Thank you for the excellent summation - just wish it wasn't so accurate! I too hope to see more of Shay Bollin & Gretchen Dolan. I do really enjoy watching the Women Illini play, and feel great about the team's future under Coach Green.I agree with a number of takes on here
I am not going to question Shauna Green but she played a tight bench last season until injuries and Big Ten season. It is quite telling that she hasn't used more of the bench in competitive games. I look for it to change but the more practices all the FR/transfers get in the better.
Post play is a real concern again this season. Outside of Bostic on the offensive and defensive end I don't think we have one other consistent post player on this team. Multiple times in the post yesterday a Missouri player either got better leverage in the post or the Illini defender was playing them in front with no help from the back. Missouri also drew Bostic away from the basket on defense a bunch of times especially in the 2nd half. Missouri made some nice shots but by drawing Bostic away from the hoop that gave Missouri the option to shoot from outside or feed it inside with our best post defender out of position.
This team is easy to scout so far. Bryant is outside shooter, Cook can shoot but more dangerous when penetrates into the lane, McKenzie is aggressive, Bostic is utility knife and Shoup-Hill is outside shooter. Outside of Bostic we have no post game on the offensive end. Shoup-Hill looks lost in the post and it showed yesterday. The problem I have is if we are a jump shooting team than we need to crash the boards. Outside of Bostic/McKenzie I don't see Shoup-Hill, Bryant or Cook crashing the boards. I am just stating these names since majority of playing time is with the starters. Bryant got one offensive board on a miss she attempted in the lane that came right back to her. Bryant/Cook played almost the entire game and scored 29 points with one offensive rebound and no free throw attempts.
Defensively I think the ladies are aggressive but a ton of breakdowns at most positions. Green is trying to play her best players right now and a lot of time that means starting Shoup-Hill but taking her out and rotating McKenzie/Peebles who are both undersized to the 4 spot. I hate to say this but I think McKenzie is a more effective post player at 5'10 than Shoup-Hill at 6'3. Hopefully we can get more bodies into the rotation as the season progresses even if for a short breather for Bostic.
Big Ten teams should watch the tape of taking Bostic away from the hoop. Adjustments will need to be made or we will get exposed against better teams in conference play.
This team shockingly has regressed from last season. It's almost inexplicable. Green has some work to do to get this program to top-25 status. I hope she can pull it off, but the shine has worn off a bit. (And yeah, she inherited a dumpster fire, but this season's regression points to more holes she's gotta figure out how to plug.)
Agreed, we need to temper down a tad and have our fanbase show an appropriate level of expectation management for this culture / program rebuild.I'm encouraged. Shauna inherited a downtrodden program and has only had one recruiting class. It may take a few years but I think we have the right coach.
The regression imo has been the shooting, which is kind of shocking. 37% from 3 last year and so far 30% this year. Honestly haven’t seen much of the games yet so I can’t say if the shot selection has changed, but if we were anywhere close to last years numbers our record would look pretty good right now.This team shockingly has regressed from last season. It's almost inexplicable. Green has some work to do to get this program to top-25 status. I hope she can pull it off, but the shine has worn off a bit. (And yeah, she inherited a dumpster fire, but this season's regression points to more holes she's gotta figure out how to plug.)
Think majority of us feel the way you do. This is all wholesome compared to the Men's Bball forum.Shauna inherited a downtrodden program and has only had one recruiting class. It may take a few years but I think we have the right coach.
McKenzie , Shoup-Hill and Peebles with only 4 combined points ain't gonna cut it and zero 3 pt'ers ain't either.....They really really ain't....................Not getting much from bench. At least Camille got in for 14 minutes. I thought she would play 30 mpg next to Bostic. We need more size since our guards are small 5'7" and we play 3 guard lineup.
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IMHO , our defense has regressed more than our shooting % has..........So many layups and short shots in the paint allowed to our opponents this year has been a major disappointment for me..........I did hear one of the game announcers finally say that Cook was suffering from a concussion in our first game this season......I remember seeing her getting hit with an elbow to her head early on in that 1st game , but I must have missed anyone say it was a concussion until our last game before today........The regression imo has been the shooting, which is kind of shocking. 37% from 3 last year and so far 30% this year. Honestly haven’t seen much of the games yet so I can’t say if the shot selection has changed, but if we were anywhere close to last years numbers our record would look pretty good right now.