Brooke Wyckoff should have been at basketball practice on Friday, preparing for the Chicago Sky's final game of the regular season, a Saturday night tilt against the Detroit Shock.

Instead, Wyckoff spent the day moving out of her downtown Chicago apartment.

It seems unfair, really.

Wyckoff, one of just three players who have been with the Sky since the team opened up shop in the summer of 2006, has been through all the tough times that most expansion franchises experience. Now, as the Sky sits just 1 win away from the team's first berth in the WNBA playoffs, she's on the outside looking in.

"Obviously, it's very disappointing," Wyckoff said. "I wish I could be a part of it, too."

Two weeks ago, in a home game against the New York Liberty, Wyckoff stepped awkwardly while playing defense and wound up tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.

That one move instantly ended her season, and perhaps even her career.

The 28-year-old Wyckoff, an eight-year veteran who did the same thing to her right knee five years ago, was recently waived by the Sky, which needed to pick up another player for a potential playoff run. She had surgery on Tuesday and is now moving back to Cincinnati to live with her parents while she starts the very long, and sometimes painful journey through rehab.

Doctors estimate she might be ready for competitive basketball again in six to seven months.

"When it first happened, I was pretty much feeling every (emotion) you could," Wyckoff said. "I was crying and frustrated. It's just sad because everything changes in a split second. Every plan I had, including playing in Spain during the off-season, has changed. But, you know, it happens. That's the risk of playing sports, I guess.

"I just have to look at it that I helped all the way up to the very end and I'm so happy that it looks like they're going (to make the playoffs). All the goals I had this year were about that, about helping this team get to the playoffs."

On paper, the Sky might not be hurt too much by Wyckoff's absence. The 6-foot-1 forward averaged only 3.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in about 20 minutes per game.

But Wyckoff brought intangibles to the table that are difficult to truly measure.

She started 23 games because she was a team-first player who was willing to do the dirty work. She dove for loose balls, took charges, played tough defense, and set screens.

She didn't make many mistakes and she was a uniter in the locker room.

Everyone liked Wyckoff, who always seemed to have a cheery disposition both on the court and off.

"She's the one who was smiling even when everyone else was down," said Sky forward Candice Dupree, who, along with Jia Perkins, is also one of the three original Sky players left on the current team. "I hope she's able to come back some day. If not, she'll be greatly missed."

Not missing any family functions for awhile is the silver lining in this for Wyckoff, who says her five siblings and many of her friends live in the Cincinnati area. Weddings, holidays, she can make them all now.

"I can't tell you how many years it's been since I've been home for Thanksgiving," Wyckoff said. "I've always been playing overseas. I'm kind of looking forward to leading a normal life for awhile."

Basketball won't be far from her mind though. If the Sky makes the playoffs, its first round opponent would likely be top-seeded Indiana. And Wyckoff is already making plans to go to the games in Indianapolis.

"That's not a bad trip from Cincinnati," Wyckoff said. "I think I'd want to go and I think I'd enjoy the moment even though I wouldn't be playing.

"I think I'd be thinking about what a really neat experience it's been to see this thing from ground zero on up. I don't think people realize that starting a new franchise and then getting to the playoffs isn't easy. Being able to be a part of it has been the cool thing for me."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com