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Former Las Vegas Aces assistant Tyler Marsh is the new head coach of the Chicago Sky following the abrupt ousting of Teresa Weatherspoon after the 2024 WNBA season.

On Tuesday, Marsh spoke of his offseason and season plans during his introductory press conference. Chicago Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca, along with players Elizabeth Williams, Michaela Onyenwere, Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson were in attendance.

Among the many issues facing the Sky—free agency, coaching sustainability, draft picks, player morale—a central focus is on the long-term development of Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. Both are coming off debut seasons where they were part of one of the most high-profile draft classes in WNBA history.

Reese completed a record-breaking season averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. She finished with the most double-doubles by a rookie with 26. She also had the most consecutive double-doubles with 15. Before her season-ending wrist injury, Reese captured the most rebounds in a season with 446, a record previously set by Sylvia Fowles and subsequently broken by A’ja Wilson. Cardoso finished the season averaging 9.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. She endured shoulder injuries at the beginning and end of the season, but proved herself to be a consistent presence.

Marsh has high expectations for the team, but especially these two players, saying on Tuesday:

It’s not just player development. It’s time in the film room. We want Kamilla and Angel to be good at what they do already. We also want to continue to improve and figure out ways where they can score easily, where they can still be effective defensively.

Reese has proven herself to be a player who can score in the paint in bunches, not to mention her relentless rebounding. The next step is expanding her scoring range. Cardoso is an agile player known for her strength on boards. She also can score efficiently when given the opportunity.

All these factors contribute to Marsh’s emphasis on increasing the Sky’s shooting numbers. For the 2024 season, they finished 11th in field goal percentage at 42 percent, ninth in 3-point percentage at 32 percent and 11th with 77 points per game. “Shooting,” he said. “We want shooting and lots of it.”

Marsh arrives in Chicago with a strong background in player development. He was the head of player development for the Aces when they won back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023. He also is credited with helping to develop Wilson, the WNBA MVP for the third time in 2024, into the all-around talent she is. Some have seen potential similarities between Reese’s game and Wilson’s games. Prior to joining the WNBA, he was the player development coach for the Toronto Raptors (2018-20), including when they won the NBA championship in 2019, and an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers (2020-22).