Oct. 17, 2000

Champaign, Ill. - "A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity." -- Robert Heilin

Coach Grentz loves to use quotes to teach and drive home a point. The emphasis of the first month of the practice is going to be on leadership. If you have a favorite quote on leadership, send it in and if Coach Grentz uses your quote in practice, you will win two tickets to an upcoming home game. Send your quote to grentzshow@athletics.uiuc.edu.

With four seniors and no juniors on the 2000 team, the Fighting Illini coaching staff knows that the next group (now juniors and sophomores) never got the opportunity to lead in 1999-2000. As a result, it would be unfair to declare any one player or group of players as the "leaders of the team." The staff anticipates those leaders will emerge early this year.

"We have a really good group of young kids," Grentz said. "We have a lot of speed and quickness. Now they have to learn technique and footwork, etc. That takes time. The best way to get through it is for them to rely on and trust each other."

Fans are welcome to attend the "Basketball Classroom" anytime during the regular season. Those who attend are encouraged to sign the guest book. Understand that a classroom has one voice and fans are asked to respect the learning by keeping chatter to a minimum.

As has been the case for most of Coach Grentz's 26 years of coaching, defense is the focus for the first week of practice. Tuesday's practice will consist of defensive drills. The emphasis will be on the little things - "the box out," spacing, "closing out," "no middle," etc. "The best way to learn is through repetition," said the coach.

"There are three reasons young people compete," said Grentz. "To have fun, to feel in control and to feel worthy. The goal is so make the drills stimulating and challenging, yet not overwhelming. The players worth should not be based on athletic performance."

"I always start with defense," Grentz added. "Some teams are better at it than others. I have found through the years that my teams who have a good defense are those who understand the offense."

Practice schedule through October:

October 17 3-5 p.m.

October 18 3-5 p.m.

October 19 3-5 p.m.

October 20 3-5 p.m.

October 21 TBA

October 22 TBA (at Assembly Hall)

October 23 2:30-5 p.m.

October 24 OFF

October 25 3-5 p.m.

October 26 3-5 p.m.

October 27 3-5 p.m.

October 28 Orange and Blue Scrimmage, 7 p.m., Assembly Hall

October 29 4-6 p.m.

October 30 OFF

October 31 3-5 p.m.

Scrimmage set for October 28: Illinois will holds is annual Orange and Blue Scrimmage at the Assembly Hall on Saturday, October 28. The event will be a regulation game.

Season tickets on sale: Tickets can be purchased by calling 217-333-3470 or by stopping by the Assembly Hall North Box Office See the link for "tickets" on the women's basketball homepage for more details.