Green Street Upgrading the talent in C-U
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Green Street Upgrading the talent in C-U
Sep. 7—It's been 16 years since the Illinois women's basketball program has had a player hear her name called as a WNBA draft pick.
You have to go all the way back to Illinois Hall of Famer and former Illini center , who was the 14th overall pick (second round) of the Washington Mystics in the 2010 WNBA draft.
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The task of ending that drought falls on . There's no doubt the progress Illinois has made as a program with Green as the coach. Not only have the Illini been to the NCAA tournament in three of her first four seasons as coach, but Green has significantly upgraded the talent in C-U. The current Illinois roster ahead of the 2026-27 season, which will tip off in less than two months, has three former five-star recruits on it in sophomore guards and and forward .
The Illini also signed a top 10 recruiting class in 2025.
But it's clear Green has her sights set on getting a player to the next level. And the fifth-year Illinois coach also understands what that growth process will take from her players to reach that point.
The Illini — who won 22 games last season and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament before returning basically their entire core player group through a successful offseason of retention — are also in a league loaded with talent.
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Southern Cal senior guard is widely considered the consensus the No. 1 pick in the 2027 WNBA draft. The fact Green's young team held its own last season against a national championship UCLA roster is also something the Illinois coach pointed to, as the Bruins had four players come off the board in the top 10 picks of the 2026 WNBA draft: center , guards and and forward .
That UCLA team, which went 37-1 en route to capturing the program's first NCAA women's basketball title, had to work hard for a 80-67 victory against Illinois on Jan. 28 in Champaign.
"As we're trying to build this — and we were younger (last season), now we're getting to be an older team — like you said, it gives them that confidence of, 'Hey, I can play with this person or that person. We played against these guys. I scored on this person or I was able to defend this person,'" Green said. "And now, they're in the league. And so, as our program grows (and) as these guys continue to grow, that's what we want for our players when they graduate is to be in those positions. Getting drafted and performing at a high level in the (WNBA).
"We have to take all of those things (from facing top college players), and we need to take them individually and learn from them. Hopefully, they're watching some of those players, too. ... I think it's always interesting listening to the pros say, 'Oh, I wish I would have known this in college.' Because I talk to these guys all the time about acting like a pro. You want to be pros some day, but you have to carry yourself, you have to train (like a pro). Everything you do as a pro is being the best that you can be, and I want our guys to start thinking like that and continue thinking like that now at the college level. So, they're prepared."
