A lot has changed in a year for the Illinois women’s basketball team.
One year ago, the Illini were without a coach. Athletic director Mike Thomas fired Jolette Law after an 11-19 season and 69-93 overall record in a five-year tenure at the helm.
On March 28, Illinois hired Green Bay’s Matt Bollant. In his five years at Green Bay, Bollant went 148-19 (85-5 Horizon League) with four NCAA tournament appearances.
Bollant has been able to continue his success in his first year at Illinois; the Illini had their best Big Ten finish since 2007 this season, and they may make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003.
Bollant’s tenure has started with clear differences on both offense and defense that demonstrate Illinois’ improvement in his first year.
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Offense
Bollant told his players they were instantly 10 points better because of his up-tempo offensive style. While his words didn’t quite ring true, the Illini improved their scoring average by 6.6 points, from 63.4 points per game in 2011-12 to 70.0 points in 2012-13.
Illinois increased its scoring largely because its fast-paced style resulted in more shots per game (57.6 versus 62.1), including significantly more 3-pointers (11.5 versus 19.5).
One reason for the increase in shots behind the arc was that Bollant felt comfortable with any of his players shooting 3s. Although the Illini shot 2.2 percent lower on 3s this season, Illinois’ 3-pointers made per game increased from 3.6 to 5.7. The increased number of long-range shots also contributed to Illinois’ overall shooting percentage, falling from 40.8 percent to 39.3 percent.
In addition to 3-pointers, Bollant also stressed increased aggression in driving to the basket, which could be seen in an increase of free throws from 19 attempts per game to 21.7.
Defense
Illinois’ largest improvement came with the institution of Bollant’s Buzz and man-to-man defenses. The new, aggressive style led the Illini to the top of the Big Ten in steals (12.8 per game versus 9.2 last season) and turnovers forced (23.8 per game versus 17.9 last season).
The aggression comes at a cost. The double teams on traps proves to be a riskier style of play that can create holes in Illinois’ defense, creating easy baskets for its opponents if its able to avoid turnovers. These easy baskets allowed Illini opponents to shoot 42.1 percent from the field, the highest figure in the Big Ten. Last season, Illinois’ opponents shot 41.0 percent.
The turnovers forced by the double teams allow Illinois to shoot 5.5 more shots per game than its opponents, helping the Illini make up for their opponents’ high shooting percentage.
Bollant inherited a squad with a significant lack of depth and significant lack of size. He had 10 scholarship players but lost two to career-ending injuries as the season progressed. Bollant only played one forward, senior Karisma Penn, significant minutes, leaving Illinois with a lack of interior size.
The shallow frontcourt contributed to a dip in rebounding margin and blocks for the Illini. Last season, Illinois was outrebounded by 1.1 rebounds per game and the margin fell even further down to -3.6 rebounds per game this season. Illinois’ lack of size could also be seen in a decrease from 5.1 blocks per game to 3.7 blocks this season.
Johnathan can be reached at hetting2 @dailyillini.com and @jhett93.
