Oct. 14, 2005

On the first official practice day, Illinois coach Theresa Grentz addressed the media at a press conference and talked about the upcoming season. Below is a transcipt of the press conference:

"Our team this year will look a little different this year. Let me tell you a little bit about each of our players..."

Guards:
"Maggie Acuna - She's been at that point for a while. We're looking for her to be vocal. Maggie doesn't real shoot that ball a whole lot, but hopefully we can get a little bit more out of her offensively this year."

"Lori Bjork - She can play both 1 and 2. Watching Lori for a while, she's one of the few who will come down and shoot a jumper without waiting for anybody."

"Danielle Gratton - will play in the wing spot - 2- or -3. She's the type of player who will do whatever needs to be done."

"Janelle Hughes - I'm really hoping that Janelle will step up and accept the responsibility of tutoring, taking big shots and being every night-consistent."

"Megan Nyquist - returns from an ACL injury that really hurt us in a lot of ways last year because of her shooting. Out of bad things come good things. For two months, Meg had to shoot the ball flat-footed. I think it really helped her form and her accuracy. I think she could be a big help to us this year, just being able to set up situations that she can come off of and get shots."

Forward:
"Victoria Arndt - If you look at her, those of you that have been around the program, she may remind you of somebody - Ashley Berggren. When I first saw her play, she reminded me so much of Ashley. Tori is built like an athlete. She's strong, she likes to take it to the basket and she can shoot from the outside."

"Stephanie Chelleen - I like the way she shoots the ball from the high post. She did not play a lot last year, but if we're going to run that 3-out, 2-in offense I think she's somebody who can help on the high-low. The footwork - she's very skilled - probably one of the more skilled post players."

"Danyel Crutcher -Danyel is someone who does not lack for confidence and personality, and I think that just adds to what she can bring to the floor. She's been hampered a little bit by an early ankle injury, but she's back and doing well."

"Chelsea Gordon - Very athletic. Likes to take it to the basket. Very focused. She's somebody, when it comes down to the end, she's going to keep right on going."

"Lacey Simpson - extremely, extremely athletic. Very, very personable. A slasher type of player."

"Erin Wigley - has worked very hard on her ball-handling skills. She has this idea that she wants to move to the three-spot. She has certainly improved. You can see that she's a junior. Erin is somebody who I'd like to see step out of her comfort zone a little bit more and lead this team."

Center:
"Audrey Tabon - has made some of the most dramatic improvement since she's come in here as a freshman. She's very, very quick. It's easy to overlook her because she had a knee injury in high school, but I think she has an awful lot of heart and wants to get it done."

"Brittney Daugherty - She's a fighter. She will give you that strength and battle down underneath the boards."

"Erin McCarthy - Probably the player I was most impressed with in individual workouts. She has a legitimate, back to the basket, center body. In this league you need one of those. I think she's really going to help us there. It will take a little while, but I think she's got some things going for her."

On the schedule...
"I think the schedule is conducive to what we can do. Every night we have to be ready to play. That's just something, with a young team, you never know what they're going to come out and do."

On Getting fans and students excited about women's basketball...
"Last spring I decided I was going to take the program in another direction. I really didn't know how I was going to do it, but I decided I was going to try and get more people in to see the women play. I absolutely loved watching the men play, and I was going to extend some of that love and bring it over to our side. There's a great relationship between those two programs."

"I spent the first three weeks visiting campus. I wrote to 120 professors. I went to as many as nine classes a day. In the summer time, I made a connection with housing. There are 7,800 freshmen on this campus - the largest class in the history of the school. One of the things I tried to do from the very beginning is get them to understand is one of the things to do is to go to women's basketball."

"Get Stamped - we have a program where students come in and get their tickets and get it stamped. Housing people have agreed to collect it. After so many points, those students with the most points at the end of the season will have the opportunity to win some major prizes - books for a semester, electronics, food. I've already spoken to every RA."

"We've been to the fraternities and sororities. I've asked them to buy blocks of tickets. I asked the Krush to help with this "Season of Youth." They put a grant of $5000 that will allow youngsters to come to certain games."

"For our Nov. 29 vs. Northern Illinois we've moved the start time up to 6 p.m. start and are going to show men's North Carolina game on the big screen at 8 p.m."

"While they're working hard in the gym, I'm working hard to promote them on the outside. When they see that place full, and they see that people really appreciate what they're doing, they're going to play that much harder."

"For our scrimmage on Oct. 30 we're having a masquerade costume party I want it to be fun. I want people to come out of there saying, `Man, when's the next one'. I think these kids have worked really hard and they deserve that. Things are moving in the right direction. I'm excited about the year."

On if the team has a leader yet...
"I don't know that there is one. I don't know if there's anyone has really stepped completely out her comfort zone and said, `Hey, hop on. I'll take you.' That hasn't happened yet."

On Megan Nyquist's recovery from last year's ACL injury...
"Megan has worked very, very hard. Anytime you come back, you're always a little tentative. `Is it going to hold?' I think she could be a big help because of her shooting ability. She can flat out stick it."

On who will step their scoring with Angelina Williams and Tiffanie Guthrie now gone...
"Somebody always steps up. I'm not sure who it will be yet, but somebody's going to score those points. I want them to shoot the ball. If they miss it, that's just rebound for us to get. Go after it, put it back. Have fun, make it fun and get excited."

On recruiting in different states...
"I would love for them all to be from the state of Illinois. We have some very, very big names (from Illinois) that are coming in here very shortly. But if it doesn't happen, there's a plan B. That's what I think is different about this staff. There's a plan B."

On improvement in the defense...
"Defense comes from offense. If you know what your roles are on offense, you'll play better defense."

On the freshmen...
"I've been very impressed with how focused some of them can be for as young as they are. I don't coach with the idea of classification. They're here, they have a scholarship, and they have a uniform - Let them play."

On is anyone will redshirt...
"I don't know at this point. A lot of things could happen because there are a lot of players. On one hand, it makes it very exciting. On the other side, it always makes it very indefinite."

On attitude of the team...
"This team gives you the energy and the belief that whatever you ask them to do, they'll do it. I think that's the best way to coach because you can take them beyond what they can do by themselves."