Moderator: Welcome back everyone. Let's talk women's hoops. A couple quick reminders: We're planning to do this every Wednesday at 2 p.m., and you can submit questions at any time. Also, we're doing a live in-game report for tonight's game against Missouri, and every other game we're staffing. If there's something you'd like to see, e-mail me at tbleill@news-gazette.com. Let's get started.

Trent, Urbana, IL: Tony,

I believe that attendance in womens basketball is down. If Coach Law keeps recruiting like she has, and Illinois becomes one of the more successful teams, do you think attendance would go up at the Assembly Hall? Is there a way for womens basketball to draw better crowds nationally?

Moderator: Trent, great questions. If Illinois has consistent success -- and, at some point, wins a Big Ten title or makes a deep run in the NCAA tournament -- I think you'll see much better crowds at the Assembly Hall. There's plenty of room for growth. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, women's basketball attendance nationally seems to have plateaued. One thing I'd like to see is the NCAA tournament selection committee take the mid-major programs more seriously. Those schools -- which generally don't draw well at all -- are routinely snubbed by the committee, and that's unfortunate because if they received a tournament bid and made a good showing, it would help women's basketball grow in that school's area. Marist is a great example.

Otherwise, my hopes would be similar to what many people have suggested: That is, athletic departments must invest in their programs to see a decent return. It takes marketing dollars, for one. It takes an athletic director that places value on his women's basketball program (Northwestern AD Jim Phillips' hiring of former George Washington coach Joe McKeown in the spring is an example of a guy who is taking his program seriously.) If a university shows that it takes its women's program seriously, I think people in the community will notice and do likewise.

Brian Moline, Champaign, IL: Tony, looking forward to seeing you tonight. Just wondering...how good is South Dakota State? They beat Missouri 55-50 on Friday, and then topped Wisconsin by 20 points on Sunday!

Moderator: Brian,

I think we're going to see a good ballgame tonight. It's coin flip, in my opinion.

SDS is legit. That might be the best program in America that no one knows anything about, partly because they've been making the transition to Division I. They were a Division II national champ a few years back, and they played in the WNIT the last couple of seasons. Beat Indiana two years ago while making a deep run in the tournament. I'm not at all surprised that they handled Wisconsin (I think the Badgers are destined for last place in the Big Ten.) I'm a little surprised they beat Mizzou in Columbia. But the Illini will definitely have their hands full against the Jackrabbits (great nickname, huh?) in Cancun later this month.

Amy , Champaign, Ill: Tony,

Any chance Law adds some walkons to fill out her bench? There have to be some players on campus somewhere!!!

Moderator: Amy,

They have one. Her name is Melissa Thompson, and she's a freshman who played at Chicago Hope last season. Unfortunately, she's recovering from a major knee injury suffered last season. (She's the person sitting in street clothes on the UI bench during home games.)

Women's teams have a big more trouble than men's when it comes to adding walk-ons, for this reason. On any campus, there's likely to be several men who didn't have opportunities to play in college and wound up at Illinois. But on the women's side, there are 15 scholarships available per program (the men get 13), and that creates more chances for a good high school girl to play somewhere in college. Thus, there are fewer good walk-on candidates available. Hope that makes sense.

Mark, Edwardsville, Illinois: Tony, you do a great job covering Illini Women's basketball and the Ask Tony articles are always enjoyable. What is the status of the recruit from E. St. Louis that did not qualify? Is she a potential future recruit? If so, next year or in two years? Did the top recruit from Texas make a decsion? Thanks, Tony, and Go Illini.

Moderator: Mark,

Thanks for the kind words. TeAndrea Smith signed with Mineral Area College in Missouri. Unfortunately, she is no longer listed on their roster, and I'm still trying to find out what exactly happened to her. As soon as I do, I'll make sure it's mentioned here and in my stories. Assuming she's in school (at Mineral Area or somewhere else), she would be a recruitable athlete again in two years. I know Jolette had plans to keep tabs on her, but I think her chances of ending up at Illinois are very slim. TeAndrea had a great opportunity here because she could have found immediate playing time. In two years, I think the Illinois roster will be stacked (as we saw during the most recent class that signed letters of intent) and her chances to play will be greatly diminished. It's unfortunate.

Kelsey Bone of Texas has not made a decision. From all appearances, she will be waiting until the spring to make a decision.

Jim Kelly, Urbana, IL: Not a question, a comment: General admission ticket prices for Women's Bball went up 150 percent since last season! From $2 to $5, which isn't going to help at all. My family and I see every home game, thankfully we have a Go Illini card.

Moderator: Jim,

Very good point. My wife, for one, noticed that price increase during the first game of the season. Probably would have been a better move to wait until next season to raise those prices, because the product that Illinois is putting on the floor will improve dramatically next year.

Still, you have to admit, $5 ain't a bad deal for two hours of entertainment.

Jim Kelly, Urbana, IL: Need some Kelsey Bone news. How does the staff feel about their chances?

Moderator: Jim,

I think the staff feels quite good about the job they've done with Kelsey. Her official visit went well, and Jolette made, I believe, two in-home visits. Kelsey appears to be the type of player who wants to help build a program rather than go someplace where she'll be just another cog in a long line of superstars. She has four finalists (Texas, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Illinois) but I'd be surprised now if she went to Texas because the Longhorns picked up 6-foot-5 Cokie Reed. Two superstar centers in the same class? Doesn't make sense. So I'm guessing she'll end up at A&M, South Carolina or here.

Moderator: That's all the questions we have for this week. One quick note for those interested in recruiting news: Bolingbrook, with a bevy of young Division I prospects, will be playing at Parkland College on Saturday and we'll be there to check it out. Look on HQ and in the N-G for a report. Back again at the same time next week.