Illinois relying on leadership, youth in new season

The Illinois women's basketball team is sending a message to their opponents: Bring it on.\n"When we played at Iowa State (in the second round of the NCAA tournament) last year, we weren't rattled at all," coach Theresa Grentz said. "There were 13,000 screaming fans, and it didn't affect my team at all. Had that been the first time experiencing it, they would have been looking all over. The more experience I can give my girls, the better."\nThe Fighting Illini (2-1) will be relying on strong leadership from returning starters junior guard Allison Curtin and sophomore guard Shavonna Hunter. They will need their recruiting class to fill in after the graduation of four key players.\n"This team is totally different from last year," Curtin said. "We've got a great young class that's willing to learn and willing to work hard. But they're still freshmen, and they have some learning to do."\nCurtin is one of the players the team will need to have repeat strong performances. Curtin led Illinois with 17.6 points per game last season, the most by any Illinois player through her sophomore year. She was named to the first team All-Big Ten team by the coaches last season, and was recently named to the 2000 Big Ten Preseason All-Conference Team. She led the Fighting Illini with 21 points in a 111-62 loss to No. 2 Tennessee Saturday.\nCurtin is expected to be accompanied in the starting lineup by Hunter. After then-senior Melissa Parker was injured last season, Hunter earned the starting position. Hunter finished the season with a freshman-high 77 steals, and led the team in assists with 109. She was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.\n"I need to improve my leadership on the floor," Hunter said. "Not only do I have to improve my own abilities, but make sure the team is improving, and that we are working as a team."\nFreshman guard Anne O'Neil leads the strong Illinois recruiting class. O'Neil averaged 30.9 points per game as a high school senior and was ranked the seventh best senior in America by the All-Star Girl's Report and Women's Basketball Journal. \nThe major weakness of the team is their youth, Grentz said. But if the team comes out as strong as Grentz expects, Illinois will have another winning record and an appearance in the NCAA tournament.\nThe Fighting Illini started the season with wins against Clemson and Alcorn State and face Kansas tonight in Lawrence, Kan.\n"We start right at the beginning with a tough schedule," Hunter said. "We don't have time to learn, but at the same time, it's going to be a learning period, so that at the end of the season we'll be where we need to be. We want to be in the Final Four, so we need to take the necessary steps in order to get there"