CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — There are just a few months left before it’s basketball season. The Fighting Illini wrapped up their 2025-26 season 22-12, but they have a pretty new roster after a second-round exit to Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, they have been working overtime this preseason with a healthier team and a few new faces.
A position-less team
Illinois is taking steps to create a solidly versatile team.
Each player is capable of playing at any position, regardless of size. A big could be at point and the shortest could be posted up in the paint.
“It’s kind of like position-less basketball, and I think you can do a lot of stuff within the offense and defense and combining both of those,” said guard Gretchen Dolan. “It really just opens everything up.”
Of course, all of the players have their own default position.
“Playing the five position, there are a lot of bigger people that I have to guard,” said forward Cearah Parchment.
Training in each role has built a deeper roster for Illinois. It makes it easier to sub in other players because everyone knows how to work each position.
“If someone gets in foul trouble, we can slide in there and have another player come in off the bench and be able to set out and guard,” said associate head coach Calamity McEntire. “It’s not just depth offensively. We’ve got some depth defensively.”
The team has spent this summer improving rebounds and box outs, especially thinking ahead to teams that dominate in terms of height. They ended the season averaging 35.6 rebounds per game but also gave up 31.7 rebounds. Defense will determine if the Fighting Illini has a successful season.
“We score a lot in transition, so if we don’t defend, we’re not getting those opportunities as well,” McEntire said.
Back on the court
After a season-ending knee injury, Dolan is officially back on the court.
“Just watching how they respond to situations individually and taking that in so that I know when I’m back on the court, I can help my teammates in a different way,” Dolan said. “I’ve always been the type of player to be a three-level scorer and to be a driver, so I think just getting back to that and my old self and not shying away from that.”
Dolan missed much of last season with a torn meniscus and underwent surgery in late February. She ended the season averaging 12.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
She’s made it past the mental struggles post-injury, so now she just needs to work on getting her physicality back.
“Really getting back to my physicality piece, like being comfortable driving and getting hit,” Dolan said.
She’s been spending this past summer regaining her strength and confidence.
“When you’re coming back from those injuries, there’s the contact piece, and not just absorbing it, but making sure you’re initiating it,” McEntire said.
Two returning point guards
Destony Jackson and Aaliyah Guyton will split point guard duties this season.
“They know the system; they know the expectations. They weren’t just it in, but they get a lot of minutes,” McEntire said. “It allows them to, not only know, but for their leadership to elevate as well.”
Jackson has been putting in the time to work on her off-ball movement, setting herself up for a quick catch and release. A slight setback in her shooting from last season came from her not being ready to shoot.
Both her and Guyton have been putting in the extra hours off the court to ready themselves for the upcoming season.
“Sometimes when point guards are coming out of high school, they aren’t taught to play off the ball a lot,” McEntire said. “Destiny and Aaliyah both are hoopers. They love to play the game, they love to work. There’s no problem with them knocking on my door and getting them to come in.”
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