After a brief six-month activation period, the NCAA’s rule change allowing men’s and women’s basketball programs to tenure two more assistant coaches has gone into effect.

Head coach Shauna Green and the rest of Illinois women’s basketball acted quickly, moving Emily Durr and Jenna Giacone into the vacant positions on the same day.

Both Durr and Giacone will be accepting these additional on-court coaching responsibilities while maintaining their prior roles. 

Durr, who is entering her second season with the Illini next Fall, was Illinois’ director of recruiting operations during the 2022-23 season. While new to the Illini, Durr spent a season under Green as an administrative associate at Dayton in 2021-22.

A recent graduate and player herself, Durr spent four seasons representing Iowa State (2014-18), before spending two years as head coach of Mohawk Valley Community College. 

Giacone has had a similar background in recent years, being a first-year member of Illinois’ staff in 2022-23 and holding a prior connection to Green. However, for Giacone the pre-Illinois connection comes from the court, as she spent six seasons (2016-2022) at Dayton under Green.

Following a brief pre-season stint with the Seattle Storm, Giacone joined the Illini as the Director of Scouting and Player Development. Seven years of professional work with Green has rewarded Giacone with a shot as an on-court coach.

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