CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Shauna Green looks to bring her winning ways to an Illinois women's basketball program that has struggled in recent years. Green was introduced at the State Farm Center Tuesday as the 10th head coach in team history.
"I want to be playing (in NCAA Tournament) right now instead of sitting in my office," Green said. "The top (Illinois) players should want to come to University of Illinois. We have to secure our breadbasket in terms of recruiting to have the success and the banners we all want."
A native of Clinton, Iowa, Green is coming off a successful six-year tenure as the head coach at Dayton where she led the Flyers to five Atlantic 10 regular season championships, four NCAA Tournament appearances and two WNIT appearances. She compiled a 127-50 record in that span and finished this past season with a 26-6 record and a first-four win as an 11-seed over DePaul before falling to No. 6 Georgia.
Winning seasons are something the Illini haven't been accustomed to. Illinois has finished with a record above .500 just once in the last 12 seasons and has not appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2003.
Creating a winning culture in Champaign is part of the challenge Green is already embracing.
"That was part of the intriguing thing for me," Green said. "I'm used to going to NCAA Tournaments, competing for championships. So that's the goal, but I also understand it's not just going to happen … There has to be the process. It's going to be fun to build that with the team."
The move to hire Green could be the first step towards success in a new era of Illinois women's basketball.
"From our first conversation it was evident to me she competes at the highest level," Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman said. "But she's also said she's married to the process. This isn't about cutting corners and trying to get to a place faster … We want to do this the right way."