Webber's comfort level even greater in second year at Illinois
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Webber's comfort level even greater in second year at Illinois
Jul. 16—CHAMPAIGN — Maddie Webber still remembers being in the transfer portal more than a year ago wondering where her game might take her.
This came after a sophomore year at Villanova that saw the 6-foot guard from Bridgeville, Pa., land All-Big East Second Team honors.
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But the idea of playing in the Big Ten didn't seem possible back then for Webber.
Her words.
Nearly 16 months later, that doubt has turned into belief. Confidence, too.
That's what happens when you have a junior year like Webber had with the Illinois women's basketball team. The Illini guard turned into one of the best sixth players in the Big Ten after producing 10.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks per game almost exclusively off the bench while averaging 25.5 minutes.
Webber was the veteran presence for one of the youngest rosters in the nation, as Illinois went on to win 22 games, including a first-round victory against Colorado in the NCAA tournament as a No. 7 seed. Webber played in all 34 games (with just one start), a stark contrast from her final year at Villanova, when as a sophomore, she started all 36 games as a member of the Wildcats.
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"I didn't think I was good enough to even play in the Big Ten. I didn't think that was an option for me," Webber said of her thought process while in the transfer portal in the spring after the end of the 2024-25 season. "So, being able to compete at a high level (as a junior at Illinois), it obviously bought me a lot more confidence. I know how good of a team this is, and I am so grateful to be on it and have a role on it, as well. I think it just brings me a lot of confidence, and I understand that I can compete at the highest level."
A full year into her time at Illinois — and a second summer going through the Illini's offseason program — has put Webber in admittedly a different place. A better one, too.
But it's clear what Illinois coach Shauna Green identified in Webber that made her one of the Illini's top targets in the transfer portal more than a year ago.
Then, it became about getting the best out of Webber. Helping manifest the best version of what Webber can be on the floor. That was the task for the Illinois coaching staff.
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So far, so good.
"The biggest thing I see from Maddie is just the confidence piece," Green said. "Now, what I want from her is you know what to expect. You know what it feels like. She has just a constant motor, which you just can't teach that, and I absolutely love it. She's a competitor, and she's going to work her butt off every rep, every day. You talk about an everyday woman. She does it. She brings it. Just that consistency piece of being aggressive, taking your open threes when you are open and being confident in that.
"I think she's more confident right now than she was last (summer) because she's been through this last year, and we need her. We need her to be the most confident version of herself, because when she's that, she does so many things: Her length, her versatility, her ability to defend, her ability to score at all three levels. She's just really an elite player. As long as she's in that confident mindset, she's an absolute killer."
What that looks like entering the 2026-27 season is somewhat uncertain as to how Green might utilize Webber.
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Will it be in the same role off the bench or in the starting five?
The depth, versatility and options the Illini have is such that Green could have eight or nine players start for her team this upcoming season. That's the reality of returning a core Illinois group from last season with the top nine players in the rotation all back, and the Illini adding a major piece this spring in the transfer portal in former five-star guard Divine Bourrage, who arrives at Illinois from LSU.
Webber isn't tipping her hand, either way, in whether she expects to reprise her role as Illinois' sixth player as a senior.
"I think having a year under my belt is super helpful," Webber said. "That way I am able to help the underclassmen a bit more than I was last year, and I think my confidence has grown a lot since being here. I think I am just able to use my voice more, and I'm not as afraid to make mistakes. Again, the coaches are confident in what I am able to do and I'm also confident in that and they instill that.
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"I think it just changed my mindset and what I can do. At first, I thought, not that it was a negative thing coming off the bench, but obviously, it wasn't something that I was used to. I enjoyed coming off the bench, because I was able to help my team a bit more I feel like. I am looking forward to what's going to happen next year."
