Skylar isone of those athletes who is home grown: raised in South Bend, IN, family members spread throughout the city, playing basketball at the neighborhood community center, and going on tojoin the Fighting Irish family at Notre Dame. In the 1st installment of the ESPNW Series “The Drive”, Sky gives us an intimate glimpse into her Indiana upbringing.
Sponsored by Ford and hosted by ESPNW’s Sage Steele, the 5-part series follows former college athletes back to the campuses of their alma maters to revisit the places and experiences that influenced their drive to success. In this episode, Skylar takes us on ride through South Bend on a wintery day, where she makes her first stop at the Purcell Pavillion on Notre Dame’s campus, where her basketball career truly began to take flight.
Next stop was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center, where she was at during her childhood practicing her skills and playing with her childhood friends. Her mother (who is ageless!!!!), Renee Scott, joins them briefly to talk about her upbringing and how she helped to keep Sky motivated.
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- Skylar and Sage at Purcell Pavillion
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- Skylar reconnecting with family at MLK Rec Center
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- Skylar and Sage at MLK Rec Center
Sounds great, right?! Check out the full video by clicking RIGHT HERE.
What I loved about this project was the emotional response that Sky gave when reflecting on her impact at ND. You can definitely see her humility and at times, shock, and how much she’s accomplished. Being one of only 7 former players to have their banners raised (including WNBA great Ruth Riley), she says while fighting back tears,
“I didn’t want the individual stuff. What’s not what you do it for, you don’t do it for recognition individually. You do it for the Notre Dame, like….this. I do it for South Bend. I wanted South Bend to be good. Notre Dame to be good again. There’s hundreds of players that come through, and not very many who left with one of those, so it’s pretty special.”
(Photo Credits: ESPN.com and ESPNW.com)
