Illinois has some new weapons thanks to the portal

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Year three of the Shauna Green era has begun for Illinois women’s basketball.

A ton of the 2024 offseason has revolved around what Brad Underwood has been doing on the men’s side. So some Illinois fans might have missed that Coach Shauna Green picked up two transfers.

Last week, Lety Vasconcelos and Jasmine Brown-Hagger spoke about the paths that led them to Illinois. Additionally, Coach Green gave us a look into what we might see this season.

An improving program

After a successful first two seasons, Coach Green looked to the transfer portal to reload this offseason.

“We have landed some of the top recruits,” Green said. “We got them to come here because of relationships, being able to win, and show that we are on the right track”.

Green then had this to say about recruiting Brown-Hagger in the past: “It was our first year we hadn’t won at all, we hadn’t done anything. So then she saw maybe they can do it in my home state”.

The in-state component was another draw for Brown-Hagger who played her high school ball in the suburbs of Chicago.

Speaking on Vasconcelos, Green said: “It’s a process of conditioning, getting her to understand the defense. The offense is going to be the easy part.”

Vasconcelos, who stands at a whooping 6-foot-7, couldn’t be more different than the 5-foot-9 guard Brown-Hagger. But Green expects them to impact both sides of the floor.

Jasmine Brown-Hagger

After finishing her first season at Mississippi State Brown-Hagger, put her name in the transfer portal.

“I’ve enjoyed it very much. I’ve just enjoyed the environment, the people here are really nice,” Brown-Hagger said.

A very sought-after recruit, she was ranked No. 1 in Illinois for the 2023 class.

“If you have a coach that can stand behind you, you’re fine to go out there and make mistakes,” Brown-Hagger said.

After averaging only 2.1 points per game while playing sparingly with 8.7 minutes per game, the incoming sophomore has her sights set high for year two.

Lety Vasconcelos

Similar to Brown-Hagger, Vasconcelos is also an incoming sophomore transfer. After playing one year at Baylor she decided to transfer to Illinois.

“They can take me where I want to get to,” Vasconcelos said about the coaching staff.

Vasconcelos was another highly sought-after recruit out of high school, being listed as the 36th-best in her 2023 class.

“Not everything is going to be perfect, but we have to work hard every day,” she said.

Illinois will have no problem with height now that Vasconcelos is coming in. With several lengthy centers, and an arsenal of 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-3 forwards, height should be a strength for this year’s team.

Brown-Hagger and Vasconcelos roles

Coming off the 2023 WBIT championship the Illini returned most of the roster. eight players choose to return along with another four incoming freshmen.

“We needed more depth in the wing spot and the guard spot,” Green said.

Coach Green also thinks Brown-Hagger could be a very versatile player. “Jas, I have her playing some point guard, too.”

“Her ability to score and her ability to defend is something that really filled a need of ours,” Green said about Brown-Hagger.

“Lety fills the size piece, you know losing Hobby [Camile] we need another five,” Green said.

Green sounded confident in the two players’ abilities but stressed that it was still early.

What’s next?

The team has an exciting next couple of weeks.

On Aug. 2 the team departs for Europe, making stops in Italy and Greece.

Illinois will be playing two exhibition games, but also having fun doing different tours and excursions.

“We have two games, but mostly just team bonding and experiencing the culture,” said Green.

After the tour ends on Aug. 10 all eyes will be looking ahead to the regular season opener.

But before we can get ahead of ourselves, there is still a lot of summer left.

This means more time for Jasmine Brown-Hagger and Lety Vasconcelos to prepare and hopefully succeed on the hardwood come November.