Sky’s the Limit For KT, Or Is It Coach Key?

I wasn’t planning on posting another blog about how I felt Chicago Sky Head Coach Steve Key utilized (or failed to utilize) rookie Kristi Toliver during the 2009 WNBA season. But two things happened: the fact that I’ve been overdo in posting a blog to this site, and some articles posted today about Kristi– especially a couple of statements in one of the articles that compelled me to comment.

The article I’m focusing on was published in the Daily Herald (Key still keen on future of Sky’s Toliver). I’ve made no secret in previous blogs that not only do I think Steve Key didn’t utilize his 1st-round draft pick well, but that overall his coaching strategies throughout the season have been a little suspect. That said, I do agree with him on a shortcoming of KT’s game:

[Kristi Toliver] often had trouble directing the offense, mostly because she was so bothered by pressure defenses that she got flustered and out of sync.

This isn’t a secret. In the middle of her junior year at Maryland, UNC (if I remember correctly) discovered that if you high-pressure Kristi full- or 3/4-court, you can greatly reduce her effectiveness. After that game, for the rest of the season, teams pressured KT a lot. In her senior year, Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese made slight corrections to the offense to mitigate this.

I have no argument with Key about this. Kristi definitely needs to work on fighting through the pressure because other teams already have that in their scout about her.

But with the Sky working hard all season to secure the franchise’s first playoff berth, Key said it wasn’t always possible for him to find “teachable” minutes for Toliver in which she could play through her mistakes.

And that worked out for you, coach? What’s that? You didn’t make the playoffs? I see….

But scoring was just part of the reason Key, also the Sky’s general manager, drafted Toliver. He wanted her to come in and play as advertised, which was as a point guard. At Maryland, she was a point guard who could score, but a point guard nonetheless.

And here we actually have the crux of it. This is something I’ve commented about before. Key didn’t want a shooting PG. He wanted a ball-passer (to Dupree or Fowles) who could shoot when the clock was under 4-seconds. Quite simply, he drafted the wrong player for his system and he’s not willing to admit it.

Coach, it happens.

Do what’s right for all involved. The fact is, this is Dupree’s team (just as L.A. is Parker’s team). You have your floor general and she isn’t a PG. KT needs to be in an offense-oriented system (you know…the sort you gave lip-service to when you drafted KT, and the sort of system that was so effective in the WNBA finals). She’s not a defense-oriented PG. She never was and likely never will be. If you aren’t willing to change your coaching philosophy (and I don’t think that’s likely), then your relationship with Kristi is going to seem even more like Laimbeer’s with Swin Cash. How will that benefit anyone?