Meet the 2012 Chicago Sky
Here’s look at the 2012 Chicago Sky roster:
00 Ruth Riley
Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-5
WNBA season: 12th
Sky season: 1st
Age: 32
College: Notre Dame
Hometown: Macy, Ind.
2011 stats: 5.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Scouting report: Acquired during the off-season in free agency, Riley fills many needs for the Sky. She’s a veteran with championship experience who can serve as the perfect complement to center Sylvia Fowles. Defensively, Riley and the 6-foot-6 Fowles can give the Sky a menacing presence in the lane. On offense, Riley is comfortable pulling her game away from the basket, which leaves the middle open for Fowles to operate. A two-time WNBA champion (Detroit in 2003 and 2006), Riley has also won an Olympic gold medal (2004) and an NCAA title (2001). Always tall, Riley was 25 inches at birth and 6-feet by age 12. She’s written a children’s book about basketball.
1 Tamera Young
Position: Forward
Height: 6-foot-2
WNBA season: 5th
Sky season: 4th
Age: 25
College: James Madison
Hometown: Wilmington, N.C.
2011 stats: 7.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Scouting report: Known for her hustle and defensive intensity, Young started 19 games for the Sky last season and often guarded the opposition’s best player. She set WNBA career highs in 2011 for scoring (7.9 ppg), field goal percentage (42.5 percent) and minutes played (24 mpg). During the off-season, she played in Israel and was named the MVP of the 2012 Israeli Cup. The Colonial Athletic Association and James Madison all-time career scoring leader with 2,121 points, Young graduated from the same high school (Laney) as Michael Jordan.
5 Sonja Petrovic
Position: Forward
Height: 6-foot-1
WNBA season: Rookie
Sky season: 1st
Age: 23
College: Spartak (Euroleague)
Hometown: Beograd, Serbia
2012 stats (Spartak): 9 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Scouting report: Although just a rookie, Petrovic knows head coach Pokey Chatman well. Chatman coaches in Russia for Spartak and Petrovic has played for her the last four years. Petrovic was acquired in a trade with the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for a 2013 second-round draft pick. Effective inside and out, Petrovic made a living from 3-point range for Spartak in 2012. Her 46.9 percent clip from downtown ranked third in the Euroleague.
7 Shay Murphy
Position: Guard
Height: 5-foot-11
WNBA season: 6th
Sky season: 3rd
Age: 27
College: Southern California
Hometown: Van Nuys, Calif.
2011 stats: 9.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Scouting report: Murphy was signed to a seven-day contract last July and kept receiving extensions for her incessant hustle, particularly on defense. Murphy stayed for the rest of the season and had four double-digit scoring games before a thumb injury relegated her to the bench for the final three weeks. Murphy’s scoring and rebounding averages from 2011 were the best in her WNBA career, which has included stints with five teams. Murphy’s off-season team in Spain won the 2012 Euroleague championship.
8 Swin Cash
Position: Forward
Height: 6-foot-1
WNBA season: 11th
Sky season: 1st
Age: 32
College: Connecticut
Hometown: McKeesport, Pa.
2011 stats: 13.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg
Scouting report: The Sky’s biggest off-season coup ever, Cash was acquired from Seattle in exchange for the second overall pick in the 2012 draft. Besides her reputation as one of the more versatile small forwards in the game, Cash brings leadership and championship experience to Chicago. She’s won three WNBA championships (Detroit in 2003 and 2006 and Seattle in 2010) and is a two-time Olympian. She helped the U.S. National Team win gold in 2004 and will play in the 2012 Games this summer. Cash is also a two-time MVP of the WNBA all-star game. She won it last season, as well as in 2009, her first season after major back surgery. Cash is heavily involved in her charity, Cash for Kids.
10 Epiphanny Prince
Position: Guard
Height: 5-foot-9
WNBA season: 3rd
Sky season: 3rd
Age: 24
College: Rutgers
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
2011 stats: 13.6 ppg, 3 apg, 2.3 spg
Scouting report: The shooting guard sure can shoot … and score. Prince holds the U.S. record for most points in a single high school basketball game with 113. After leaving Rutgers a year early in 2009 to begin her professional career overseas, she had her most productive WNBA season in 2011, averaging 13.6 points per game while shooting 37 percent from three-point range. Prince, who also gets the job done on defense and led the league in steals (2.3 spg) in 2011, was named an all-star last season. Much of her time overseas has been spent in Russia, which granted her citizenship in 2010. She could be asked to play for Russia in the 2012 Olympic Games or other international competition.
21 Ticha Penicheiro
Position: Guard
Height: 5-foot-11
WNBA season: 15th
Sky season: 1st
Age: 37
College: Old Dominion
Hometown: Figueira da Foz, Portugal
2011 stats: 6 ppg, 4.8 apg
Scouting report: Widely regarded as the best point guard in WNBA history, Penicheiro is the league’s all-time leader in career assists with more than 2,560. A flashy passer, Penicheiro is also a serious defender who ranks second on the all-time steals list with more than 750. A four-time all-star and a WNBA champion with the Sacramento Monarchs in 2005, Penicheiro was named one of the Top 15 WNBA Players of All-Time last year during the league’s 15th anniversary season. She was acquired through free agency and will serve as a mentor to young guards Courtney Vandersloot and Epiphanny Prince. Penicheiro grew up playing on men’s clubs teams with her father as her coach.
22 Courtney Vandersloot
Position: Guard
Height: 5-foot-8
WNBA season: 2nd
Sky season: 2nd
Age: 23
College: Gonzaga
Hometown: Kent, Wash.
2011 stats: 6.5 ppg, 3.7 apg
Scouting report: Like most rookies, Vandersloot had her share of ups and downs during her first season. Turnovers were a downer, but all of the ups gave a glimpse of just how good Vandersloot could be. The up-tempo, pass-loving point guard was among the top playmakers in the league, averaging 3.7 assists per game. A solid outside shooter, she started 26 of 34 games and was named an all-star as well as a member of the all-rookie team. The third overall pick in the 2011 draft, Vandersloot put together a spectacular career at Gonzaga. She was the first player in Division I history, male or female, to record more than 2,000 career points and 1,000 career assists.
30 Carolyn Swords
Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-6
WNBA season: 2nd
Sky season: 2nd
Age: 22
College: Boston College
Hometown: Sudbury, Mass.
2011 stats: 2.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg
Scouting report: A big, strong, wide body who gives Sylvia Fowles a tough workout every practice, Swords had a solid rookie campaign last summer, starting four games. She has returned after a productive off-season in Spain and Turkey leaner, meaner and in better shape. Swords provides a strong rebounding and shot-blocking presence on defense and is a reliable scorer on offense. She hit 53 percent of her field goals last season and left Boston College as the team’s all-time leader in career field goal percentage with a 68 percent clip. Swords is Boston College’s second all-time leading scorer with 2,029 points.
34 Sylvia Fowles
Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-6
WNBA season: 5th
Sky season: 5th
Age: 26
College: LSU
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
2011 stats: 20 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 2 bpg
Scouting report: Widely regarded as the best center in the world, Fowles is the centerpiece of all that the Sky does, both offensively and defensively. Fowles averaged 20 points and 10.2 rebounds per game last season to become just the second player in WNBA history to finish with a 20/10 season. Chamique Holdsclaw was the first. With a league-best 2 blocks per game, Fowles was named the defensive player of the year and probably would have been named MVP had the Sky made the playoffs. With speed, strength and spectacular jumping ability, Fowles is one of the most difficult match-ups in the WNBA, and in the world. She is a three-time all-star and first met Sky head coach Pokey Chatman in high school when Chatman was a coach at LSU.
43 Le’coe Willingham
Position: Forward
Height: 6-feet
WNBA season: 9th
Sky season: 1st
Age: 31
College: Auburn
Hometown: Hephzibah, Ga.
2011 stats: 6.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Scouting report: An undrafted free agent in 2004, Willingham has worked relentlessly to become a tough defender and a hustler on the boards. Willingham was acquired in the off-season trade with Seattle that also brought Swin Cash to Chicago. Willingham teamed up with Cash to help the Storm win the 2010 WNBA title. The year before, she was in Phoenix and a starter on the Mercury’s 2009 WNBA championship team. A three-time all-Southeastern Conference selection, Willingham ranks among the top 10 on Auburn’s career list for points, field goal percentage and rebounds. She has a son, Derrick.
Sky scouting report
Indiana Fever (1-0) at Chicago Sky (1-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Allstate Arena
TV: Comcast CN100
Last time: On Saturday, the host Fever defeated Atlanta, 92-84, and the Sky won at Washington, 69-57
Skinny: The new-look Sky would love to turn over a new leaf against Indiana. The Fever has owned this series, winning 19 of the 24 games, including going 3-1 last season. Former Stevenson star Tamika Catchings has had a lot to do with Indianas dominance of the Sky. The veteran forward, now in her 11th season, was named the leagues MVP last summer. She scored 16 points in the Fevers season-opening win over Atlanta. Teammate Katie Douglas had 21 points to lead five players in double-figures as Indiana hit 12-of-21 three-pointers (57 percent).
The Sky, led by defensive player of the year Sylvia Fowles, also opened with a win. Fowles dominated the Mystics with 23 points, 12 rebounds. Epiphanny Prince (16 points) and forward Swin Cash (14 points), acquired in trade with Seattle, added scoring to offset the Skys 21 turnovers. The Sky led the WNBA in turnovers last season (16 per game).
Next: Sky at San Antonio Silver Stars, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Comcast CN100
Patricia Babcock McGraw