Skylar Diggins returns to the Midwest as Chicago Sky look for veteran leadership

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Sky wrapped up preseason (0-2), still looking for their first win, but with the regular season opener set for May 9, the focus is already shifting toward what this team can become.

After finishing 10-34 last season, Chicago is trying to turn the page. For head coach Tyler Marsh, that starts with leadership and the Sky believe they found it in former Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins.

“It’s been two weeks, and I can’t put into words the magnitude of what her presence has been thus far,” Marsh said. “You feel it as soon as she walks in the gym. There’s a level of focus she demands that’s contagious to the rest of the group.”

Before Diggins became one of the most accomplished guards in the WNBA, she was one of South Bend’s own. She grew up watching Notre Dame women’s basketball before becoming one of the faces of the program under former head coach Muffet McGraw, with current Irish head coach Niele Ivey also on staff. From 2009 to 2013, Diggins helped lead the Irish to three straight Final Four appearances and two national championship games. She left as the program’s all-time leader in assists and steals.

“I’m just blessed to have a university like that right in my backyard” Diggins said. “Coach McGraw and Niele were super hard on me and what they expected from me, but I demanded to be coached, and I challenged them as well."

Now, after two seasons with the Seattle Storm, Diggins is back in the Midwest. This move brings her closer to home, closer to Notre Dame, and closer to the place that helped shape her into the player and leader she is today.

Chicago general manager Jeff Pagliocca said the Sky are not just counting on what Diggins can do with the ball in her hands, but also what she can bring to the team’s identity.

“She’s still got a ton in the tank, so she can still do a lot of damage,” Pagliocca said. “She fits the fabric of who we’re trying to be. We want the basketball, we want the leadership, we want her voice. We want Skylar Diggins to come here and be Skylar Diggins.”

At 35 years old and now a mother, Diggins understands what this next chapter requires. Not just scoring but leading with direction and confidence for the younger players.