For the first time this season, the Sky could be full strength by the middle of next week.
The Sky — who were already down a point guard with Jamierra Faulkner recovering from last season knee injury — have been playing the last few weeks without first-round pick Katie Lou Samuelson (wrist) and center Astou Ndour (oversea commitments).
However, that’s all about to change.
After sitting out for three week with a broken bone in her right wrist, Samuelson had her cast removed Wednesday and participated in Friday’s practice at Sachs Recreation Center in Deerfield with little limitations.
“I feel good conditioning wise,” Samuelson said Friday after practice. “It’s just getting that range of motion back with my hand because it’s just super tight with all the ligaments from being stuck in a cast for three weeks.”
Coach James Wade was ecstatic to have Samuelson back in practice.
“I’m pleased to see her just to go get out there and play because this is something she’s worked her whole life for and to have it taken away so quick, it was kind of tough for her,” Wade said. “It was tough for the team and it was tough for me. And so now to see her happy and on the floor, it’s great.”
Wade expects Samuelson to be cleared to play by next Wednesday, but he didn’t rule her out for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Wings at Wintrust Arena.
Samuelson wasn’t the only one who received good news from the trainer this week.
Faulkner, who has been out since last July with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, could be back in the Sky’s rotation for Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Lynx, Wade said.
Faulkner has become more involved in Sky practices over the last few weeks. She wore a bulky knee brace for two practices last month but decided it wasn’t necessary.
“I got it in my mind that my leg is stable and I really don’t need it,” Faulkner said. “It’s really for the mental aspect of it, not to keep it stable because it is stable.”
Without Faulkner, Wade has worked on molding guard/forward Gabby Williams into the Sky’s backup point guard to Courtney Vandersloot. Wade said Faulkner will be the Sky’s main secondary point guard. But he said Williams will also take on some minutes in that role.
“[Faulkner is] the person who’s been playing point guard all her life, and we’re going to trust her right away,” Wade said. “Gabby is insurance. . ... Gabby will still be playing point guard but Jamierra’s a point guard, too. It’s a gift for us.”
With Samuelson and Faulkner getting back into the mix this week, there’s another critical player who will return to the Sky’s bench this week, and that’s Ndour.
Ndour left the Sky June 2 to play for Spain’s national team in EuroBasket Tournament, where she’s excelled. Ndour, a leading candidate to be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds in the quarterfinals against Russia on Thursday.
Spain is scheduled to play Serbia in the semifinals on Saturday. The championship game is Sunday.
Wade believes Ndour will rejoin the Sky before Wednesday’s game against the Lynx. That means forward Victoria Macaulay, whom the Sky signed to a temporary contract after Samuelson’s injury, will be waived.
