Tag: Teresa Weatherspoon

Former Chicago Sky coach Teresea Weatherspoon headlines Unrivaled league’s coaching staff hires

I want you to put the word out there. Teresea Weatherspoon is back up.

Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier’s Unrivaled unveiled its coaching hires Friday, and former Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon headlines a stacked lineup.

Weatherspoon joins Unrivaled’s staff after being dismissed as head coach of the Chicago Sky after one season. Several other familiar basketball names are also traveling to Miami to coach, including Phil Handy (assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers) and Adam Harrington (assistant coach and director of player development for the Brooklyn Nets).

Something to watch is whether Weatherspoon will reconnect with her former player and current Unrivaled athlete, Angel Reese. Reese was heartbroken over Weatherspoon’s firing, and playing in Unrivaled might allow her to be with her former coach again. Players for all six teams and where they are landing will be unveiled during a club selection show on November 20.

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Angel Reese said she is ‘heartbroken’ over Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon’s reported firing

Teresa Weatherspoon has been reportedly fired by the Sky, and Angel Reese said she’s heartbroken over the news.

The Chicago Sky reportedly made a genuinely stunning move on Thursday night, firing coach Teresa Weatherspoon after just a single season.

Chicago Sun-Times‘ Annie Costabile reported the news, which comes after Weatherspoon posted a 13-27 record in a rebuilding year for Chicago.

The reported decision came out of nowhere, as Weatherspoon had the Sky in playoff contention for a majority of the season until superstar rookie forward Angel Reese’s season-ending injury earlier this month.

Reese praised Weatherspoon just a couple of days ago and shared her shocked reaction on social media after the reported firing.

“I’m heartbroken,” Reese said on Twitter (X) after the news was public. “I’m literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life. She was the only person that believed in me. The one that trusted me.”

You can see Reese’s full comment below on the reported firing.

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Five Notre Dame alumni face each other on Brianna Turner’s birthday

Plan to stay up late tonight.

Former Notre Dame standout [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] has turned 28, and there’s only one way to celebrate if you’re an Irish fan. Turner and four of her fellow former Irish will be on the same court when the Chicago Sky visit the Seattle Storm. This is the WNBA matchup that can provide the most former Notre Dame players at any one time in 2024.

Turner has been left on the bench during the Sky’s past two games, but maybe coach Teresa Weatherspoon will give her a break on her birthday. Weatherspoon will have no qualms playing Sky leading scorer [autotag]Marina Mabrey[/autotag] (14.1 points a game) or reliable bench player [autotag]Lindsay Allen[/autotag], whose 3.1 assists a game rank third on the Sky.

Suiting up for the Storm will be U.S. Olympian [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag], one of the league’s top scorers at 20.4 points a game, and [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag], whose 13.9 points a game rank third on the team. A win for the Storm would tie them for first with [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag]’s Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon’s passion for coaching will give you goosebumps

“You don’t experience things to keep. You experience it to give it back.”

Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon gave a phenomenal answer about how she connects her previous experience as a WNBA player to coaching, and her words will make you want to run through a wall.

In a newly released clip, Maya Goldberg-Safir of Southside Weekly reminisced about watching Weatherspoon as a child and inferred that it’s somewhat trippy and awe-inspiring to see her coaching now.

Weatherspoon joked that Maya was trying to say something about her age before saying that it meant a lot for Goldberg-Safir to ask her about her experiences. Here’s the amazing message she shared with those in the room:

“When you experience something in life, and as much as I’ve experienced in the game of basketball, the beautiful part of it for me is to give back. You don’t experience things to keep. You experience it to give it back. It’s emotional for me sometimes when I think about it because a group of young women — they’re under my leadership.”

“And…my duty…is to make sure that they are the best version of themselves — that they live the life they want to live of this game of basketball, but most importantly, what they do off the floor.  It’s not all about the X’s and the O’s for me.”

“It’s about the relationship with them…and this is the beautiful part for me…to be able to help influence their lives to be greater even in the game of basketball.”

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Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon shared group hug with Chennedy Carter, Angel Reese after statement on Caitlin Clark hard foul

The Chicago Sky look ready to move on from Chennedy Carter’s hard foul on Caitlin Clark.

After a weekend filled with controversy surrounding Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter’s hard foul on Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark, it was all smiles for Chicago in practice on Monday.

Fox 32 Chicago reporter Cassie Carlson shared a video of Carter sharing a group hug with Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon and rookie guard Angel Reese on the practice court.

The clip comes on the same day that Weatherspoon issued a statement about Carter’s hard foul, one where she said she’s spoken to Carter about why the moment wasn’t appropriate and said it was done “in the heat of the moment in an effort to win the game.”

There has been much ado about Carter’s cheap shot at Clark, but it’s best for everyone involved that they move on and keep spirits high for the season ahead. At least from a clip and a statement, that seems to be Chicago’s aim.

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ESPN’s latest failed in-game WNBA interview allowed fans to hear Teresa Weatherspoon coach the Sky in real time and it ruled

Watching a mic’d up Teresa Weatherspoon coach the Sky in real time is pretty awesome.

Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon was supposed to do an in-game interview with ESPN during her team’s Saturday game against the Indiana Fever.

However, there was a delay for Weatherspoon to connect to the ESPN broadcast, as WNBA fans an unexpected treat during the transition.

The broadcast showed Weatherspoon coaching in real time, with her mic capturing her in-the-moment message to her Sky players.

This is a pretty tremendous look at a coach in action, as Weatherspoon’s energy and basketball knowledge was on full display in this rare look at a coach actively coaching their team.

Weatherspoon eventually got to her interview, but not without this fantastic glimpse into her process as a coach before.

These ESPN in-game interviews can get a bit dicey, but Weatherspoon handled it as well as anyone could. We just hope the format can improve as the WNBA season goes on.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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After three months, the Sky have a new head coach in Teresa Weatherspoon

WNBA legend and Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon is the new head coach of the Chicago Sky.

When former Chicago Sky head coach James Wade left the organization midway through the season on July 1, his departure sent shock waves through the WNBA. Wade was both the general manager and head coach of the Sky.

Now, however, after three long months, the Sky have a new head coach.

WNBA legend and Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon is the franchise’s new head coach. Weatherspoon is a five-time WNBA All-Star, four-time All-WNBA second team, two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, assists and steals leader, WNBA All-Decade Team honorable mention and a top-15 player. She is also a two-time Olympic Games medalist, earning gold in 1988 and bronze in 1992 with Team USA, and has been inducted into five basketball Hall of Fames.

“I’m excited to be a part of the Chicago Sky Family,” Weatherspoon said. “To be the leader, as head coach, of an organization in a city with so much history and culture is a dream come true. The things that we are about to do as a team, a business and in the community will be rooted in excitement, excellence and hard work. I am thankful to the entire Chicago organization for going through this process and selecting me. I can’t wait to get to work.”

She joins the Sky with over a decade of coaching experience, most recently as a player development coach from 2019-2023 for the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Sky will formally introduce Weatherspoon on Oct. 24.

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Report: Jason Kidd, Teresa Weatherspoon among top candidates for Pelicans head coach

Entering their second head coaching search in two years, the Pelicans are expected to consider Jason Kidd and Teresa Weatherspoon, among others.

The New Orleans Pelicans enter a second consecutive offseason in search of a head coach after reportedly parting ways with Stan Van Gundy on Wednesday morning after just one season at the helm.

Naturally, after having conducted a search so recently, the Pelicans are expected to circle back on a number of candidates considered last offseason. Among those names that are expected to included, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, are Jacque Vaughn and Ime Udoka of Brooklyn, Charles Lee of Milwaukee and Jason Kidd of the Lakers.

A new name that is expected to be a key figure in the search this time around, per Will Guillory of The Athletic, will be New Orleans assistant coach Teresa Weatherspoon. The former WNBA star joined the Pelicans as a player development coach in 2019 before being promoted to an assistant coach under Van Gundy.

For the Pelicans and their current core, this will be yet another coaching change. In New Orleans alone, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram will be on their third coach in three years. Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, regardless of where they land, will be on their fourth coach in four years, as will Ingram including his season in Los Angeles as well.

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History on This Day: WNBA played its first regular-season games

On this day in 1997, the WNBA played its first regular-season games with three matchups taking place.

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On this day in 1997, the WNBA, the new women’s professional basketball league, played its first regular-season games with three matchups taking place.

In the first game, the New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks at the Forum, 67-57. Future Hall of Famers Rebecca Lobo and Teresa Weatherspoon led the Liberty in the victory while Lisa Leslie paced the Sparks with 16 points.

Following the inaugural game between the Liberty and Sparks, the Houston Comets defeated the Cleveland Rockers while the Sacramento Monarchs beat the Utah Starzz. Of the six teams that played, only the Liberty and Sparks currently remain in the WNBA.

Over 20 years since the inception of the WNBA, the league has continued to grow in popularity, culminating in a historic new Collective Bargaining Agreement set to begin this season. The league has seen record attendance and viewership numbers and is becoming more popular than ever.

The WNBA announced this week its plans to begin the 2020 season with a 22-game schedule set to tipoff in July without the presence of fans at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The 2020 season will be the shortest in WNBA history, though players will receive their full pay.

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