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For current information on this topic, see 2010 Chicago Sky season. |
| Chicago Sky | |
|---|---|
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| Conference | Eastern |
| Founded | 2005 |
| History | Chicago Sky (2005-present) |
| Arena | Allstate Arena |
| City | Rosemont, Illinois |
| Team colors | Sky, Yellow, White |
| Owner(s) | Michael J. Alter |
| General manager | Steven Key |
| Head Coach | Steven Key |
| Championships | None |
| Conference titles | None |
| Mascot | Sky Guy [1] |
| Official website | wnba.com |
The Chicago Sky is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Chicago, Illinois. They began league play in 2006. Their home court is the Allstate Arena. Sky games are broadcast on WTTW or WCIU and WVON-AM 1690. Their play by play broadcasters are Les Grobstein and Tauja Catchings. Unlike other WNBA franchises in cities with NBA teams, the Sky is not a sister team to the Chicago Bulls. This is apparent with different ownership, team colors, and different home arenas, although there is a link to the Sky website from the Bulls website.
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Franchise history
Franchise origin
In February 2005, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced Chicago as the city awarded with a new WNBA franchise. The franchise was temporarily named WNBA Chicago. On May 27, 2005, former NBA player and coach Dave Cowens was announced as the team's first head coach and general manager. The team home would be the UIC Pavilion.
The team name and logo were formally debuted on September 20, 2005, at the Adler Planetarium. The Chicago Sky were officially born. Team President and CEO Margaret Stender claimed the team colors of yellow and blue represent "A beautiful day in Chicago between the blue sky and bright sunlight to highlight the spectacular skyline."
The team's introduction in Chicago was highlighted by the appearance of several WNBA star players, including 2004 WNBA Rookie of the Year Diana Taurasi, 2005 WNBA Rookie of the Year Temeka Johnson, 2002 WNBA Rookie of the Year Sue Bird and 2003 WNBA Champion Ruth Riley.
In November 2005, the team held an expansion draft to help build its roster of players. Among the notable selections were Brooke Wyckoff from the Connecticut Sun, Bernadette Ngoyisa from the San Antonio Silver Stars, Elaine Powell from the Detroit Shock and Stacey Dales (who had retired prior to the 2005 season) from the Washington Mystics.
On February 28, 2006, the team announced that two of the minority shareholders of the team are Michelle Williams, from the vocal group Destiny's Child and Matthew Knowles, father of Destiny's Child lead singer Beyoncé Knowles.
Reaching for the Sky (2006-2008)
The Chicago Sky were ready to get the 2006 WNBA season underway. The team would experience typical expansion team growing pains. The Sky would post 5-29 record, dead last in the Eastern Conference.
After the season, Dave Cowens resigned from the Sky to join the coaching staff of the Detroit Pistons. University of Missouri-Kansas City women's head basketball coach Bo Overton was named the Chicago Sky's new head coach and general manager on December 12, 2006.
Their WNBA-worst 2006 record of 5-29 gave them the best chance of drawing the top pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft. However, the Sky would not draw either of the top two picks, and ended up with the third overall pick, which they used to select Armintie Price. They would get the first pick in the dispersal draft of the Charlotte Sting, however, which they used to select Monique Currie.
In 2007, the Sky would field a vastly improved team. The core group of players from 2006 along with some new additions (Notably rookie Armintie Price) helped make the team competitive. The Sky would be in the Eastern Conference playoff picture all year long, even holding the #4 seed for part of the season. But the Sky finished with a 14-20 record. This would make them two games behind the fourth and final playoff spot. Guard Armintie Price was named the 2007 WNBA Rookie of the Year after the season.
On March 12, 2008 the Sky announced that Head Coach Bo Overton resigned his position of coach/general manager. Assistant coach Steven Key was named head coach/general manager of the Sky.
The Sky selected Sylvia Fowles with the second overall pick of the 2008 WNBA Draft.
In the 2008 season, the Sky would once again fail to make the playoffs as they post a 12-22 record, finishing 5th in the East. This was disappointing because for most of the season, rookie Fowles was out with an injury. She was injured trying to block a shot (instead getting called for the WNBA's first goaltending call).
In the off season Chicago Sky rookie center Sylvia Fowles was selected to play on the United States Olympic team. In the Beijing Olympics she averaged 13.4 ppg and 8.4 rbg leading her team to a perfect record in the Olympics and a gold medal.
Sky's the Limit (2009-present)
The Sky had a less-than-stellar first three years of existence. It was time for the young franchise to turn things around.
In the 2009 WNBA Draft, the Chicago Sky selected point guard Kristi Toliver with the 3rd pick. A standout player from the University of Maryland, Toliver was known for her impressive shooting ability and propensity to produce in clutch situations. Never was this more evident than in the 2006 National Championship game when Toliver, then a freshmen, hit a game-tying three-pointer to send the game into overtime against Duke, eventually leading to a win and Maryland's first National Championship. In her debut season she averaged 7.6 ppg, 1.4 rbg and 1.9 apg.
By the 2009 All-Star break, the Sky were in playoff contention with an average record. Superb play from all-stars Candice Dupree, Sylvia Fowles, and Jia Perkins allowed the Sky to produce better than ever before. On August 17, 2009 The Chicago Sky acquired guard Tamera Young in exchange for guard Armentie Price in hope of making the playoffs and on September 1, 2009 the Chicago sky waived their veteran foward Brooke Wycoff who was injured with an ACL tear and signed Center Katie Feenstra Mattera. The Sky would be in the their Conference playoff picture all year long, even holding the number two seed for a small portion of their season. Unfortunately the Sky finished with a 16-18 record, loosing their playoff hopes against the Detroit Shock as they were eliminated from playoff contention just a day before the end of the regular season.
On August 17, 2009, the Sky announced that the team's new home would be Allstate Arena. This change would go into affect beginning with the 2010 WNBA season. The Chicago Sky General Manager and Head Coach signed a two year contract extension on September 25, 2009. On September 23, 2009 USA Basketball announced to the public that Dupree is one of 14 athletes who were invited to attend the fall training camp of the U.S. women's national team at American University in Washington. She will be joining her Sky teammate center Sylvia Fowles, who is anticipated to make the Olympic roster for the 2012 Games in London.
Uniforms
- 2006 - Present: At home, white with light blue on the sides. Collar is light blue. On the road, light blue with gold on the sides. Collar is gold.
Season-by-season records
| Season | Team | Conference | Regular season | Playoff Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | ||||||
| Chicago Sky | ||||||||
| 2006 | 2006 | East | 7th | 5 | 29 | .147 | ||
| 2007 | 2007 | East | 6th | 14 | 20 | .412 | ||
| 2008 | 2008 | East | 5th | 12 | 22 | .353 | ||
| 2009 | 2009 | East | 5th | 16 | 18 | .471 | ||
| 2010 | 2010 | East | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||
| Regular season | 47 | 89 | .346 | 0 Conference Championships | ||||
| Playoffs | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 WNBA Championships | ||||
Players
Current roster
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Chicago Sky roster
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Former players
- Monique Currie (2007), now a member of the Washington Mystics
- Stacey Dales (2006-2007)
- Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert (2006)
- Nikki McCray (2006)
- Chasity Melvin (2006-2008), now a member of the Washington Mystics
- Bernadette Ngoyisa (2006-2007)
- Chelsea Newton (2006), now a member of the Sacramento Monarchs
- Elaine Powell (2006)
- Ashley Robinson (2006), now a member of the Seattle Storm
- Deanna Jackson (2006)
- Brooke Wyckoff (2006-2009)
Coaches
Head Coaches:
- Dave Cowens (2006)
- Bo Overton (2007)
- Steven Key (2008-present)
Assistant Coaches:
- Steven Key (2006-2007)
- Roger Reding (2007)
- Stephanie White (2007-present)
All-Stars
- 2006: Candice Dupree
- 2007: Candice Dupree
- 2008: No All Star Game (2008 Beijing Olympics)
- 2009: Candice Dupree, Sylvia Fowles, Jia Perkins
References
- "Chicago Sky Front Office". http://www.wnba.com/sky/sky_front_office_new.html. Retrieved September 20, 2005.
- "Chicago Sky take flight". http://www.ccchronicle.com/paper/citybeat.php?id=1680. Retrieved September 20, 2005.
- "WNBA Expanding to Chicago in 2006". http://www.wnba.com/news/chicago2006_release050208.html. Retrieved February 8, 2005.
- "Chicago Sky Announces Expansion Draft Selections". http://www.wnba.com/news/sky_expansion_051116.html. Retrieved November 16, 2005.
- February 28, 2006 Chicago Sky press release announcing Michelle Williams on its ownership group
- Steven Key named Head Coach/General Manager
External links
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