Illini Women's Basketball 2022

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#528      
PaignfulTruth
Went to the game today and I gotta say this team is fun as heck to watch in person! We brought 4 kids from age 5-9 and they were having such a good time we actually got to stay for the whole game. Coach Green has something special going on here. Already looking at tickets for the next game!
 
#531      
BRucks
JFGsCoffeeMug said:
What an insane stat line.

Happy Ice Hockey GIF by Florida Panthers
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Especially for a 5'6" gal who has only played the point for us infrequently, when Cook was taking a breather.
 
#532      
BRucks
ChiefGritty said:
I know very little about WBB and so I don't know if this is a fair comparison, but I struggle to think of a MBB comparison for what's happening here.

Then again, I struggle to think of a MBB comparison for the state of this program over the past decade or so. It never made a lick of sense for the University of Illinois to be that bad at basketball of either gender and very glad to see that abating.

How much roster turnover has there been from last season?
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We have five players back from last year. Typically three of them start.
 
#537      
JFGsCoffeeMug
JFGsCoffeeMug said:
I'm sorry, but how am I just hearing about this?

The ladies have their own Fletcher? Juggernaut status imminent.
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I'm going down the rabbit hole here.

From Kilee's bio:
Fletcher lives in Champaign with her husband, Adam, and their dog, Wrigley.
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From Adam's bio:
He is married to the former Kilee Taflinger, who is the strength and conditioning coach for the Fighting Illini women’s basketball team.
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We have a literal and figurative power couple working together to make our two basketball programs great. What an amazing foundation for us to build upon.
 
#542      
Illinicpa14
I’ll be honest I’ve never gotten into the team before (early 30s - they’ve been so down my whole adult life). What’s fueling this rapid of a turnaround for the rabid MBB fan now learning about this team?

I see they hit 3s at a crazy clip but is this a result of new players? Pure coaching and style? Is WBB a quicker sport to turn around for reasons I wouldn’t think of?

The only program I can relate to this is Iowa State mens going from something like 2-20 to a tourney team but that was all transfers 2 or 3 years ago.
 
#543      
GILL-INOIS
PaignfulTruth said:
Excited to see only GA tickets remaining for the Iowa game! I'll be there with 3 recently converted WBB fans. Hoping for a big crowd. I'll try to remember to post in game updates for folks who can't make it. 😉 I-L-L!
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Might be my first and last Iowa compliment but Caitlin Clark is exciting to watch. Clark is one of the rare, "You can't stop her, you can only hope to contain me" type of players. Iowa doesn't use much depth off the bench like Illinois.

Enjoy the game! They added this game on BTN along with Jan 5th game vs Northwestern. I look for BTN to keep adding games randomly if we keep it up.
 
#544      
PaignfulTruth
GILL-INOIS said:
Might be my first and last Iowa compliment but Caitlin Clark is exciting to watch. Clark is one of the rare, "You can't stop her, you can only hope to contain me" type of players. Iowa doesn't use much depth off the bench like Illinois.

Enjoy the game! They added this game on BTN along with Jan 5th game vs Northwestern. I look for BTN to keep adding games randomly if we keep it up.
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Thanks! That's great news on the TV coverage - I'll keep an eye out when I'm unable to attend. I'll also look for Clark on Sunday. Will be interesting to see how Coach Green counters.
 
#546      
EyeoftheIllini
GILL-INOIS said:
Might be my first and last Iowa compliment but Caitlin Clark is exciting to watch. Clark is one of the rare, "You can't stop her, you can only hope to contain me" type of players. Iowa doesn't use much depth off the bench like Illinois.

Enjoy the game! They added this game on BTN along with Jan 5th game vs Northwestern. I look for BTN to keep adding games randomly if we keep it up.
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Agree completely on Clark. I will admit that for the most part I’m not much of a watcher of women’s basketball. I know, crazy statement to make in this thread. Typically I might watch a few NCAA tournament games and some WNBA playoff games each year. I know that these women are great athletes, but I find the game a bit “unathletic” compared to the men’s game. I’ve heard some say that’s what makes it a “purer” version of basketball. I just don’t see it. That said, Caitlin Clark is very fun to watch. I also like watching the South Carolina team. I did watch portions of the Illini-Missouri game (about 60%) and plan to watch the game against Iowa.

I’m sure seeing a game in person is very fun. And I’m enjoying seeing the turnaround in the team. So is it possible to be a big fan of the team while not being a big fan of women’s basketball? That may become an irrelevant question soon as this team might just make me a fan of the sport in general too.
 
#547      
1970 John
We bought tickets for the Illini in Piscataway. It’s hard for us living in eastern PA to make it out to the Old Country (we were in C-U for 9 games in three sports in 11 days back in November) in the winter, so when the Beloved come east, we love to be there.
 
#548      
Baskins Tiger
Illinicpa14 said:
I’ll be honest I’ve never gotten into the team before (early 30s - they’ve been so down my whole adult life). What’s fueling this rapid of a turnaround for the rabid MBB fan now learning about this team?

I see they hit 3s at a crazy clip but is this a result of new players? Pure coaching and style? Is WBB a quicker sport to turn around for reasons I wouldn’t think of?

The only program I can relate to this is Iowa State mens going from something like 2-20 to a tourney team but that was all transfers 2 or 3 years ago.
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Pure accountability of the players and an aggressive man defense with communication on switching. Also everyone crashes the boards.
Bostic, Peebles, Oden, and McKenzie all started last season, they had the talent to do this last year, especially with the player Alliyah Nye's (who transferred) on ball pressure d and 3 point ability. Coach Faye knew from the beginning of the season it was her last chance and you could see how that impacted the game plans.
 
#549      
PaignfulTruth
EyeoftheIllini said:
Agree completely on Clark. I will admit that for the most part I’m not much of a watcher of women’s basketball. I know, crazy statement to make in this thread. Typically I might watch a few NCAA tournament games and some WNBA playoff games each year. I know that these women are great athletes, but I find the game a bit “unathletic” compared to the men’s game. I’ve heard some say that’s what makes it a “purer” version of basketball. I just don’t see it. That said, Caitlin Clark is very fun to watch. I also like watching the South Carolina team. I did watch portions of the Illini-Missouri game (about 60%) and plan to watch the game against Iowa.

I’m sure seeing a game in person is very fun. And I’m enjoying seeing the turnaround in the team. So is it possible to be a big fan of the team while not being a big fan of women’s basketball? That may become an irrelevant question soon as this team might just make me a fan of the sport in general too.
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I'm gonna go with "yes" on that. In fact, I think that's where I am. I played girls bball back in the day and still could never get into watching the sport in general. Right now I'm enjoying supporting this team and benefitting from other people's more general fandom ;)
 
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