Marquette's Skylar Forbes is a ‘unicorn,’ says player development coach Chaz Franklin
Jul 25, 2024
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The Marquette women's basketball team is entering a new era with the arrival of head coach Cara Consuegra and the departure of the 2023-24 starting lineup.
The rebuilding process is much easier, though, with a "unicorn" already on the roster.
The 6-foot-3 Skylar Forbes needed little time to impress Chaz Franklin, the Golden Eagles' new player development coach who is coming from the WNBA's Chicago Sky.
"The first thing I thought is that she is just a straight-up post because of her size," he said. "Then after five minutes of watching her play, I realized that she was a unicorn. She's like a 3, 4, 5 if that's a position."
Franklin is right; Forbes has an expansive and unexpected bag of tricks for someone so young. While working with the forwards during a Tuesday practice, the Ontario native went from perfecting her reverse layup to draining three-pointers with ease.
Forbes has been training with Franklin for only about a month. In that short time, she already has seen improvements in her game.
"He's challenging me a lot mentally and physically," she said about Franklin. "We've been working on the small details, whether that's footwork, pump-faking the right way, jabbing the right way. He's really into minor details. I really appreciate him, he's been really good."
Franklin isn't just any regular player development coach. He played overseas in 11 countries including Germany, Iceland, Finland, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
He's also been a head coach in Iceland and in the annual The Basketball Tournament. Following assistant coaching stints with the Delaware Blue Coats - the Philadelphia 76ers' G-League affiliate - and Millersville University women's basketball team, Franklin landed with the Chicago Sky.
His close connection with former Sky Finals MVP Kahleah Copper helped him organize player development and training for Chicago's WNBA team last season.
"We still talk probably twice a week," Franklin said about Copper. "Our relationship goes outside of basketball as well. I think sometimes God just brings certain people together. We just had a kindred spirit in that way. Competitive, both Philadelphia products from opposite ends of the city. She's become a taller, super-talented little sister to me.
"I'm stuck with her and she's stuck with me. For life."
Consuegra noticed Franklin's success with the Sky and made him a priority target when putting together her staff.
"Chaz has been in the WNBA," she said. "That's the highest level. He's going to know things that are just different that we don't know yet. So when I knew we had the opportunity to bring him on staff, he was an easy decision as well."
Consuegra is hoping Franklin can help Forbes take long developmental strides next season. She played a lot last year, breaking into a senior-heavy rotation as the Golden Eagles' sixth woman.
She averaged 4.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks in 17.9 minutes of play. Forbes tallied six games with 10 or more points and came close, but did not achieve, a double-double in her freshman campaign.
In maybe the best game of her early career, Forbes logged 12 points and nine rebounds in a 50-48 win over Villanova in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.
Marquette will need more performances like that to stay competitive in the conference, especially after losing their top five leading scorers to graduation and the transfer portal.
"I think we're always up for the challenge," Forbes said. "I think it'll be good for us to be able to play with some returners and some new players, and I think we're all meshing really well."
Marquette's best player, Liza Karlen, transferred to Notre Dame after former head coach Megan Duffy left for Virginia Tech. Karlen, another multi-faceted forward, took Forbes under her wing.
"I learned a lot from Liza, especially on the mental aspect," Forbes said. "I think she was really tough. She taught me a lot on staying in the moment, staying present, having two feet in always.
"I think offensively, she was a challenge for me. She was always shooting over me, always taking me off the dribble. I think I learned a lot from her in that aspect as well."
At the very least, Forbes acquired Karlen's knack for shooting over defenders. She swished multiple shots over her teammates' outstretched arms, both in drills and in scrimmages.
Forbes' length and shooting proficiency reminded Franklin of two WNBA all-stars.
"I think some of the things she does is like Napheesa Collier from Minnesota," he said. "Certainly some of the mid-post things we're working on with Skylar are comparable to Napheesa for sure. She's one of the best mid-post wing players in the league.
"And then her ability to play and be versatile on offense and defense is like Satou Sabally from Dallas. They favor each other a bit in stature. Satou is taller, a little bit more muscular, but Skylar is a sophomore. She has a lot of room to grow.
"Those are the two people that I try to draw from, just sending her clips. ... She's been picking it up quickly. We've been working together, what, a month-and-a-half? She's growing and I'm really proud of her."
With his extensive basketball experience on all levels, Franklin knows a potential pro when he sees one. It's part of the reason he accepted the job at Marquette: Consuegra sold him on sending players either to the WNBA or overseas as professionals.
He's confident Forbes has a skillset that translates to the next level.
"Her quickness, her strength, her explosiveness, her ability to shoot the ball, her ability to run the floor," he said. "I think with the proper guidance, if she puts in the right amount of work and our team success over the course of the next two, three years, I think she can play in the WNBA."
That's quite a bold projection on someone so young, right?
Franklin doesn't care: "I'm bold."