Chicago basketball report on Bulls’ Swain, Valparaiso’s upset, Sky pick’s hot college start

A Sky draft pick is just beginning her college career, while a Bulls draft pick gets going in the G League. And at Valparaiso, coach Roger Powell Jr. and some local players pulled off a stunning early season upset.

Every Tuesday, Tribune writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Bulls, Sky and local college basketball teams. Want more? Sign up for our Tribune sports newsletter.

Dailyn Swain stands out in G League debut

The Bulls hoped to use last weekend to provide extensive playing time for their youngest players — namely No. 15 pick Dailyn Swain — as the Windy City Bulls opened the G League regular season with back-to-back games against the Noblesville Boom.

Swain, Jaylin Sellers and Tobe Awaka spent the weekend in Hoffman Estates to make their G League debuts after playing limited minutes in the opening stretch of the NBA regular season.

Swain scored 14 points in the first quarter of Friday’s opener and finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Awaka tallied 15 rebounds — six on the offensive boards — while Sellers scored 12 points in the 25-point victory.

Sellers was the only two-way player to participate in both games. Swain still is recovering from a back injury. Jordan Hawkins remained with the NBA team and scored nine points in 17 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Big upset for Roger Powell Jr.’s Beacons

Former Joliet West guard Justus McNair took the inbounds pass with 4.4 seconds to play in the second overtime Friday night against Purdue. He dribbled up the right side of the court, launched a 3-pointer and was mobbed by ecstatic teammates when it went in.

McNair’s shot gave Valparaiso an 83-80 victory against the Boilermakers at Mackey Arena, a stunning early season upset for the Beacons and fourth-year coach Roger Powell Jr.

Powell, the former Illinois star from Joliet, was interviewed afterward by his former Illini coach and current Big Ten Network analyst Bruce Weber, who told Powell he was proud of him.

Both pointed to Powell’s offseason retention of several of his top players from an 18-15 team. That included McNair, former Bolingbrook forward JT Pettigrew and former Rockford Auburn guard Rakim Chaney, who scored 35 points and hit a tying 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime.

“We talk about being transformational and not transactional,” Powell told Weber. “And this is a gift. God gave these guys a gift. They came back. They went against the norm in college basketball, and we got a pretty special win for our program.”

It was Valpo’s first win against a Big Ten opponent since it beat Penn State in 2004 and its first Top 25 road win. Purdue, which had been ranked No. 24 in the coaches poll, dropped to 0-2 with the loss.

Sky draft pick Ajša Sivka drops 32 points for Kentucky

The future looks bright for a Sky draft pick — but not in the way a WNBA team normally expects.

Ajša Sivka, a 2025 first-round pick, torched No. 25 N.C. State with 32 points Sunday in No. 14 Kentucky’s 93-78 victory, shooting 8-for-12 behind the arc in a dominant performance that confirmed every scouting report on the young Slovenian star. Despite the fact her draft rights have belonged to the Sky for 19 months, Sivka is only getting started as a Wildcats freshman.

It’s a somewhat strange phenomenon of the modern college basketball landscape. When the Sky drafted Sivka with the 10th pick in the 2025 draft, she was 19 and had played exclusively in Italian and French professional leagues.

Although she attended the draft and showed enthusiasm toward playing in the league in the future, Sivka opted not to participate in the 2025 and 2026 WNBA seasons. This was partially informed by her desire to represent Slovenia in the 2025 EuroBasket tournament, but Sivka’s continued reticence toward making the move to the WNBA has drawn concern from the Sky, who have struggled historically to garner long-term commitments from European players.

The Sky were eager about Sivka’s promise as a jumbo wing who can shoot from long range. At 6-foot-4, she’s also a physical rebounder and rim protector. With continued work on her mobility, she could develop into a dangerous two-way player with the ability to switch on the perimeter. It’s clear why that type of player would appeal to the Sky, who desperately need to improve their 3-point shooting and on-ball disruption.

Sivka has a full five years of college eligibility, but she also could join the Sky at any time. Regardless of when she declares for the WNBA, the Sky will hold her exclusive rights. That decision will come down to when Sivka feels ready to commit to a pro career — and whether she sees herself as a fit for the Sky or desires a move elsewhere.

A rare Chicago meeting

The University of Chicago men held a rare event Sunday at the Ratner Athletics Center. The Maroons’ game against Harvard was just the 15th time since 2000 that a Division III team hosted a Division I team in the regular season. Chicago last hosted a D-I team in 1970 against Brown.

Harvard won 63-47 behind 19 points from Thomas Batties II. Xavier Nesbitt, who attended the University of Chicago Laboratory School in high school, added seven points for the Crimson.

That’s not the only connection between the programs. Harvard athletic director Erin McDermott was the AD at Chicago for seven years.

Harvard visited the Obama Presidential Center on the trip and became the first college team to practice on the center’s Home Court, according to a social media post from the team Saturday. The WNBA All-Stars practiced on the court in July before the All-Star Game at the United Center.

Number of the week: 27.2

The Bulls’ NBA-worst 3-point percentage. Their 11.4 made 3s per game is the fifth-lowest average in the league, even though they attempt the sixth-most shots from deep (42.1 per game).

There’s nuance to the poor shooting. The Bulls are taking a below-average volume of corner 3s and often pull up to take quick shots in transition, an aspect of their fast-paced style. And players are shooting below their career averages — Norman Powell, for instance, is shooting 30.9% after hitting 39.4% across his 12-year career — which suggests the trend might regress to the mean eventually.

Week ahead: Bulls

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