Champagne – Shauna Green Standing on the podium inside the State Farm Center on March 22nd, he didn’t come close to making a big statement. I had no plans. There’s no set timeline for the Illinois women’s basketball team to get out of trouble.
“When you’re fine, you’re fine,” Green said.
As for Green’s timeline, not much has changed since that moment. For months she avoided such promises. What’s the big change since that moment? Illini looks fine. Or, at least, considerably better than her seven-win campaign last season, when she only won one in the conference.
In fact, this season the Illinois team (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) has already surpassed last year’s total wins and rivaled the conference’s total wins after an 80-62 home victory over Rutgers. did. Date of that game? December 7th.
“I didn’t set a timetable. All I know is to compete and prepare, and I want to win every game,” said Green. “That’s kind of the way we think. We didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but we knew how to attack, how to prepare, and we gave them the mentality that we’re playing to win. It doesn’t matter who’s there, we’re playing to win.”
When it comes to picking metrics, Illinois is better than it was a year ago. universally. across the board. Illinois ranks her No. 23 in the NET rankings as of Friday. This is over 165 places higher than a year ago.
Many of the Illini’s quick starts, including winning over No. 5 Indiana at Bloomington the week before, are compared to the background a year ago when Green was head and former Dayton coach. Nancy Fahey Responsible for Champaign.
The question arises here: How does Green balance the team’s year-over-year improvement with how this team compares to a year ago?
“That’s what it is, right? What I’m worried about right now, and I really don’t care, but there’s some substance to it and what our players are doing and what they’re doing right now. How did you really get into the season? “I’m in the moment and in the process, so I don’t let my mind work that way. I think I can probably get to that later, but I’m going to take a step back and broaden my horizons.” If I look at it from the view, I’m like, “OK, we’ve done some things.” I don’t think of it that way because I have to stay blindfolded. Because I have to be in the present and in the moment, where our feet are, and I want my players to do that.
“Whether it’s here or in any other program, I want them to win. You have to be proud of it. You have to celebrate it. Tomorrow we win.” Even if I lose, I’m still ready for the next game.” It’s hard to win a college basketball game. It’s really, really hard. I want them to be happy every time I win. Winning is fun. I want you to enjoy those moments, but don’t go too high or too low. ”
Illinois went to Butler in Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. game to ride up to their first Big Ten win of the season, quickly collapsing after building with an additional combination of five returners, Transfer Portals, in the spring and summer. I will go with the team that did it. and freshman.
The Illini are second in the Big Ten in defensive scoring (57.0 points per game), fourth in offensive scoring (82.5 points per game), sixth in the conference in field goal percentage (47.8%), and second in opposition. Top. Field goal percentage (33.8%). Illinois leads the conference in 3-point percentage (41.8%) and his opponent’s 3-point percentage (24.5%), leads the Big Ten in rebounds per game (44.4), and leads the opposition in rebounds per game (32.2). he is second
have star power Makira Cook (10th-best scorer in the Big Ten with 17.5 points per game) and Adalia Mackenzie (13th leading scorer in the conference with 16.2 points per game).Transferred with Cook Genesis Bryant (13.1 points per game) and Bryn Shoup Hill (4.1 ppg and 5.2 rpg) are seamlessly blended. Kendall Bostickare carrying over from last season’s team, leading the Big Ten in rebounds per game (9.5). Jada Peebles When Jayla Oden Combining an average of 15 points per game.
Illinois is doing well now.
“Obviously, it’s a little more fun,” Bostic said. “Basketball is always fun, but it also helps you win and it helps keep you motivated and all sorts of things. It’s really encouraging to see where this team is now. I think we’ve been playing together since..we’ve already had wins and we’ve already taken some teams to the buzzer etc. February, March and even next year we’re more united. So it’s really cool to see where we are.
Green knew defense would be a by-product of the process. She thought it would continue to be a core tenet of her program. crime? It might surprise you a little to see it come together in such a big way by the first week of December. The Illini has scored 75 or more points in eight of his 10 games this season.
“Probably the ability to score in some games and the numbers we’re up against,” said Green. “I thought about offense, defense. I knew we were going to continue to work together and improve. I think of chemistry as aggressive.We don’t play together very often, so we play together a lot.We share the ball really well.It’s probably because we You may have been a little surprised to think that we are moving forward.”
Defensive buy-ins attract the player’s attention. Both Bostic and Shoup-Hill point to some form of chemistry the teams have been building since building on-the-fly in the spring and summer. It has a direct correlation with the defending side of the ball.
“Defense needs cohesion,” said Bostic. “I think there are a lot of players, except two guys who have a whole new defensive system, but last year we did a little bit of everything. I think it was a big surprise to be able to do that and it’s really, really good. It’s really nice to see some.”
On either side of the ball, the Illini are all-in for their comeback season in Champaign. From the outset, Green felt his handover from last season’s team was ready to embrace a new philosophy. He points out that principles (such as dribbling the post with the outside hand) are starting to show up in games.
As a matter of fact, the coaching staff was right, Bostic said. Everything I learned in practice, such as footwork and shooting form, has come full circle.
So is victory.
“That might be why we are here now and have some wins thanks to their buy-in,” said Green. “Kudos to them for trusting and listening to us. They were coachable from the beginning, they never fought.
