After a lengthy search that featured more than a dozen candidates, the Chicago Sky have chosen their next leader.

As announced by principal owner Michael Alter at a press conference on Tuesday, former Sparks assistant Amber Stocks is the new head coach and general manager of the Sky. Stocks spent the last two seasons in Los Angeles, culminating in a WNBA title this past October.

Alter said Stocks was “a long shot” as the process began six weeks ago, when Chicago parted ways with Pokey Chatman. Her competition for the job included other WNBA assistants, NBA assistants, former WNBA coaches and former NBA coaches. Chatman had been head coach and GM for the duration of her tenure, and the Sky wanted to keep it that way with their next coach.

On Stocks’ résumé, they saw heavy involvement in the game since her playing days at the University of Cincinnati. She first spent time in the Notre Dame and Tennessee women’s programs, working closely with the late Pat Summitt at the latter. Her next stop was Xavier, where Stocks worked as an assistant coach for seven seasons up until 2009. Then after a stint as an analyst for men’s and women’s college games, the Sparks hired her as an assistant in 2015.

But because the Sparks gig represented her only WNBA experience, Stocks still had to make an impression.

“The first time I spoke with her, and as she moved through the process, she continued to stand out and impress us,” Alter said at Tuesday’s press conference. “We have a very strong belief in Amber and think she is a perfect candidate for our team. She brings an incredible youthful energy and positive approach to the game along with a deep knowledge of basketball, and a great passion and intellectual curiosity.”

For examples of former assistant coaches having immediate success, look no further than the last two NBA champions. Golden State’s Luke Walton and Cleveland’s Tyronn Lue guided their teams to unprecedented heights as rookie head coaches – Walton as the interim coach during Steve Kerr’s absence and Lue after taking over for David Blatt. Kerr and Blatt were rookie head coaches themselves the year prior when each guided their team to the NBA Finals.

Stocks understands that in her new role with the Sky, she must learn on the job.

“To be successful in any position or profession, you can never stop being a student,” Stocks told WNBA.com. “You can never stop learning. I will continue to learn and gain information from as many resources that I can, both in terms of being a head coach and a general manager. In order for me to position our team to be the best it can be, I need to continue to grow myself.”

Stocks has support from various coaches she’s come across over the years, especially her most recent boss. Sparks head coach Brian Agler – the only coach to lead two different WNBA teams to titles – was a mentor to her during their two seasons together.

Judging by her success with the Sparks, Stocks might be just what Chicago needs.

En route to the championship, Los Angeles allowed its opponents to score the fewest points per game in the league (75.9). Chicago, on the other hand, has struggled on the defensive end despite its run of four straight playoff berths. The Sky have been the highest-scoring team in the league each of the last two years, but they’ve also allowed the second-most points per game.

In her playing days, Stocks was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year at Cincinnati.

“I thought in general we needed to get better, and certainly defense was one of our weaknesses,” Alter said. “Part of it is those intangibles as well. Frankly, building a championship culture. Our goal is not just to win a championship – we want to have a culture that’s sustainable for a period of time where we’re consistently one of the top two or three teams in the league. That’s something we’ve laid a great foundation for, but we need to finish it off.”