CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- As soon as Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman began the search for a new Fighting Illini women's basketball coach, Shauna Green was on his radar. As the Dayton head coach, Green had led the Flyers to the postseason in each of her six seasons, including four NCAA Tournament berths.

Whitman was looking for someone who was a proven winner; he noted Green won 72 percent of her games at Dayton. But because of Green's success, Whitman knew he needed to be persistent in pursuing her.

So the day the Illinois men's basketball team exited the Big Ten Tournament, Whitman drove from Indianapolis to Dayton to meet with Green in person for the first time. Green said she knew Whitman would've rather done anything else after the Illini loss, but instead he spent three hours at her home, instantly winning over her husband, Andy.

"I'm a person of feel, relationships and trust," Green said in her introductory press conference on Tuesday. "In our first conversation with Josh, something struck me - then in our next face-to-face - which he is very persistent and likes to show up at our house, and I appreciate that. That's what showed his belief, commitment, belief in me as a leader and that meant the world to me; I kept gravitating towards that."

While Green instantly felt a strong connection to Whitman and Illinois, she was still coaching the Flyers as they headed for the postseason. However, Whitman kept in touch, sending texts before and after her games, something she really respected.

Then last weekend, the Flyers season came to an end in the NCAA Round of 64 and two hours after Green landed back in Dayton, Whitman arrived back at her house. He had made the drive from Pittsburgh – where the Illini men were preparing for their Round of 32 matchup in the men's tournament.

This came as a shock to Green. She had met and had conversations with other athletic directors before, but none were as persistent and personable as Whitman. That was important to Green not only as a prospective coach, but as a person.

To Whitman, these actions were a direct result of his confidence in Green's fit for the Illini. While going through the coaching search, Green's name kept popping up, and once he dug deeper into her coaching and playing career he knew she was the one.

"As we got into this, we were looking for, substance – not flash – steak, not sizzle," Whitman said. "What we've done with this opportunity and identifying Shauna Green, speaks to that. As we got into this opportunity, we spoke with a number of people across the industry trying to gather names, different potential candidates, and we saw a pattern emerge. There was a name on every list we gathered – it was Shauna Green. As we started to dig deeper into who Shauna is, her background, preparation, … we learned very quickly why her name is on all of those lists."

After that meeting, both Green and Whitman knew this was the perfect fit. Whitman understands building up the women's basketball program will be a challenge, but it is something he is committed to. And he needed someone who was going to embrace that journey with him.

Green was ready for a challenge in her career. While she loved her time at Dayton, Green knew Illinois could be a place she could build as her own.

"If I was going to leave the position that I was in, which was an unbelievable place that I loved dearly, it was going to be for the right people," Green added. "I felt that connection initially and then obviously it kept growing more and more. It ultimately led me to taking this challenge, and it's going to be hard, but I'm ready for it. I think I needed a little bit of a challenge – and I know the time was right."

Coming into the Big Ten conference is one of the challenges Green is embracing. Green noted that a conference-record four Big Ten teams have spots in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. As a coach used to winning, Green naturally wants to be playing in one of those spots right now.

While she knows getting to that place at Illinois will take time, Green has no doubt that she can get the Illini there. With state-of-the-art facilities like State Farm Center and the Ubben Basketball Complex - which is undergoing a $40 million renovation – plus a great support system for academics and athletics, and a large talent pool in the state and region, the program already has the foundation for that success.

"It's unbelievable, it's a world-class institution. The education is elite, the resources the investments, it's here and it's ready to go," Green said. "We just need the right energy, people to come in and push these young women that are on our team now and continue to recruit at an elite level and then something to believe in. That's why this was it, the place. It's close to home for me, which is important, my family is important and it's the Big Ten. The Big Ten speaks for itself."

A major part of helping that success come to fruition is recruiting. Green wants to start with bringing in-state kids to Illinois.

"I think it's a critical piece. I call it your bread basket and obviously you have to take care of your home state and the surrounding states," Green said. "There is a lot of talent here. We recruit that, and when I was at Dayton we recruited it. We got a couple of those kids. That shouldn't happen at Dayton, now I'm going to mad if it happens and Dayton gets them. We need to get them. That recruiting, any coach in here will tell you, it's the relationships, it's getting in there, being consistent with them and luckily we already have a ton of really solid relationships with Chicago, Illinois high school coaches and AAU coaches. That is going to be top priority. It's going to be hard for them to tell us no."

While Green is excited to start recruiting Illinois and the surrounding area, her first priority is building connections with the Illini players already here. Green met with the team Tuesday morning before her press conference to introduce herself and let the women know what she was about.

For Green, the next few weeks will be about building a foundation for a trusting relationship with each player. Having a relationship built on trust and love is a major key to success for Green and she emphasized that to the team.

In the coming months, establishing trust will lead to establishing the culture she wants at Illinois. Creating a positive and successful culture is Green's biggest priority with the team until she leads the Illini for the first time this fall.

"We talked about culture, being tough and disciplined, and we talk all the time – and it's ironic because I think Coach (Underwood) might use it – about being an everyday guy," Green said. "We talk all the time, I tell my team, we need to be every day women. Every day, you know what you are going to bring, you know what to expect and if you're an everyday woman you're going to be successful on the floor, successful in the classroom and you're going to be great as you continue to move on in your life after basketball."