Change is apparent to Illinois sophomore basketball Jenna Smith.
A 6-foot-3 center who rarely strayed far from the basket last season when she averaged 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds to earn a spot on the Big Ten Conference's all-freshman team in the and league honorable mention, Smith quickly learned that first-year coach Jolette Law would ask different things of her this season.
Law wanted Smith to lose weight (she's already dropped 10 pounds and will likely lose more, Law said), improve her ballhandling and work on her outside shooting. Smith, like the rest of her teammates, is expected to be much more versatile to fit into Law's uptempo pace.
"We want to utilize her getting up and down the floor,'' Law said. "Her body has changed a little bit. She's a little smaller than she was two years ago. She feels good about herself.
"I told her, 'You could be one of the fastest post players in the league if you work. You could be one of the best shooters among post players, if you work at it.' If you're 1 percent better every day, you see the light at the end of the tunnel.''
Law took over after former coach Theresa Grentz reached the end of the road in April, resigning after 12 years as Illini coach. The Illini haven't reached the NCAA tournament since 2003 and haven't won an NCAA tournament game since 2000.
Under Law, the Illini will apparently speed up the game, use more motion and call fewer plays. To do so, Law wants her players more mobile and versatile.
"She wants us to run more, get the rebounds and go,'' Smith said. "We're all working in practices to push the ball. I like the mentality.''
In preseason practice and individual workouts, the Illini post players "are working on different moves,'' Smith said. "I'm more of a back-to-the-basket player. Now I have to drive from the high post or shoot threes, something we didn't do last year.''
Smith is working on a turnaround, fall-away jump shot used last year by Ohio State's Jessica Davenport, the first three-time recipient of the conference's player of the year. Smith has help learning the move, since first-year Illini assistant Patrick Klein was a graduate assistant working with the Ohio State post players last winter.
"Now it's an option for me,'' Smith said. "He's also showed me how to post so nobody can move you out. I've learned a lot already.''
Grentz left talent for Law. Illinois returned all five starters. The Illini were picked to finish third in the league by the media and sixth by the coaches. Junior guard Lori Bjork was a preseason all-Big Ten selection by the coaches and media.
Change is also under way for Law, a two-time first-team all-Big Ten pick at Iowa under coach C. Vivian Stringer in a playing career that ended in 1990. As an assistant coach to Stringer at Rutgers, Law was considered a rising star, a talented recruiter who was ready for her own program.
"I have a lot of red and black,'' he said. "I was at Rutgers for 12 years.''
Just the other day, Law wore a new orange and blue pair of Jordans with her Illini gear to the practice court.
"It was a beautiful outfit,'' Smith said. "She walked into the gym, and it pushed my buttons.''
Otherwise, Law is pushing the Illini.
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more coverage, read Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com and www.pjstar.com.
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Change is apparent to Illinois sophomore basketball Jenna Smith.
A 6-foot-3 center who rarely strayed far from the basket last season when she averaged 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds to earn a spot on the Big Ten Conference's all-freshman team in the and league honorable mention, Smith quickly learned that first-year coach Jolette Law would ask different things of her this season.
Law wanted Smith to lose weight (she's already dropped 10 pounds and will likely lose more, Law said), improve her ballhandling and work on her outside shooting. Smith, like the rest of her teammates, is expected to be much more versatile to fit into Law's uptempo pace.
"We want to utilize her getting up and down the floor,'' Law said. "Her body has changed a little bit. She's a little smaller than she was two years ago. She feels good about herself.
"I told her, 'You could be one of the fastest post players in the league if you work. You could be one of the best shooters among post players, if you work at it.' If you're 1 percent better every day, you see the light at the end of the tunnel.''
Law took over after former coach Theresa Grentz reached the end of the road in April, resigning after 12 years as Illini coach. The Illini haven't reached the NCAA tournament since 2003 and haven't won an NCAA tournament game since 2000.
Under Law, the Illini will apparently speed up the game, use more motion and call fewer plays. To do so, Law wants her players more mobile and versatile.
"She wants us to run more, get the rebounds and go,'' Smith said. "We're all working in practices to push the ball. I like the mentality.''
In preseason practice and individual workouts, the Illini post players "are working on different moves,'' Smith said. "I'm more of a back-to-the-basket player. Now I have to drive from the high post or shoot threes, something we didn't do last year.''
Smith is working on a turnaround, fall-away jump shot used last year by Ohio State's Jessica Davenport, the first three-time recipient of the conference's player of the year. Smith has help learning the move, since first-year Illini assistant Patrick Klein was a graduate assistant working with the Ohio State post players last winter.
"Now it's an option for me,'' Smith said. "He's also showed me how to post so nobody can move you out. I've learned a lot already.''
Grentz left talent for Law. Illinois returned all five starters. The Illini were picked to finish third in the league by the media and sixth by the coaches. Junior guard Lori Bjork was a preseason all-Big Ten selection by the coaches and media.
Change is also under way for Law, a two-time first-team all-Big Ten pick at Iowa under coach C. Vivian Stringer in a playing career that ended in 1990. As an assistant coach to Stringer at Rutgers, Law was considered a rising star, a talented recruiter who was ready for her own program.
"I have a lot of red and black,'' he said. "I was at Rutgers for 12 years.''
Just the other day, Law wore a new orange and blue pair of Jordans with her Illini gear to the practice court.
"It was a beautiful outfit,'' Smith said. "She walked into the gym, and it pushed my buttons.''
Otherwise, Law is pushing the Illini.
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more coverage, read Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com and www.pjstar.com.
