Moline's Musings

Cancun Musings

Posted by: Brian Moline

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 11:41 AM

I thoroughly enjoyed my week with the Illini women's basketball team in Cancun.  I know, who wouldn't enjoy a week in Cancun?  But this was a great group to travel with, and they treated my wife and I like we'd been part of the team for years.  Some random thoughts about the team's 0-3 week at the Carribbean Challenge:

* This team needs Chelsea Gordon to be on the court in order to win consistently.  No, Chelsea hasn't scored many points this season, and her shot is pretty inconsistent.  However, she is the team's best man-to-man defender.  She doesn't get as many steals as Lacey Simpson, but it's no coincidence she's been voted the team's best defender each of the past two seasons.  I would have liked to have seen the matchup between Gordon and Maryland's Kristi Toliver (last season's Liebermann award winner as the nation's best point guard) if Chelsea was 100%.  She's been slowed by a right ankle injury she suffered against Missouri.  I don't think Illinois would have lost by 27 points with Gordon on Tolliver.  Also, without Gordon on the floor, the Illini have a minimum of three players on the court who didn't play for them a season ago.  That's pretty tough to overcome, especially early in the season.

* I expect to see all three of the Illini's opponents last week in the NCAA tournament this March.  Maryland is a no-brainer as a top-ten team, but Montana and South Dakota State appear early on to the the class of the Big Sky and Summit conferences, respectively.  Both won at least 23 games a season ago and finished as the regular season conference champs.  The Lady Griz made the tourney, but the Jackrabbits were ineligible as they were still making the transistion from Division II to Division I.  They are eligible for the dance this season.  These certainly weren't cupcakes that the Illini lost to in Cancun.

* Jenna Smith still has room for improvement.  Jenna is clearly the best scorer on this team, but she is still learning to handle a quick double-team.  One example is the seven turnovers she committed against South Dakota State on Thursday.  The Jackrabbits doubled hard every time she touched the ball in the second half, and Illinois' inability to adjust to that was a big reason SDSU came back to win after trailing by 13 at the half.  Jenna handled the double-teams a little better the following night against the Terrapins with only three turnovers, but you can bet that teams will swarm Smith until she proves she can either make a quick decisive move to the hoop or find an open player.

* This team is still looking for a point guard.  Lydia McCully and Fabiola Josil have both started at the point this season.  Both appear to be more natural shooting guards.  McCully has developed into the third scoring option for the Illini, behind Smith and Simpson, but turned the ball over ten times against Maryland.  Meanwhile, Josil appears a little tentative when she's running the point.  She is also a natural scorer, averaging 35 points per game her senior year in high school, and is struggling to become the pass-first point guard that head coach Jolette Law wants (and was as a player at Iowa under C. Vivian Stringer).  Keep an eye on a third freshman, Eboni Mitchell.  Mitchell saw her first extended playing time last week, getting 20+ minutes against both Montana and Maryland.  She looked pretty comfortable at the point, but struggled to score.

* Last week certainly doesn't indicate this, but I expect a competitive game Thursday night at the Assembly Hall when Virginia comes to town.  As my colleague Tony Bleill has noted, the only conisistent thing about this young team has been its inconsistency.  After seeing Maryland last Friday, the Illini should be better prepared for another ACC opponent. 

I'll be in Chicago on Saturday to call the game between the Illini women and Bradley at the United Center.  Meanwhile, I'll have a few soccer and wrestling notes to share with you between now and Saturday.

bmoline@wdws.com

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