Illinois (2-0) is officially hitting the road for the first time this season. Head coach Shauna Green mentioned that for the Illini’s preseason scrimmage, they only ventured a few hours away. However, for this weekend, Illinois is heading up to Oregon to take on Oregon State (2-0).
“We went on our scrimmage and traveled five hours on a bus,” Green said. “Now we’re going to just be on the air.”
Playing road games is a challenge for any team early in the season. The Illini are faced with the additional challenge that many of their roster have not experienced a full-blown away game.
Off-court learning
One of the best things a team can do to learn from their mistakes is to watch film. Whether that be from games or practices, film is important to the learning process. The Illini have been doing just that.
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Green talked about how much her team has risen to the challenge of learning and how they rely on film for that.
“We’re watching more film this year than we ever have before,” Green said. “We start every day of practice in the film room, which is something that I just think this team needs.”
Green isn’t the only one who appreciates the benefits of film. Freshman guard Destiny Jackson also shared how they watch film in order to learn. She also mentioned the importance of trusting the program she is in to help her make decisions on the court.
“I’m always watching film,” Jackson said. “I was with (Jackson’s position coach), just seeing what she wants out of a point guard.”
With a young team, there are learning curves left and right. Green said watching film and seeing what plays or lineups work best is how the team is going to learn and gel together.
The Illini have a very different look from last year. Not being able to simply reference old games or plays that the team has done in the past is something that Green says film can help them with.
Learning more about the culture and style of the team is going to propel these young Illini into looking and playing like veterans.
Pacific Northwest round one
After a 75-65 victory against Illinois State (2-1) on Sunday, Illinois is preparing for its next challenge.
“It’s a hard place to play out there,” Green said. “(Oregon State) draw really well. So against a really well-coached team, it’ll be good for us.”
Adapting to play on the West Coast early will benefit the Illini after the conference realignment. During the early weeks of the season, Green saw a chance to prepare for conference play later on.
“It’s just an opportunity for us to learn and to get prepared for the Big Ten,” Green said. “Which is ultimately what this non-conference is about, right? So I thought it would be good.”
While Illinois headed out west last season to take on UCLA and USC, the Pacific Northwest brings on uncharted territory.
Knowing the conference play that lies ahead, Green planned strategically to schedule a trip to the Pacific Northwest early in the season.
“That’s why we scheduled the game early on, too,” Green said. “When we were looking at dates of possibilities, I thought, ‘Let’s play them early in the first couple weeks.’”
Despite an 85-66 victory last season against the Beavers, Green knows that the matchup is an important step for the Illini.
“We got to be ready to go and be tested,” Green said.
Up for challenge
While redshirt sophomore center Lety Vasconcelos and sophomore center Hayven Smith are the team’s tallest players, standing at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-6, respectively. Oregon State has its fair share of tall athletes ready to test Illinois.
“They got 6’8, 6’5, 6’3 on Oregon State,” Green said. “It’s a team effort. We can’t just keep putting people on islands defensively. We got to guard as a team, and it’s something, again, this team just has to learn.”
Green is excited to see how Vasconcelos and Smith play against athletes of their size and length this weekend.
“It’s an opportunity for Lety and Hayven to have someone where they can sit and bang on that isn’t as mobile and isn’t as guard-like,” Green said. “I’m really excited about just a different look, a different style.”
Alongside the size of the Beavers, their ability to guard and add pressure when players take a shot is going to be another test for the Illini.
“They’re going to make us guard for 30,” Green said. “They’re super, super disciplined and running the whole shot clock down and making you guard.”
Both teams enter the matchup undefeated, and one will receive its first loss of the season. Junior guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger sees this as an opportunity to see how gritty the team is in high-pressure situations.
“I kind of want to be put through a little bit of adversity to see what can we do and how can we come together,” Brown-Hagger said.
Tipoff is at 6 p.m. CT at Gill Coliseum. The game is available to stream on ESPN+.
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