2025 WCBB Coaches Hot Seat edition

[XXXBgEast]

Having a hard time reading between your lines. What did Illinois do that Wisconsin would be unwilling to do?

Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Here's a hint: Before 2022 vs after.

 

[BigTenGuy]

Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Here's a hint: Before 2022 vs after.

Illinois hired Shauna Green and got better. What about that is something that Illinois did that Wisconsin wouldn’t do? Not following your crumbs and innuendo, but perhaps it’s just me.

 

[XXXBgEast]

Illinois hired Shauna Green and got better. What about that is something that Illinois did that Wisconsin wouldn’t do? Not following your crumbs and innuendo, but perhaps it’s just me.

I wasn't saying this like it was a BTS take or anything.
They hadn't been to a tournament in 20+ years, hired Green, gave her a respectable contract along with resources/NIL and she rewarded them taking Illinois to a tournament in all 3 years she's been there.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I wasn't saying this like it was a BTS take or anything.
They hadn't been to a tournament in 20+ years, hired Green, gave her a respectable contract along with resources/NIL and she rewarded them taking Illinois to a tournament in all 3 years she's been there.

I'll give you resources as a possibility, but their past coaching hires, while they didn't necessarily work out, were not bad hires in the abstract. Given that they were not bad hires, the "contract" isn't really material.

After the "ok" Grentz years, they hired Law. She was the #1 assistant at Rutgers for CVS and a top head coach prospect. She didn't work out, but is a pretty decent assistant, currently been with Dawn in her native SC for quite a while. Matt Bollant was very successful at Green Bay (NCAA sweet 16 one year) and again was a great Power Conference prospect. For whatever reason(s) he didn't work out at Illinois nor his next stint in the Ohio Valley Conference and is back at an NAIA school where he started. Nancy Fahey didn't work out, but had a 30 year career in DIII and is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. The only significant thing about Green was that she was already a head coach in DI (as was Bollant) and she was another much sought after coach for a power conference.

Hiring a head coach is ultimately a bit of a crap shoot, plus measured against varying standards. It is difficult to see that Illinois' hires prior to Green were totally misguided - each had a potential for failing which played out, but they certainly had prospects of success as well.