CHAMPAIGN — Makira Cook calls them “heat of the moment” situations.
Shauna Green refers to them as “conflicts” or “adversity.”
Whatever the choice of word or phrase, how the Illinois women’s basketball team has been able to handle the tension that inevitably comes up in a practice or a game is part of the growth process Green’s program has undergone in the past 19 months.
That the Illini return seven of their top-eight rotation players from last season’s 22-10 NCAA tournament team, including all five starters, has made for a smoother offseason in year two with Green as the Illinois coach.
“I think this team is really, really tight,” Green said. “Last year, there was a lot of growing, but … this summer and just the time they spent together, they are very close off the floor. They communicate at a high level in terms of if anything is going on there, maybe a conflict or adversity, they’re addressing it. They are mature. That’s what you want in your locker room. I’m really happy with where we’re at in terms of our chemistry and the culture that they have really created.”
That chemistry Green alluded to will be put to the test with the preseason hype around Illinois significantly higher than it’s been in a while.
The Illini open the 2023-24 season in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 for the first time this century and first time in 24 years, with No. 23 Illinois tipping off a new campaign at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Morehead State at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Cook said the Illini have “even more of a target” on their back, but the senior guard — a preseason All-Big Ten selection and one of the aforementioned five returning starters alongside senior Genesis Bryant and junior Adalia McKenzie in the backcourt and junior Brynn Shoup-Hill and senior Kendall Bostic in the frontcourt — feels this year’s team is equipped to deal with that added pressure.
“Just knowing people, it makes heat of the moments easier,” Cook said. “If we’re in a tough possession and the boys are kicking our butt in practice (Bryant and I) can have a heat of the moment and know when we walk off the court, it’s not going to affect our relationship, and same with everyone else on the team pretty much. So communication. You also build chemistry by playing every day and battling against (the male practice players).”
While the bulk of the Illini roster knows Green and her system well, that wasn’t the case for everyone.
At least not initially, with Illinois adding four newcomers — a pair of freshmen guards (Cori Allen and Gretchen Dolan) and two transfers (fifth-year center Camille Hobby from North Carolina State and sophomore forward Shay Bollin from Duke).
“The adjustment really wasn’t hard at all for me in terms of my teammates. They were so welcoming and just brought me into the family right away,” Bollin said. Most of the Illini team lives within the same apartment complex. Bollin is among that group of players, as the Raynham, Mass., native is roommates with Hobby, sophomore forward Samantha Dewey and sophomore guard Kam’Ren Rhodes.
“I feel like I developed really great relationships with them really quickly and still continuing to develop those relationships,” the first-year Illinois forward continued, “but the culture here, just in general, we do a lot of stuff together off the court, which I think makes our bond on the court even better. I love being with my teammates. We’re together 24/7.”
The next challenge for Illinois is defining roles. Green will likely settle on an eight-deep rotation. What that looks like is where the questions lie.
The 121-60 win against Truman State in this past Monday’s exhibition game saw the Illini keep their starting five from last season unchanged, with Hobby and fifth-year senior guard Jada Peebles the first two players to come in off the bench at the five-minute, 15-second mark of the first quarter. Bollin checked in 70 seconds later, subbing for Bostic, who played briefly with Hobby in a double-post lineup.
“Every year there’s always that challenge of how are you going to mesh everyone together? How are you going to mesh minutes? How are you going to mesh personalities? How are going to mesh expectations?” Green said. “That’s every season is a new journey with that, so I don’t think it’s where we want it to be yet. We’ll continue to kind of process that and see as we go through games, but they’re all really adjusting well. I think they understand where they’re at right now and kind of their role right now, but roles are always fluid. Hopefully, they continue to develop and evolve.”
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