On Women's Basketball

Exhibition doings

Posted by: Tony Bleill

Sunday, November 8, 2009 9:07 PM

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Random thoughts from Sunday's exhibition ...

--Illinois got 40 points from its bench Sunday. Forty. A year ago, it would have taken a month's worth of games for the Illini to get 40 points from their bench. Guess that's what happens when you have nine players sitting on the bench instead of, oh, three.

"Wow. Everytime I look down my bench, I feel like I have weapons," Jolette Law said. ""I have a gun that I have some bullets in. In the past, I had a gun, and I had a couple bullets. (I want to) rotate them in and out, get them fresh, let them go hard for a good 4 or 5 minutes so they can play their best ball."

My best guess is Law will end up with a nine-player rotation.

--Destiny Williams did not play because, Law said, she was ill. I asked about Williams' status after the game and Law said it's "day-to-day." When the press conference was complete, a press room observer asked if I thought Law's answer was a bit vague, and I concurred. Purely conjecture, but Williams' status might not be entirely related to illness.

Of the six freshmen, Williams seemingly has had the most difficult transition. And make no mistake, joining Law's program isn't a walk in the park. She is demanding of her players. Some thrive in that environment. Others -- Danyel Crutcher comes to mind -- don't. I'm not suggesting Williams is going to transfer or leave the team. Don't misunderstand. But a Jolette Law practice is very, very tough -- mentally and physically. It's that way for a reason. And Williams seems to be having a difficult time adjusting to it all. I attended one early-season workout in which Williams wasn't a participant because she had been asked to leave practice.

If a player lacks mental toughness, it might be hard to understand how to interpret something like that. I'm not suggesting Williams lacks toughness, but perhaps she's trying to figure this all out. Law, in answering an unrelated question during Sunday's presser, alluded to the circumstances the freshmen now face.

"I feel like the luckiest coach in America. I have kids who are eager to learn, who want to win, want to help take this program to the next level," she said. "They're constantly coming in every day thinking how can I get better? I know some of them were a little nervous, like ‘Oh, God, coach is always yelling at me.' I'm just trying to push them and drive them to be the best they can be. When I see they are transferring everything that we learn in practice to the floor, yeah, I can smile.

"When I saw them in the locker room (after the game) I said, 'Y'all didn't look like freshmen tonight.'"

--If Amber Moore can shoot consistently like she did Sunday, doesn't she have to play a lot of minutes this season? I'm not sure there's much of a choice. The Illini desperately need Moore or Macie Blinn to be a solid, consistent offensive contributor from the perimeter. Otherwise, opponents will take the same approach as last season: packing it in around Jenna Smith. But, if you put Moore on one wing and let her bomb away, that opens things up a bit for Jenna.

And let's be clear: Blinn and Moore are really the only two options. None of the others have demonstrated they can consistently knock down 3s. Occasionally? Yes. But "occasionally" doesn't prevent teams from sagging on Smith.

--I'm getting way ahead of myself here, I realize. But looking deep into the future ... don't Karisma Penn and Destiny Williams really play the same position? They both seem like natural power forwards. I'm guessing that when the times comes -- likely after Smith and Lacey Simpson graduate -- Penn would be the 4 while Williams would slide to the 3, where Alexis Burke enters the picture next fall.

--Good news for UI fans: Freshmen Penn and Brianna Jones were brought into the media room for the postgame conference. Law has sometimes put the freshmen off-limits to the media, but it's good to see them available to talk ... to all three of us. OK, five, if you count the TV guys.

--The week ahead: Yes, the season opener is Friday at Temple. But the signing period begins Wednesday, when the UI officially will add Burke and T.F. North guard Centrese McGee to the mix. Look for quotes from Law later this week. We'll have 'em here.

 

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