As Jolette Law worked her way up the women’s basketball coaching ranks, her mother, Lena, always told her she would end up lonely.

Law, a self-proclaimed workaholic, begs to differ.

“I said, ‘Mom, I have my Wilson,’” Law said. “I’m married to Wilson, or I’m married to Spalding. I’m married to Nike.”

More than halfway through her fifth season as “head coach of the Illinois women’s basketball team”:https://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/05/jolette_law_the_transition_from_a_player_to_a_coach, Law’s passion for the game has her working more often than not.

“You ask anybody: I live here,” she said of her office in the Ubben Basketball Complex. “I’m trying to hone my craft. … Even if I didn’t get paid a dime, I would still be around basketball.”

Law’s love of the sport extends beyond the women’s collegiate level. She says she can’t even watch an NBA game without breaking down a defensive scheme or admiring a well-set ball screen. She admits she sometimes misses watching the game for pleasure, a luxury she usually allows herself just once a year.

“Christmas is about the only time,” Law said. “You got the Lakers playing the Bulls or something, that or LeBron, so I try to watch it for entertainment.”

But even in a family holiday setting, Law’s passion gets the best of her. She often finds herself shouting at the TV — “Oh, why didn’t you cut back there!” — much to the chagrin of her family.

“My brother Michael is like, ‘Will you just watch the game just to watch the game?’” Law said. “I enjoy it. I thank God that He blessed me with something that I love to do. I love the game. You know, some people go to work like, ‘Oh man, I hate my job.’ I really love my job.”

With a life so focused on basketball, Law touts her DVR as one of her most prized possessions.

“That’s the best thing in life,” she joked.

When Law isn’t in meetings, the flat-screen TV mounted to the wall in her second floor office in Ubben is almost always on.

“But it’s not on with ‘Days of My Life,’” Law said, laughing. “Or, what is it, ‘Days of My Lives’ or ‘All My Children’? I don’t know. It’s not a soap opera or anything like that. It’s typically something to do with basketball.”

The hours upon hours Law puts in behind the scenes are not lost on her players.

“When she comes in in the morning, she’s tired because she’s been watching film all day,” senior guard Lydia McCully said. “It definitely makes you want to go harder in practice to know that she’s putting in that much more effort.”

Law said she watches anywhere from eight to 10 different games of an opponent and will watch any matchups against teams that play a similar defense to her own at least three or four times, equating her film study to a chess match.

“I just try to make adjustments, keep people guessing,” Law said. “And I think with doing that, it keeps us in games, because if we keep doing the same thing, the same way over and over, you become predictable.”

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Law has championship aspirations.

Even in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, she refuses to lower her expectations.

“She really does push you to work harder, to do more,” McCully said. “She has the mentality, never back down regardless of what happens. If you’re up 20 or down 20, just never back down.”

Law says her championship standards are rooted in her playing and coaching experience. She was an All-American in both high school and college and won four Big Ten titles while playing for Vivian Stringer at Iowa. She also coached in a national championship game as a member of Stringer’s coaching staff at Rutgers.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” Law said. “It would be easy if everybody just goes out there and roll the ball out there and everybody could be great. It’s work. It’s hard work.”

Law’s past successes have accumulated to form her demanding coaching style, complete with early morning practices, rigorous conditioning drills and high expectations.

“Sometimes she just puts us through hell to see if we can handle it mentally,” junior forward Karisma Penn said. “It’s always mind over matter, and I think that’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned from her as a coach.”

Despite Law’s championship expectations, this year’s Illinois team is eight games under .500 and remains without a win in the Big Ten. Overall, Law has a 64-88 record at Illinois.

“Does it bother me that we’re not winning?” Law said. “Yeah, I’m a winner. I like to win. I don’t like losing, but I see the product. I see where we were and where are right now and where we’re going to be. … If we continue to do things the right way, the wins, eventually, they’ll come.”

The Illini face an uphill battle for a postseason bid, with their chances likely coming down to the “Big Ten Tournament”:https://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/03/surprise_tournament_run_may_indicate_successful_future_for_womenrsquos_basketball. But Law is still pushing.

“She never lets up on you,” said junior guard “Adrienne GodBold”:https://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2011/11/godbold_brings_energy_off_bench_for_womens_basketball. “She knows that you always have more. When she keeps pushing, you’re going to always be the best you can be playing for coach Law.”

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Even amid the recent struggles of her team and with a new athletic director in town, Law said she doesn’t feel any pressure where her job security is concerned.

“If I was worried about wins and losses, I would have probably played an easier schedule,” Law said. “If I get fired, I’m going to get fired going out my style, playing the best of the best. If I’ve got to play patsy teams just to get wins to save my job, I’m selling my soul. Never crossed my mind.”

Law’s contract runs throughout the 2013-14 season. Law said her job goes beyond just having success on the court.

“People don’t realize what goes into this job,” she said. “I know that they’re doing better academically, I know that they’re going to be good working citizens. You ain’t going to read about them in the newspaper robbing a bank.”

“Knock on wood,” she added.

One thing is for certain: Law won’t be separating from Wilson — or Spalding or Nike, for that matter — anytime soon.

“I’ll just do the best I can, and if that’s not good enough, I know I’ll be surrounded by some basketball,” she said. “If it ends today, if it ends tomorrow, I’m confident I’ll get another job. It was my first (head coaching job). It won’t be my last.”