Illinois tips off for its season in less than a month, and head coach Shauna Green, sophomore forward Berry Wallace and junior guard Gretchen Dolan gave a rundown about what excites them about this fresh-faced team at Big Ten Media Day on Wednesday.

“It is a learning experience every moment with this group,” Green said. “Every day hasn’t been perfect. We continue to find ways to make strides as quickly as we can to get them to really understand our core principles.”

Defend, defend, defend

When Wallace was asked what advice she gave to the new players on how to win over Green, the sophomore was quick to stress the coach’s emphasis on defense. 

“Defending is coach Green’s biggest thing,” Wallace said. “If you’re not defending, it’s gonna be tough for you to play for her. Your key to getting on the court is definitely defending and rebounding.”

In Green’s personal interview afterwards, she agreed that her non-negotiables in a player are the energy and effort they bring defensively. More than talent or skillset, Green wants aggression out of her players. 

“The offense will come from successful defense,” Green said. “(Former Illini Adalia McKenzie) was at practice a couple of days ago, and I had her talk to the team about what defense means and how it’s something that you can control. It doesn’t take any talent, it’s just a mindset and an energy.”

She went on to highlight the effort level that a variety of players have been showing in practice when meeting this standard.

“(Jasmine) is the anchor of our defense,” Green said about returning junior guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger. “Gretchen has been someone that, from year one to last year, her defensive ability, focus, intensity and discipline went up to a whole other level. And Maddie (Webber) has been consistent with a motor that doesn’t stop.”

Versatility, height are big assets for Illinois

Green, who enters her fourth year leading the charge in Champaign, views the group’s potential ceiling as a valuable asset rather than a drawback. Wallace shares a similar excitement regarding the danger of such an unknown team. 

“Our depth and versatility give us the ability to rotate and keep people fresh,” Wallace said. “We also have so many different skillsets and players who can play multiple different positions. That’s gonna make us super hard to guard.”

Green won big in the transfer portal. She added Webber, a junior guard from Villanova, and sophomore guard Aaliyah Guyton from Iowa to bolster Illinois’ backcourt. Their collegiate experience has helped them adjust to this new system faster than the freshmen. 

In her frontcourt, Green has six post players on the team. This is in stark contrast to last season, where former Illinois forward Kendall Bostic often played 40-minute games due to limited depth. This deeper bench allows for matchup-dependent lineups and better versatility overall.

Wallace grew her skillset during offseason

Wallace came to Illinois with a lot of raw talent but missed the majority of the team’s pre-conference play. Because of this, she lost valuable time to steadily ramp up to the intensity required of a Big Ten forward. She returned from injury just as Illinois entered conference play, forcing her to adapt quickly and learn on the fly.

The unexpected start to her college career made this offseason especially important for Wallace, who chose to focus on expanding her guard skills. 

“We have a lot of bigs this year and I feel like I’ll be seeing more time as a guard,” Wallace said. “So I worked on my ball handling, my shooting and coming off screens. Things I wasn’t as comfortable with in the past years. I want to be able to guard guards and play against quicker guards.”

Another change for Wallace is that, with the roster turnover, she will take on a larger leadership role on and off the court. Green and Wallace both acknowledge that this bigger role is a bit outside of the forward’s comfort zone, but she has been tackling the job head-on.

“(Gretchen and Berry) knew coming into this season that they would have to be really diligent with working on becoming more vocal leaders,” Green said. “They have been very intentional with forcing themselves out of their comfort level. They have to be the vocal people in the huddles now and set the tone for everything.”

On both a skillset and leadership level, Wallace’s greatest talent has been her adaptability. 

“The biggest thing for me has been getting comfortable being uncomfortable,” Wallace said.

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