It was the closest thing to a timeline that coach Tyler Marsh has offered this year.
Injury rehab has been the story of the Sky’s season so far. Specifics on when, exactly, anyone might return have been scarce.
Friday at shootaround, asked about point guard Courtney Vandersloot’s return to practice — she took part in live five-on-five action for the first time this week — Marsh gave a little tell.
“We’re really in tune with where she’s at and where we believe she’ll be in the next couple weeks,” he said.
The next couple of weeks! Should we take that to mean she’ll be back on the court at Wintrust Arena, slinging dimes like it’s 2022?
It wasn’t fully clear, and Marsh couched it in the usual cautions about not overdoing it. Vandersloot herself said there’s still “more to do” in her recovery.
But a full return to practice is momentous, coming almost a year to the day after she tore her ACL last season. That’s not lost on Vandersloot.
“You do so many one on ones, and two on twos and three on threes,” Vandersloot said. “To be able to just go out there and play, especially with your teammates, compete in practice and meaningful reps, that’s what makes it all worth it.”
The recovery was every bit as hard as she expected. There were moments she doubted she’d ever feel like herself again. But recently, there have been turning points.
“The strength is coming back,” Vandersloot said. “My knee is able to handle the load that we’re putting on it. Recovering fast … Once you get a little taste of that, that’s when I was like, okay this return is possible.
“To be able to play five on five again, it feels like the return is near.”
High standards
Vandersloot has played only seven games under Marsh, but she’s seen growth in his second year — mostly on the leadership and team-management side.
“His basketball mind is incredible,” Vandersloot said. “I think as a coach you have to figure out how you want to manage everything else. That is something that you can only do by doing it. You have to get thrown into it.”
Vandersloot thinks he’s finding his voice, and she appreciates his openness about wanting to improve.
“One of the best things about him is he holds himself to a really high standard, and he’s vulnerable with us in that way,” Vandersloot said. “We all respect that.”
Chill, but don’t test her
Behind enemy lines, another all-time great has coaching on the brain.
Sun center Brittney Griner, one of the Sky’s toughest matchups Friday night, knows she wants to get into coaching. Not a head coach, but player development or something like it. She plans to blend the approaches that shaped her.
“I was raised through the hard-ass coaches,” Griner told the Sun-Times. “It was good, but I see the flaws in it. I’ve seen coaches that are super lax and friendly, which [makes you] approachable, but then teams don’t take you seriously to respect you.
“I think I’m gonna be a good coach. I’ll be a chill coach, but a coach you don’t wanna make mad.”
Now in her 13th season, Griner is 12 blocks away from becoming the league’s all-time blocks leader.
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