Not enough Sky-high moments
The WNBA playoffs are still going on, but the Chicago Sky's season is over, which means it's high time to take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly for 2008.
The Good
Getting Sylvia: Sure, it would have been extra sweet if the Sky had landed the top pick in April's WNBA draft. Tennessee's Candace Parker, a household name out of Naperville and quite possibly the best player in the history of women's college basketball, was the prize. But getting 6-foot-6 center Sylvia Fowles out of LSU with the No. 2 pick wasn't such a bad thing. Fowles had an immediate impact with the Sky, particularly on defense where her long arms altered so many shots. She did a nice job on the boards and was scoring about 11 points per game when something not so good happened. See below.
Career year: If I had to choose a most valuable player for the Sky, my vote would be for veteran guard Jia Perkins. She had a career year, blossoming in her third Sky season and fifth in the WNBA overall. Not only did she lead the Sky in scoring (17 ppg), she was also a model of consistency and leadership. Perkins scored in single digits only three times over the Sky's 34-game schedule, and she was often the only player on this young team who seemed comfortable taking shots with the game on the line. In fact, she hit several of those clutch shots to either win or tie games for in the waning moments.
The Bad
Losing Sylvia: Watching Syliva Fowles was fun while it lasted. Against the Los Angeles Sparks in early June, in front of a buzzing sellout crowd at the UIC Pavilion, Fowles trailed a Los Angeles fast break and then pinned a layup attempt against the backboard - illegal, but cool nonetheless. It was the first goaltending in WNBA history. What wasn't so cool was the way Fowles landed. She slammed up against the goal support and sprained her knee. That was the fifth game of the season. Fowles would not suit up again until the season's 23rd game, seven weeks later. By then, the Sky was 7-15.
Losing out on playoffs ... again: The absence of Fowles for a big chunk of the season didn't help the Sky's playoff hopes. At one point after the WNBA's Olympic break, the Sky got as close as 2 games out of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But the hole the had team dug was just too big. The Sky flirted with a playoff spot in 2007, too. Next year will be the fourth year of the Sky's existence. Four years should be long enough for an expansion team to morph into a playoff team.
The Ugly
Losing leads: Playing with the lead wasn't exactly the Sky's forte this season. In 22 losses, the Sky lost two games in overtime and seven games by 6 or fewer points. And in many of those games, the Sky had leads late in the game. Coach Steve Key and the players often blamed silly mental lapses for the team's inability to close out games. He says that can't happen next year. He's right, especially if the Sky wants to lose the expansion-team feel.
Next week: How did the Sky do on the business side this year, and what should happen over the off-season to put the team on track for a legitimate playoff run in 2009?
pbabcock@dailyherald.com