Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh discusses Angel Reese, Kamila Cardoso, and more in first media availability

A new era is beginning for Angel Reese, Kamila Cardoso, and the Chicago Sky — and it will be ushered in by new head coach Tyler Marsh. Marsh, a seasoned basketball coach with immense player development experience in the NBA, WNBA, and G-League, was officially introduced as the Sky’s new head coach on Tuesday afternoon.

“I couldn’t be more excited, couldn’t be more blessed to be named the head coach of the Chicago Sky,” said Marsh, seated alongside Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca and veteran players Rachel Banham and Elizabeth Williams.

For more than 20 minutes, the 36-year-old first-time head coach took questions from the media and laid out his vision for how the Sky can successfully rebuild and ultimately contend for a championship. Fellow Sky veterans Moriah Jefferson and Michaela Onyenwere also attended the press conference.

Marsh stressed on numerous occasions that he believes selflessness will be key to the Sky’s success moving forward.

“The championship teams that I’ve that I’ve been a part of have an elite level of professionalism, an elite level of selflessness and accountability,” he said. “That’s how we want to be here.”

He brought up the concept again later in the press conference, when asked about how he will go about assembling a staff of assistant coaches.

“The word that keeps coming up is selflessness,” Marsh said. “You’re going to hear me say that a lot. And that doesn’t just apply to our players. That applies to our staff as well. We got to be an ego-less staff, where we collectively put the players first.”

Marsh has a tall task ahead of him: he will replace Teresa Weatherspoon, who was fired last month after one up-and-down season as the Sky’s head coach, and work closely with 2024 draft picks Reese and Cardoso. He’ll also need to figure out how the Sky can improve their anemic outside shooting — and ultimately, chart the pathway working championship contention.

Recruiting Tyler Marsh to Chicago was a no-brainer decision for the Sky

Pagliocca made clear that bringing in Marsh was an easy choice from the jump.

“We share a passion for the game,” Pagliocca said. “We share a passion for this league, and I loved his vision for how he wanted to come here and play and compete. He’s a man of high character who cares a lot about people, cares a lot about family, and that matters quite a bit to this organization.”

And, while neither Pagliocca nor Marsh shed light on the specific recruitment timeline, Marsh echoed the notion that the fit made sense from the start, and that the passion was there on the Sky’s front.

“If you know Jeff, he comes in hot,” Marsh said. “He was very intentional about letting me know how bad he wanted me to be part of this organization and that went a long way for me.”

For Pagliocca, Marsh’s breadth of experience, and success, across various basketball arenas, was a big draw.

“Tyler is a born leader,” Pagliocca said. “He’s a connector, he’s a culture creator, and he really brings a wealth of experience from the G League — from the NBA to WNBA and really, not just experience, but he really played a pivotal and vital role in helping bring championships to those organizations.”

“As soon as Tyler and I started talking, there was pretty immediate synergy and those conversations were accelerated kind of quickly,” Pagliocca said. “Got him into town, and the rest is history.”

Marsh explained that the emphasis on the human aspect of the game was a massive draw.

“We connected on our values of how we believe people should be treated, and then that kind of transcended into how we view the game,” Marsh said. “And so when you put people first, that makes a lot of difference, and that had a lasting impact on me in this process.”

Tyler Marsh wants to prioritize player development and culture

Marsh is well-known for his track record with player development, most notably his work with Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces, who he helped turn into a consistent three-point shooter.

He credits a lot of his success to his broad range of basketball experience, and his commitment to all aspects of player development.

“I’ve been able to see and experience basketball at virtually every level, college, high school, WNBA, G League, NBA,” Marsh said. “When you’re around that many leagues, and you’ve taken on so many positions, it’s not just player development that becomes part of who you are and part of my makeup. It’s time in the video room. It’s time creating scouting reports, so it’s certainly a little bit of a well roundedness there.”

Marsh will work to help develop the entire Sky roster, and he noted that successful championship teams see contributions from all 12 players on the roster. But, he also acknowledged that Cardoso and Reese were cornerstones of the franchise.

“We want Kamilla [Cardoso] and Angel [Reese] to be good at what they do already,” Marsh said. “We want to continue to highlight their strengths. We also want to continue to improve and figure out ways where they can score easily or they can still be effective defensively.”

Elizabeth Williams, a 10-year WNBA veteran entering her third season in Chicago, praised Marsh for his emphasis on culture-building.

“We’re really excited to have him here,” Williams said. “Obviously, he comes in with a lot of experience, but he also comes in with the mindset of creating a certain culture, and I think he’s been intentional about communicating with us. The basketball stuff will com,e but essentially, you’re trying to to re-establish what things will look like. I think he’s great for the job.”

While Weatherspoon didn’t work out long-term, the Sky front office feels confident things will transpire differently with Marsh.

At Tuesday’s introductory press conference, Pagliocca was asked what makes him believe that this arrangement will work.

“We are real committed to Tyler — he’s about relationships,” Pagliocca said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily about what wasn’t happening last season, but it’s more what Tyler’s bringing to us now that makes us feel so confident.”

“The background in player development, the philosophy. I think it’s a very rare combination that you can have someone that excels so much in the player development arena, but is actually even more wired to be a head coach.”