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Thursday, January 13
Grentz: Tauja is Catchings on

Theresa Grentz says she's biased. And who knows, maybe she is.

After all, if the Illinois women's college basketball coach had to vote right now for the Big Ten Player of the Year, she'd pick someone from her own team.

Theresa Grentz
Coach Theresa Grentz and the Illini take on Penn State at 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday.

"My pick right now is (Illinois senior forward) Tauja Catchings. She has just done everything for us," Grentz said during a chat with ESPN.com on Thursday.

OK, we can handle that. But does Grentz think Catchings get overlooked because her younger sister, Tamika Catchings, plays for Tennessee?

"I think that it's very easy to spend a lot more time talking about Tamika and Tenneessee. And Tauja is so humble that she would prefer them to talk about Tamika," Grentz added. "But I think she is overlooked ... . However, if I'm going to war, I want Tauja Catchings on my side. That young woman plays simply to win. She's just a charming, sweet person, but also a tremendous competitor."

Catchings wasn't all Grentz talked about Thursday. She also spoke of Allison Curtin's contributions to the Illini, Shavonna Hunter's role on the team and the strengths and weaknesses of her 13th-ranked squad.

If you missed any of Grentz's chat, check out the edited transcript below. And make sure to check back Tuesday for ESPN.com's Women's Hoops Spotlight chat with North Carolina's LaQuanda Barksdale.

Grentz: I enjoy the opportunity to join ESPN.com users in this program and hopefully I can be of some assistance to you.

Let's get started.

Rhonda: Congratulations on winning #550 last week! It seems every night someone different steps up for you and has a big game. A lot of times it's Tauja, Allison or Susan but Kylie, Shavonna and Kristi have also made key contributions.Based on the matchups with Penn State is there one particular player who you think may be the one to lead you to victory tonight? Go Illini!

Grentz: I couldn't predict any one player being the answer for tonight's game. Our motto has been to play as a team, to be a team, and the players are very receptive to whomever is the leading scorer or rebounder. And that's been the key to our successes this year. So we'll just have to wait and see who it is tonight.

IlliniFan12: First off, I'd like to say thank you for all that you've done for Illinois women's basketball. Best of luck tonight. My question is do you think that you can match up well with Penn St. or do you think that maybe Garner's size and mobility on the inside might cause some problems? Also, do you forsee putting Tauja Catchings on Darling to try to contain her as Catchings was so effective in shutting down Indiana's Heather Cassidy in the second half last Sunday?

Grentz: That's a good question. Andrea Garner is playing very well right now and I don't think you can just stop her. We will probably use a collection of players to play -- but I'm not looking for any one particular matchup. Again, we have to play as a team, and if I need Tauja outside, I'll put her there. They are very willing to do what we ask them to do and that's the reason we've been very successful. You'll just have to listen to the game and see.

Darin: After watching Allison Curtain over the last 2 years of her high school career, it is no surprise how she has impacted your program. But are you surprised how quickly she adjusted to college ball and did having a bullseye on her back throughout her Taylorville career help her with the adjustment?

Grentz: Allison has worked very hard on her skills since she has been at Illinois. Her ball-handling skills, her shooting skills ... and I have asked her to do things at Illinois that she did not do for Taylorville. Allison has learned to really shoot the 3-ball (50 percent from 3-point range), she has worked on her ball-handling skills, which makes her a better one-on-one player, and her natural quickness and athleticism she has improved with her conditioning in the summer and in the fall. And because of these things, she is being recognized now in the season.

Jarard Paige: As a graduate from Hillcrest High School, I have been a fan of Shavonna Hunter since she was a freshman. How much of an impact do you think she can make on the team and the national women's college basketball scene? Also, how much of her potential depends on her size? Thank you for taking time out to answer these questions. Good Luck against PSU. GO ILLINI!!

Grentz: Dear Jarard, I, too, am a big Shavonna Hunter fan. She has taken over as the starting point guard for our team. She is learning the position and getting better every day. She is very coachable, and a delight to be around on a daily basis.

Kristen Maikels: Last season, you lost to Purdue by 4 points, and Penn State lost to Purdue by 2 points. Purdue got a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (rightfully so), but Illinois seemed to get slammed with a #7 seed and Penn State got slammed with a #8 seed. Do you feel the Big Ten is unrespected by some people, and do you feel that Illinois and Penn State deserve to have host seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament?

Grentz: When I saw the seedings last spring, and found out that Penn State was a No. 8 seed, I was actually fearful that we hadn't made the tournament. I called coach Portland and wished her well in the tournament. I couldn't believe it. As far as this year goes, there's a lot of basketball to be played, and we will have to take care of business on the court and earn one of those first 16 seeds. If we can stay healthy and continue to play well, I think that can be a possibility. Thanks for your knowledge of the game.

Andy Martin: I finally discovered the exiciting game women's basketball last year while watching the fighting Illni on TV. Coach Grentz, I truly am a big fan of yours. Watching Allison Curtin, who I think is one of the most exciting athletes I've seen in a long time, is truly a pleasure. With the recent success of your team is their any hope of increased exsposure on TV? I didn't see it coming, but somehow I got hooked on your team in particular, and now find myself watching more womens basketball in general. From a enthusiatic convert, may the wind fill your sails as you lead your girls to glory.

GRENTZ'S FILE

Grentz has long been affiliated with women's college basketball. In addition to building one of country's top programs at Illinois, Grentz played for one, leading Immaculata to three AIAW national championships (1972-74), earning first-team All-American honors for three consecutive years along the way. Grentz also was named the 1974 AMF Collegiate Player of the Year and had her No. 12 jersey retired by Immaculata.

Now in her 26th season as a head coach, Grentz has found success from the sideline as well, and is the sixth winningest women's college basketball coach in NCAA history. During 19 seasons at Rutgers (1976-95), her teams compiled a 434-150 record, including nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1986-94.

After joining Illinois in 1995, Grentz led the Illini to a program-best 24-8 mark in 1996-97, a 20-10 record in 1997-98 and a 19-12 season in 1998-99. She entered this season with a 537-200 career coaching record. Since her arrival, Illinois has broken every attendance record and achieved almost 10 times the total attendance, and also won the program's first Big Ten title (in 1997) and made its first appearances in the Sweet Sixteen (in both '97 and '98).

Individual honors have come as well. Grentz, who coached the 1992 U.S. Olympic team to the bronze medal, also earned back-to-back Big Ten Coach of the Year and WBCA District Coach of the Year honors, and was last season's IBCA Coach of the Year.

This season, Grentz and Illinois are 14-4 overall. Both Penn State, whose coach, Rene Portland, played with Grentz at Immaculata, and Illinois are 4-0 in the Big Ten, and Thursday's game will give either the Illini or the Lady Lions a leg up in the conference race.

Grentz: First, getting our game on TV will be one of the deciding factors in the overall growth of the game because we will be able to reach so many more homes and individuals. We've had great success in the last several years in Illinois with TV, and we're looking to improve upon those efforts.

Karen Joyce: I've always felt you do a wonderful job in getting your team to constantly improve throughout the season and peak in March. What would you say are your team's two biggest strengths are right now, and what would you say are the two things your team needs to improve on the most before the post-season tournaments?

Grentz: The two strengths would be our overall conditioning and our team unity. The things that I would like us to improve upon would be our execution of the offense and to continue to use good judgment with the basketball.

Coach H: You have done a great job at IL. I am soo happy for you! Since I coached at RU/DC, WAY before you did, I was sorry to see you go. You surely did give us UCONN fans a great coach in Chris Daily....Thanks. If UConn stays healthy this year do you think they can go all the way..ie another undefeated year & national title?? Looking forward to meeting you some day.

Grentz: As a mentor, it is extremely gratifying to see my former players become so successful (ie. Chris Dailey). As far as UConn and winning the national championship, the Huskies are playing extremely well and are very, very deep. And, right now, would have to be the leader in that category. But the games are played on the floor and anything is possible. But good luck to the UConn Huskies.

John Vig: What team to you has been Illinois toughest opponent?

Grentz: I always say that the team we're playing that night is the toughest.

Nick: I was just curious what the status of Cindy Dallas was? Good luck tonight and go Illini!

Grentz: Here's the thing. Cindy has had her third ACL surgery. It was done Jan. 3 by Dr. Shellbourne in Indianapolis. She is rehabbing right now and is doing well and if we keep our fingers crossed, hopefully she'll be there next year. Please remember Cindy in your thoughts and prayers. This has been very, very hard on her, and she had handled it quite well.

WM: There have been some great performances this year by several players. Who do you see as the Big Ten player of the year so far?

Grentz: I have to be biased on that one ... my pick right now is Tauja Catchings. She has just done everything for us, but there's still a lot of basketball to be played.

Damon Clark: Is the Big Ten one of the more competitive conferences?

Grentz: I absolutely love coaching in the Big Ten. I love living in Champaign, Illinois, and I love preparing with my staff for the Big Ten games. There are no easy games. There are packed houses and it's a blast. And it's an extremely competitive conference (ie. the defending national champions came right out of the Big Ten Conference).

WM: Do you think Tauja is underrated by people because her sister is Tamika?

Grentz: I think that it's very easy to spend a lot more time talking about Tamika and Tenneessee. And Tauja is so humble that she would prefer them to talk about Tamika. However, if I'm going to war, I want Tauja Catchings on my side. That young woman plays simply to win. She's not into fanfare, she's not into all the notoriety and different things. She is strictly into winning. She's just a charming, sweet person, but also a tremendous competitor. But I think she is overlooked. She has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week the past two weeks, and I just hope she continues to play. We also have to thank her parents, Harvey and Wanda, and all the good genes.

Grentz: That's all the time we have for now. Thanks to everyone who wrote in, and for the many compliments and kind words that you had for Illinois' women's program. I'd like to wish all the users a very happy new year, and thank you for your support of women's basketball ... the sport I love so greatly.