Vozzelli What I learned from Tuesday's open Illinois women's basketball team practice
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Vozzelli What I learned from Tuesday's open Illinois women's basketball team practice
Oct. 13—CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois women's basketball team opened up a portion of Tuesday's early afternoon practice at Ubben Basketball Complex to local media members.
About 15 of us were on hand to watch from the balcony for the final hour of practice, and then we were allowed to talk with players and coaches, as well, afterward for another 30-plus minutes.
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Here are 10 observations of what I think I now know about Shauna Green's Illini program with plenty of five-on-five work against the scout team (male practice players) on Tuesday.
1 It goes without saying. But shoutout to Green for making this happen. The fifth-year Illinois coach actually came up with the idea to open up her practice to reporters for the first time in her tenure. It's a chance to build added hype with the potential for this upcoming season to be the best the Illinois program has had in 30 years. A successful offseason of retention is such that expectations are the highest they have been in a while, as the Illini look to make it out of the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament and reach only their third-ever Sweet 16.
2 Destiny Jackson, Jasmine Brown-Hagger, Gretchen Dolan, Berry Wallace and Cearah Parchment feels like it's going to be the starting five Illinois plays on Nov. 4 when the Illini tip off the 2026-27 season against Detroit Mercy at State Farm Center. This really shouldn't come as a surprise. It's probably the best lineup to set the tone for the game. Brown-Hagger gives Illinois so much, not just as a veteran presence on the floor, but as a legitimate defensive stopper. It appears Maddie Webber will reprise her role as the sixth player for the Illini this season. Webber thrived in that spot last season, and it affords Illinois a major spark off the bench.
3 You can see the work Jackson has put into her three-point shot this offseason. And the end result. There's a confidence in that three-point stroke. A willingness to pull the trigger that has come with refined mechanics, something that the sophomore point guard worked on with associate head coach Calamity McEntire during the offseason. Jackson made a corner three-pointer in Tuesday's practice, where she was down and ready to shoot the ball. Playing off the ball some more could unlock the Chicago native's full game.
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4 It was notable to see Aaliyah Guyton wasn't practicing on Tuesday, with the junior guard watching from the sideline and not in her practice uniform. "We're just holding her out right now," Green said when asked about Guyton's status. Reading between the lines, it feels like it's more a decision to manage how much Guyton practices with some off days scheduled in advance for the Peoria native. Guyton did have a busy summer with two stints playing for the Brazilian national team at the South American Qualifying tournament and the FIBA Women's Pre-Olympic qualifying tournament.
5 A lineup of Jackson, Dolan, Wallace, Parchment and Manuella Alves was one of the most intriguing groups I saw play together on Tuesday. Really any lineup featuring Alves interests me. The 6-foot-3 redshirt freshman forward is a fun watch. Not many opponents will like to play against her, either, with how physical the Rio de Janeiro native is in the paint. Getting Alves back lately with her "in and out of practice" during official workouts was noteworthy for Green. "I don't think she's like anyone we've had here," the Illinois coach said of Alves, who also missed the entire 2025-26 season after suffering a torn ACL in preseason workouts. "She's passionate. She's fiery. She's really hard on herself. She wants to be great. She plays really, really hard. I love it. We need it. Excited for her to be out there."
6 I feel good about my choice to vote Wallace as an Associated Press preseason All-American. The junior is definitely the most complete player on the Illini roster and could easily be among the best 15 players in the nation during this season. That the 6-1 forward from Pickerington, Ohio, averaged 18.4 points and 6.2 rebounds last season en route to being a First Team All-Big Ten selection is the baseline for what to expect. You can see the efforts the Illinois coaching staff has made to try to maximize Wallace's versatility, not only putting her in guard actions offensively, but having her defend like a power forward.
7 Divine Bourrage's development remains a work in progress. The LSU transfer is clearly more comfortable after four-plus months with her new team. But the 5-11 guard and former five-star recruit, who transferred to the Illini after one season in Baton Rouge, La., will likely take time to carve out a more well-defined role in the Illinois rotation. That isn't exactly a surprising development. Still, you can see the obvious difference between where the Davenport, Iowa, native is versus the returning Illini players that are well ahead of her at the moment. Patience is in order, but the potential is there for Bourrage to play meaningful minutes as the season progresses.
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8 Green was quick to point it out afterward, although this won't come as a shock. Illinois is a different team when Dolan is on the floor. And it isn't just how adept the 5-11 redshirt junior guard is offensively. That much has never been in doubt. The fact is for the Illini to reach their ceiling, they need a fully healthy season from the Buffalo, N.Y., native. That's been the missing piece to the equation the last two seasons as Dolan has been sidelined for a combined 40 games with knee injuries. Dolan didn't have too many highlights from the open part of Tuesday's practice. Don't make too much of that. The most significant thing is Dolan looks fully fit and at 100 percent. That's the real key.
9 The last period of practice is devoted to simulating the fourth quarter. That's very intentional given how Illinois struggled to close out games last season. It led to regular-season losses against Oregon State, Oregon, Iowa and Minnesota, among others. Even if the Illini won 22 games, there were some losses that told the story of what might have been for Illinois. It's why Green got on her team during practice for what the Illini coach perceived as a lack of intensity and attention to detail defensively in the latter stages. Green has always been straightforward about one thing: Play defense or else (i.e. sit on the bench).
10 How much Illinois opts to play Alves and Lety Vasconcelos at the same time is an open question. It will likely be more matchup-based. There's problems that the 6-7 Vasconcelos presents to opponents as a rim protector and inside presence offensively. A more aggressive Vasconcelos would be a major boon for the Illini, and the Miguel Calmon, Brazil, native had multiple stick-back layups off offensive rebounds on Tuesday in practice. Her successful time with Team Brazil and a full summer/early fall during Illinois' offseason program have done wonders for Vasconcelos.
