Sky training camp preview 2019: Wade puts emphasis on finding team identity

Courtney Vandersloot said the Sky lacked a “winning culture” last season. | Photo courtesy of Chicago Sky

Before the WNBA Draft, new Sky general manager and coach James Wade said he believed the team had a playoff-caliber roster. With the addition of sharpshooting guard Katie Lou Samuelson, whom the Sky took fourth overall last month, it seems the team is in an even better position to make the playoffs this season.

But once training camp opens Sunday, Wade said those conversations about the postseason will go out the window.

“We’re just trying to get better,” Wade told the Sun-Times. “We have our expectations, they’ll already be set in, but you can’t worry about those long-term goals too much or you skip over details.”

The Sky will welcome 18 players to camp, including second-round pick Chloe Jackson and four players signed to training-camp contracts. They are also expected to add former Northwestern forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah and ex-DePaul guard Ashton Millender to their training-camp roster Saturday in place of Gabby Williams and Victoria Macaulay, whose teams are still competing overseas. The Sky’s third-round pick, forward Maria Conde, will not attend camp as she plans to help Spain’s national team qualify for the Olympics.

By May 25, when the Sky open the season against the Lynx, Wade will have the roster down to 12.

He isn’t planning to ease the team into camp.

“We need to come out with a sense of urgency,” said Wade, who also said he has made his expectations clear to the players. “We want to find our identity as quick as possible. I know I’m going to be very direct and how I want to get things accomplished.”

A lack of urgency doesn’t seem like it will be a problem with this group.

Courtney Vandersloot said this offseason that the Sky lacked a “winning culture.” She believes Wade — who has had success in the WNBA and overseas the last few years — can fix that.

Guard Diamond DeShields also said she and her teammates are coming into camp motivated after a disappointing 13-21 record last season.

“I feel like as a team we underachieved last year,” DeShields said. “And I believe not only myself but the rest of my teammates are coming back with a chip on our shoulders as far as the way we ended last season.”

There’s no denying the Sky have plenty of offensive weapons. They have the two best three-point shooters in the WNBA in Vandersloot and Allie Quigley, and they have a great deal of young talent in DeShields, Cheyenne Parker, Williams and Samuelson.

Wade is putting an emphasis on discovering each player’s offensive identity so his staff can figure out how to best utilize each.

“This is a new offense, it’ll be new to everybody,” Wade said. “That’s going to be very important on both sides of the ball. One is going to compliment the other. So I don’t know if I can focus on one and not focus on the other.”

DeShields said the team should focus on defense in training camp.

“There are extreme differences that we need to see in our defensive statistics in order to get the results that we want,” she said. “And it’s going to start with our defense because offensively, I think everybody knows what we bring to the table.”

Wade doesn’t seem as concerned about the Sky’s defense, which allowed a league-high 90.1 points per game last season.

“I think the defensive side of the ball is more simple,” Wade said. “There are certain things you do, certain things you don’t. But that defensive intensity has to stay consistent.”

Injury updates

Point guard Jamierra Faulkner has spent her offseason recovering from a knee injury she suffered in July. Wade said she has been working out with the coaches, though he didn’t have a timeline for her return to full basketball activities. With Faulkner potentially out for the start of the season, the Sky could turn to Linnae Harper, Hind Ben Abdelkader or Chloe Jackson. Wade expects to keep three point guards on the roster.

• Guard/forward Kahleah Copper suffered a minor hand injury while playing in Turkey. Wade said he doesn’t expect her to miss any games.