Subscribe
Follow Us
The Chicago Sky are ready to turn a new corner with former Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Tyler Marsh at the helm of the team's operations. Marsh landed the Sky's head coaching job in early November, just over a month after the team parted ways with Teresa Weatherspoon. Marsh has big plans for the Sky, as he revealed during his introductory press conference on Nov. 12.
Marsh brings a wealth of winning experience to Chicago. He helped the Aces secure back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. In addition, he was a part of the Toronto Raptors coaching staff that won an NBA title in 2019. Above all else, Marsh has helped draw out the incredible talent of some of the WNBA's best players, including A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young.
The new Sky head coach did not hesitate to draw upon his experience with the Aces to paint a picture of moving things forward in Chicago:
‘‘I was very open in terms of what I experienced in Las Vegas,’’ Marsh said when speaking on his conversations with Sky GM Jeff Pagglioca during Tuesday's introductory press conference, per Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times, ‘‘how forward-thinking they were in providing the best resources they could for the players. That’s the most important thing. I communicated where I stood, and if those weren’t things that were able to be put in place, then I would have to stay put.”
Tyler Marsh made it clear he wants to take the Sky to the next level in every way possible, just as the Aces have made themselves into a model franchise.
‘‘If you’re one of the last few franchises standing in terms of adapting to where this league is going, you’re behind,’’ Marsh added. ‘For us, we want to set trends. We want to be ahead of the curve. We want to continue to care for our players and put forth the best resources possible so that they’re the most successful.”
Elite player development efforts
Make no mistake, one of the things that drew Jeff Pagliocca to Tyler Marsh was his excellent player development expertise.
Marsh is largely credited with Jackie Young's three-point shooting rise. He worked with Young on the court and in the film room and helped her go from five made threes on 25 percent shooting accuracy in 2021 to 50 made threes on 43.1 percent accuracy in 2022, according to his former Aces coach bio.
Marsh further communicated that the players and their development are his priority.
‘‘It’s about the players, first and foremost. So whatever we can do to provide the right type of atmosphere for them to be as great as they are, that’s what we need to do,” Marsh said on Tuesday, per Costabile.
One of Marsh's tallest tasks will be the development of 2024 lottery picks Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. Both bigs earned a spot on the WNBA's 2024 All-Rookie team and look to have bright futures. Could Marsh help the two young stars reach heights as great as A'ja Wilson or beyond?
Sky fans wanted the organization to hire a highly-touted, experienced coach, and they got just that with Tyler Marsh. It will be exciting to see him grow with this talented team as they look to bring a championship back to the Windy City.
