Courtney Vandersloot Season Review

Courtney Vandersloot in year ten of her WNBA career, proved that she has so much more left in the tank. The point god had another career year averaging 13.6 points, 10.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game. She started in every single game and continued to be the leader of the team.

All-Star Performance

Despite the fact the WNBA had no all star game or selections. Courtney Vandersloot put in an all star performance day in and day out. She set the WNBA record for assists per game at 10.0. She also set a career high in points at 13.6. Vandersloot runs the Chicago Sky’s fast paced offense. She initiates the offense and gets things going. For most of her career Vandersloot was underrated, but finally she seems to be getting her proper due.

Quick Playoff Exit

Injuries interrupted the Chicago Sky from title hopes so the teams time in the Wubble fizzled out. It’s a shame we’ll never see what that team would’ve done, but that’s sports. As long as the Chicago Sky are healthy I expect Vandersloot to be the same top player she has been and I expect the Sky to be title contenders heading into the 2021 season.

UMCC Connection

Courtney Vandersloot plays overseas for the UMCC which is the best team in Europe and might be the best team on planet earth. She will continue to dominate there as the starting point guard for the team. With Vandersloot’s play in Europe there’s not much to look for, just enjoy her amazing play. She’s been in the W for ten years and has been the best point guard for the last two. I don’t feel a need to watch UMCC to see how well she’s doing. I know as long as she’s healthy heading into 2021, than she’ll be a star. So watch UMCC playing in the Russia League and check out their EuroLeague games as well.

Closing Thoughts

Vandersloot just needs to be healthy and ready to go for 2021. As long as she’s ready on day one she’ll be great. Let’s hope she continues to dominate in Europe and come back to the states healthy and ready to go.

Allie Quigley Season Review

Allie Quigley in her 13th WNBA season proved that not only does she still have more left in the tank, but her best play might be ahead of her. She started in all 22 games she played in and was once again a star player not just for the team, but for the league.

Picking up where she left off.

The 2020 Wubble season started off well for Allie Quigley all things considered. She hit the game winner against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs in 2019 and she had 10 points, 4 rebounds, and two assists. The season was off to a good start and Allie Quigley was producing the way Skytown has expected her to.

Consistently Great

Allie Quigley was consistently great in 2020. Always starting, always producing, and even improving in certain aspects. She averaged 15.4 points a game which is her second best points average ever only one point below her career high of 16.4 in 2017. Rebounds and assists were slightly down, but the impact was not noticeable on the court and numerically it was an extremely minimal decrease.

She Is Who She Is

By now Allie Quigley’s career is very much established. She’s a great scorer and in the conversation for best three point shooter ever. She’s an all star guard and comes through in the clutch, time and time again. She may not be the strongest player or the best defensive wing in the WNBA, but her good far out ways her bad. She was the second best player on this team and, if the WNBA made all star selection for 2020, I assume she would’ve made the list.

Quigley Playing For UMCC

Right now Quigley is playing overseas for the Russian powerhouse UMCC. The team is stacked with WNBA talent including her wife and Chicago Sky teammate, Courtney Vandersloot. Allie Quigley is taking her stellar 2020 campaign and doing more of the same in Europe. For UMCC playing in EuroLeague, she is averaging 14 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. When it comes to her Overseas performance I just tend to sit back and enjoy Allie Quigley’s game. There’s not much I’m looking for anymore. I know she’s great and she will continue to be great until Father Time stops her. So, until than, enjoy watching one of the best shooters in the WNBA do her thing.

Gabby Williams 2020 Season Review

Gabby Williams improved on the court in 2020. She had a bigger role, scored more points, and was flirting with career bests in assists and rebounds. Still, despite the improvements, the season was mixed with frustration and questions. Why hasn’t Gabby Williams taken that leap? What’s her primary position? How can she be utilized the best? Skytown has had these questions for three years now and it feels like we aren’t any closer to an answer.

What Position Does Gabby Williams Play?

As a rookie I thought this answer was pretty easy. Gabby Williams is a forward. When coach James Wade took over that changed. He felt she was a point guard maybe even a point forward, but her future was no longer at the four. In 2019 Gabby Williams showed flashes of brilliance at this position. Her size, speed, and strength really created mismatches against opposing guards. However, a lot of times she also looked uncomfortable handling the ball that much. She kind of ran around like a baby deer learning to walk. A little out of control, a little unsure, but very eager to get moving. I found myself very split on this move. Part of me understood that it could work and create a dominant point guard who would just bully people. Part of me felt it’s too out of her comfort zone and now we’re losing a forward and not really gaining a great guard.

In 2020 the split continued. It seemed like James Wade was willing to put Gabby at the four more, but I’m not sure if that was a preference or a necessity due to the injuries the team experienced. The Twitter account @doubledownwnba ran a poll on “Gabby Williams most effective WNBA position” and the results were telling.

Nobody knows! We just want the results and after three years it’s just frustrating to not know a players best position and to see them not really take the leaps you’d like to see given the talent you know they have.

2020 Was A Bright Spot

Despite the frustrations with position and role. Gabby Williams did improve. She got more minutes and produced better in those minutes. She was like the Chicago Sky’s Swiss Army Knife. Able to adapt and play multiple positions and help the team out wherever they needed it. Honestly I wanted to see a bigger jump, but I did see improvement in all aspects of her game.

Gabby Williams Overseas

Gabby plays for Sopron Basket and I’m really interested in her performance overseas. She didn’t play a lot for the Sky so seeing her get significantly more playing time and watching how another coach uses her is something I’ll be looking at. I’ve always said overseas and WNBA is apples and oranges, but for some players I take what happens overseas more seriously. Usually is when I’m unsure about what the player will ultimately be, or if they don’t get a lot of playing time in the W. For me Gabby Williams fits that description so I’m watching all her Sopron Basket EuroLeague games.

Gabby Williams, Future All Star

I truly believe Gabby Williams can be an all star. I think she has all the talent and natural ability in the world to be one of the best players in the league. But what people can be and what they are is usually different. I hope Gabby can find a role on this team and I hope she can become the best version of herself here in Chicago. My biggest fear for Gabby is she either never reaches that full potential or she leaves Chicago and reaches that potential somewhere else. Hopefully Gabby Williams and the Chicago coaching staff ensure that doesn’t happen.

Azura Stevens: Season Review

Azura Stevens had a breakout season for the Chicago Sky. She had a career year and was a tremendous player for the team. Unfortunately she had her season cut short due to a knee injury and had to leave the Wubble after only 13 games. Still, a lot happened in those games, so let’s break down how Azura Stevens played in the 2020 season.

Writing A Wrong

Before we discuss how Azura Stevens played in 2020 we have to talk about how she ended up being a member of the Chicago Sky to begin with. On February 15th, the Dallas Wings traded Azura Stevens to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Katie Lou Samuelson and a 2021 first round draft pick. This was a good trade for the Sky. With this trade I feel that James Wade was admitting the mistake he made in drafting Katie Lou. Clearly she didn’t fit with the team and if you draft her and trade her after one season, I find that very telling.

On the plus side he was able to pick up Azura Stevens who ended up having a career year and started every game she played in. So taking a player you missed on and turning it into a starter is phenomenal. I give James Wade a lot of credit. Many other general managers would’ve kept Katie Lou even if they realized they were wrong just to see if something would change. He did a difficult thing and the Chicago Sky were a better team for it.

It Was The Best Of Times

Azura was amazing. She is a phenomenal athlete, she’s able to defend and switch, and she is a double digit scorer. Stat wise she had career highs in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks. Now some of that was because of her increase in playing time, but even her Per 36 minutes numbers were higher than normal. So it wasn’t just more playing time she was able to be more effective during that time on the court. Also, if you watch the tape you see how dominant she was offensively. She was really able to get her own bucket whenever she wanted to. Similar to Cheyenne Parker, Azura Stevens can create something out of nothing.

It Was The Worst Of Times

Unfortunately Azura Stevens suffered an injury to her left knee and was out for the rest of the season. That very same day Diamond DeShields left the Wubble permanently. These events effectively made it impossible for the Sky to truly reach their max potential and this effectively killed their championship aspirations. Now this happens to different teams every year and it’s part of the game, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing.

What’s Next?

Azura Stevens is not playing overseas at the moment. Right now she just needs to get healthy. She was having a great season and if she can be healthy for the 2021 WNBA season I expect her to be one of the starters for this team. Here’s hoping she gets healthy and stays healthy in 2021.

Sydney Colson: Season Review

On February 13, 2020 the Chicago Sky signed Sydney Colson for a one year deal. Little did we know at the time what 2020 had in store for all of us. In 2020 Sydney Colson got COVID-19, played in the bubble, and averaged 1.8 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in the 17 games she played in.

Veteran Who Understands Her Role

Overall you can look at Sydney Colson’s stats and be underwhelmed. Nothing really great to highlight on the court. Plays a shift a night when she does play and even those moments were limited. Still, I think Sydney Colson was a positive addition. She’s a veteran leader who has been part of many winning programs. I know that’s usually code for “old and no longer good”,but my words are sincere. She’s a vet who understands her role and plays it well. I can’t speak to the impact she makes on the looker room, but it seems as though she made a positive one. If people had a problem with Sydney Colson, well, they did a spectacular job hiding it.

What’s Next?

At the time of this article, Sydney Colson is not playing overseas. So that means we won’t see Colson playing again until next season. She is an unrestricted free agent so we’ll see if the Chicago Sky have an interest in bringing her back. I’d be fine with her returning. The Sky have a lot of decisions to make with the roster so those issues will probably have to be taken care of first before they take a look at Sydney Colson. We’ll see what happens and hopefully we get a WNBA off-season timeline soon.

Kahleah Copper Season Review

Kahleah Copper was one of the brightest spots during a year that presented few. She had a career year and took a leap very few predicted. So let’s take a look at how she performed, why she took such a huge leap, and what to expect from Kahleah Copper moving forward.

Everything Went Up

Kahleah Copper had a career year. She improved in virtually every statistical category. She averaged 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. All career highs. She also started every single game compared to last year when she had zero starts.

How Does This Happen?

So how did this happen? How did a role player go from 7 points a game to 14 plus and starting every game? Well there are a few things that really made this a possibility.

For one she started showing signs of this last year. She was playing great overseas in 2019 and she was a star in the closing games of the 2019 regular season and the last playoff matchup versus the Las Vegas Aces. Now those were just a handful of games, but they were the most recent data on who she was as a player and those were also big games. As the intensity increases you usually see who the elite players are and in that Las Vegas Aces playoff game Kahleah Copper looked elite. Turns out that game wasn’t an anomaly it was evidence of the player she was going to be in 2020.

Per 36 (kind of) Predicted This

Per 36 stats kind of predicted this. For those unaware, per 36 stats takes a category average and divides it by total minutes played. When looking at Kahleah Copper’s per 36 stats she only had a slight bump up from 2019 to 2020. Now Per 36 is not a perfect stat. For example, if you scored 6 points in 6 minutes you’re Per 36 would be 36 points. Lots of caution needs to be used with data. It’s so easy to manipulate it or find a stat that proves your point. Still, I do think Per 36 hinted at this potential and than when Kahleah got the opportunity she out performed even the most optimistic projections on what she could do with more playing time.

Players Need Time

Fans are impatient. It feels like Kahleah Copper has been in the league forever, but this was her fifth season and she’s barely 25. Players need time. Everyone wants the player to be at their full potential immediately. If they haven’t taken great strides by their sophomore year people begin writing the player off. You have to remember these players are young, they’re figuring it out, and they are not a finished product. Now sure, some players never reach that potential, but many will at least improve as time goes on. Kahleah Copper has done that. She has had a breakout year and while it was a bit surprising it shouldn’t be shocking. She showed signs in Europe, signs last season, and she is still a young player developing into a better player.

What’s Next?

Now Kahleah Copper will be playing in Israeli overseas. So you can watch her playing their. Hopefully we get more information on the WNBA season and what the timeline for a return looks like. Until than I’ll continue reviewing the 2020 season of every Chicago Sky player still on the roster and keep an eye on everything happening in Europe.

Cheyenne Parker Season Review

Cheyenne Parker had the best season of her WNBA career. She became the player so many had dreamed she would be. In a year full of difficulties, tension, and injury, Cheyenne Parker was a beacon of light in the darkness.

Career Year

Virtually every important statistic was up for Cheyenne Parker. She had career high in points (13.4), rebounds (6.4), assists (1.3), and steals (1.3). Now some cynical people might say that’s because she played more. She went from a reserve to a starter so of course her stats are higher. But that’s not the only reason. Her Per 36 stats were also career highs in everything previously mentioned except rebounds. Meaning that she didn’t just have higher numbers because of time she was more productive in her minutes than she has ever been in her career.

I was always a bit high on Cheyenne Parker. I always saw her flashes of brilliance and was hoping she’d get rid of some of the boneheaded plays that plagued her before. The offensive fouls, the fouls when being a bit too aggressive going for a rebound, the silly turnovers. This year she was a bit better in erasing these mistakes. Whenever she had one of these moments I thought “ flashback to last year!” But I knew it was a fluke, while last year when she made those mistakes I feared Wade was going to sub her out.

More Parker Greatness

While we wait for 2021 to begin you can continue to watch Parker play overseas. She’s currently playing in France for BLMA and is playing fantastic basketball. I’m very happy with Parker’s performance in 2020. She had a career year and I see now reason why things won’t improve for her in 2021. If she can just reduce her turnovers and fouls a little bit more she has All- Star potential. Here’s hoping she reaches that potential.

Diamond DeShields Season Review

Diamond DeShields had a 2020 season I’d like to soon forget. It’s almost unfair to even evaluate Diamond’s 2020 season. The entire time she was battling issues with her knee, her quad, and, ultimately, left the wubble early on August 29th, for personal reasons. So, let’s review the year, but keep in mind the circumstances that caused the numbers.

A Down Year

DeShields averaged 6.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. This was by far her worst season statistically speaking. All her numbers were down and she went from starting every game in 2019 to starting zero games in 2020.

Besides looking at the numbers I watched the tape. I’ve watched all games when they were happening and went back this week and rewatched a few key games. What I saw then and what I see now is a player who was just unable to be their normal self. She was unable to use her athleticism to be the dynamic player she is. You rarely saw her pushing the ball up court or driving to the basket off of pick and rolls. Defensively she was okay, but I saw her dropping back on a lot of pick and rolls and she didn’t pressure ball handlers like she did last year. You see this when looking at her her steals. Last year she averaged 1.3 steals per game and that dropped to 0.9 this season.

Heart of a Champion

Despite the challenges Diamond had I give her tremendous credit. She really didn’t have to even enter the wubble. In fact, I was hoping she would get pulled so she could get 100% healthy. This is just me speculating, but my guess is her getting to 100% healthy might’ve taken a month and in the wubble that would’ve killed her season. Maybe in a normal season she just misses the first four weeks and returns for the rest of the season ready to go. Again, this is me speculating, I have no inside information on this.

So while I wish she rested I give her a lot of credit for being such a warrior and playing hurt all season. So many others wouldn’t have done that. It’s a testament to her commitment to the game, her teammates, and maybe even some stubbornness.

2021 Will Be Better

I can’t wait for Diamond’s 2020 season. I expect her to have a huge bounce back season and comeback as the All- Star she is. This year was mired by injuries so as long as she’s healthy she will be just fine. As of right now it seems she’s not playing overseas. This may change, but I think that’s just fine. She just needs to rest and needs to be 100% for 2021. For Diamond all I want to see is her healthy again. I know she has great talent she just needs to stay healthy. Here’s hoping she’s back to the Diamond we all know and love on 2021.

Stephanie Mavunga: Season Review

Stephanie Mavunga joined the Chicago Sky on August 28th, from a trade with the Indiana Fever. The Sky acquired Mavunga in exchange for Jantel Lavender and a second-round pick and a third-round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft. This trade was made late in the season when the Sky desperately needed healthy players on the roster. Still, this is a lot to give up for a player. How did Mavunga play for the Sky?

Lukewarm Film

There isn’t much film on Mavunga in a Chicago Sky jersey. She played a grand total of thirty six minutes spread out through five regular season games. Her stat line per game was 2.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists.

These numbers are lower than her career averages, but not by much. So if someone sees that Jantel was part of the trade for Mavunga and expects a one to one trade off I think there would be disappointment. I’m still optimistic with Mavunga. She had to come in extremely late to play for this team in the Wubble and was asked to play rotation minutes for a team vying for playoff positioning. That’s a lot to ask anyone and it’s no surprise her playing time and stats would be down due to these circumstances. On film I did like her speed, her rebounding ability, and her screens. She can set a really great screen.

What to expect next from Mavunga

I’m not sure what to expect next. Will she continue to be a player who can come in once or twice in a game and score 5 points and grabs 5 rebounds? Is that enough given how much the Sky gave up for her or did they give up so much just to have an active player on the roster? What can her role be on this team in 2021.?

I assume James Wade has a better idea in this than I do. He’s been phenomenal at developing talent for the Sky. Players like Cheyenne Parker, Kahleah Copper, and Azura Stevens have had career years under his watch. So if anyone can max out Mavunga’s talent James Wade can. Wade has also shown the ability to admit a mistake and move on from a player like he did with Katie Lou. So either way I’ll give Wade the benefit of the doubt and assume he’ll get the most from Mavunga and find a role that fits her skill set.

Don’t Forget EuroLeague!

Good news is you don’t have to wait long to watch Mavunga play again. She’s currently playing in Russia for the Dynamo Kursk and that team is playing in the EuroLeague so they’re games are easily watchable. Just download the app or watch via their YouTube channel. Their next game is on December 1st.

Closing Thoughts

I’m optimistic about Mavunga’s 2021. I’m not sure what her role can be on the team, but I trust Wade to figure that out. In the meantime I look forward to watching her play in Europe and seeing what she does when she has more playing time.

Alexis Prince Season Review

Alexis Prince had a brief, but important stint with the Chicago Sky. She was signed in early September after the team needed some healthy players late in the season. Alexis Prince was originally training camp signee so it was no surprise to see her come back and play for the team during a crucial time of the season.

Tale of the Tape

Not much tape to go by for Alexis Prince as she only played in a couple games. In her two regular season games she averaged 4 points a game and 1.5 rebounds in 8 minutes of play. These numbers may not look spectacular, but I find it impressive given the circumstances. She had to enter the Wubble, come back to the team that let her go, and perform in the remaining games of a playoff push. Given that context I think she did a tremendous job of being a player who stayed prepared and ready when the opportunity to play presented itself.

Beyond 2020

The future for Alexis Prince is unknown. She is currently not playing anywhere overseas and we’re not sure if she’ll be back as a member of the Sky. From the limited time we saw her play I felt she was a player who can contribute. She played well in a limited role and I’d like to see if she can return and provide valuable minutes off the bench for the team. Hopefully she gets an invite to training camp.