Oct. 19, 2000
"Courage consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." -- Winston Churchill
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.
Thursday's practice concentrated as much on offense as has been the case the first part of the week. The Illini concentrated on full-court press and press breakers. Coach Grentz is still focusing her practices on hammering home the fundamentals such as pass catching, timing, footwork, etc.
"Practices have been very intense," noted Coach Grentz. "We're concentrating on breakdown drills, four-player drills, positioning, positioning of feet, etc. We have accomplished a lot over the first few days. The best way for the newcomers to take their natural skills and make them better is by stressing the proper technique."
One of the players many of the fans who have ventured into the Ubben Basketball Complex have noticed has been Suzanne Curtin.
Curtin received a scholarship this year after working hard and being a strong influence on the rest of the Illini last year. Curtin is making shots from behind the arc with consistency, she has the ability to play the point guard spot now and has done so with regularity in practice.
"Suzanne Curtin has worked extremely hard during the off-season," said Grentz. "She hasn't cut corners. As a result, she is playing with a lot of confidence this year."
"I concentrated on working on my shot outside the three-point arc," Curtin said. "I worked on ball handling, played a lot of 1-on-1, and scrimmaged early in the morning with the rest of my teammates this summer.
"I think the confidence comes with experience," she added. "I have a year under my belt and I would like to play some kind of leadership role."
Suzanne Curtin has shown versatility at either the 1 or 2 guard spot.
The Lady Hawks of Meridian Junior High School in Macon and Blue Mound, Ill., visited practice on Thursday. The teams hoped to pick up a few pointers from the Illini to continue their successful season. The seventh grade team is 11-0 and the eighth-grade team is 10-1. The coaches are Mary Jane Hayes and Mark Hite. The teams took a group picture after practice, and the Illini players signed autographs. To arrange for your team to visit a practice, contact the Illini Basketball Office at 217/333-8612.
Practice Friday is from 3-5 p.m.
