On Women's Basketball

More to the story?

Posted by: Tony Bleill

Friday, January 29, 2010 5:00 PM

One thing that Jolette Law said during her postgame press conference Thursday didn't make much sense to me.

"I'm not going to win at all costs," Law said, discussing the benchings of her three seniors.

Law had said earlier that the benchings were an attempt to get her seniors to play with a greater sense of urgency. That philosophy, however, didn't seem to jive with the idea of "winning at all costs." The idea of playing without "urgency" is a vague, entirely subjective notion. By using players who could win without playing with a sense of urgency hardly strikes someone as selling out, as Law seemed to suggest. "Winning at all costs" suggested to me that the seniors had made a more tangible mistake. And it appears that's the case. I've been told that Lacey Simpson missed a practice recently, and that Jenna Smith and Whitney Toone missed the start of the same practice. Whether it was a coincidence or some sort of coordinated statement is not clear. But the incidents likely forced Law to make a move for Thursday's game, lest she appear to be favoring her seniors.

That part of Thursday's episode makes more sense when you read Law's comments from Thursday's story in the Daily Illini. "Practices are much more intense," Law told the DI's Anthony Zilis. "I don't have to yell as much. My seniors are stepping up and getting it done."

Doesn't really sound like a coach who thinks her seniors aren't practicing or playing hard, as she seemed to suggest in Thursday's media session.

Questions remain: Why did the seniors miss all or part of the same practice? And why didn't Law just say that her seniors were benched for a violation of team rules, and then be done with it? Is there something else going on?

Stay tuned. One thing is certain about this season: There always seems to be drama.

Other tidbits:

--Thought you might be interested in checking out this whimsical thread on the Rutgers' message board. The topic: Rutgers' next head coach. You might be interested in a couple of names that pop up in the discussion.

--While we're linking, this is a classic ... and timely, too, with Kevin Borseth having just left town. My all-time favorite rant is here. Totally, totally, totally, totally, totally ....

--With Illinois taking on Minnesota next -- and Jenna Smith being in the news this week -- it got me to thinking about all of the talent from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that is playing against the Gophers these days.

Think about this starting five from the Big Ten: Iowa's Kachine Alexander (Minneapolis) and Wisconsin's Tara Steinbauer (Bloomington) at the forwards, Smith (Bloomington) at center, and Wisconsin's Alyssa Karel (St. Paul) and Ohio State's Tayler Hill (Minneapolis) at the guards.

You think Pam Borton wouldn't mind having that crew in maroon and gold? Alexander and Smith are two of the 10 or 12 best players in the league. Karel is the top scorer and a solid leader, Steinbauer is a serviceable defender and Hill, a freshman, was one of the country's top 15 recruits.

Rest assured, there is a segment of Minnesota fans who aren't happy that those players got away.

--Loved this promo on the Assembly Hall video board, shown during Thursday's game, about the upcoming appearance of ESPN's "GameDay" crew on Feb. 6. It said, in part, that GameDay will be in Champaign for a "live television taping."

(It's just live, folks. No taping.)

Comments