 days ago. Diggins is starting her 12th season in the league, but her first with the Sky.
With the Sky’s longtime point guard Courtney Vandersloot still rehabbing an ACL tear, Diggins is the player that the younger athletes on the team turn to.
“What I’ll do is lead by example. I always say, with the rookies, don’t jump in and be first. See it one time, and you could be second, you. It’s a lot of teaching. It’s a lot of people coming up to me, asking questions,” Diggins said to The IX Basketball. “They just want to make the team. They want to do well. And asking, ‘What do you see, Sky, hey, what do you see for me? What can I do better?’”
Of the 19 players currently on the Sky’s roster, 13 have two years of experience or fewer. But what impresses Diggins is just how inquisitive her new teammates are.
“It’s not just asking questions, but asking the right questions, not having to ask the same questions twice, which means they’re retaining it. It’s some attention and some retention too, in that,” she said.
At the same time, Diggins is in a new environment, with a new coach, new teammates and a new system. Vandersloot has been with the team as she goes through her final months of rehab, and she’s served as an ear for Diggins to turn to.
“Anytime I get a chance to have an aside with Sloot about something, yeah, this is how we would do this, picking her brain about stuff, because she got the master key to all of this,” Diggins said. “And so just trying to understand it with a system from what [Sky coach] Tyler [Marsh] wants. It’s kind of crazy, because simultaneously, while I’m learning, I’m teaching the things, as far as standards, attitude, how you show up, your routine, recovery, all the things in between. And so a lot of learning for me, but also teaching. And so I embrace both sides of it.”
Marsh is in his second season with the Sky, and he’s hoping for a better result than last season’s 10-34 record.
“She’s been an extension of the coaching staff. She’s got her own experiences from so many different years and organizations that she can bring forth,” Marsh said about Diggins. “And so the other vets have been feeding off her, but it’s been especially important for our young players to be around her and just hear how she communicates on both sides of the ball, how she leads the approach and the focus that she brings to each day. It’s been invaluable for us as a staff.”
Rachel Banham is one of those veterans. She’s in her third season with the Sky, and has been in the league since 2016.
“It’s another leader that uses her vocal ability,” Banham said to The IX Basketball. “She overly communicates, and with a younger group, you need that. It’s not just Sloot saying stuff, or me saying stuff. She’s good at demanding a room, so everyone’s gonna listen.”
Building a team up isn’t going to be easy, which Diggins acknowledges. But it’s the kind of work she came to Chicago for.
“I’ve been around a long time, and this is a really good group, but we know we have a lot of work in front of us, and we’re not afraid of that. So I’m excited about that too, that building process of what it’s going to be, and know that we’re not unique in that a lot of teams, outside of four teams, who’ve got their core, who are going to be going through some growing pains. And so we anticipate that, we welcome that, and we look forward to the review.”
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