Jenny Yopp believes taking care of the basketball is as much about having a good head as having good hands.
As the Illinois State University head coach takes her team to this weekends Indiana Classic, she wants the Redbirds to take a step forward in cutting down turnovers. Illinois State, 0-3, plays Indiana, 2-2, at 5 p.m. (central time) Friday.
When you play the 94-40 style (94 feet for 40 minutes) we like to play, there will be some turnovers because of the (large) number of possessions that tempo produces, said Yopp. But, when we get into our half-court offense, we need to take better care of the ball. And that begins with making better decisions. You have to get the defense to move to create passing lanes.
Yopp acknowledges that, with young players, that can be easier said than done.
Decision-making is the key to half-court offense. Obviously, its something were still working very hard on in practice, said Yopp. Im confident, and our players are confident, that we can do better.
Yopp has seen plenty of progress already in a lot of areas. Her team has out-rebounded all three of its opponents--on the offensive end and in total--so far this season and thats a good sign. Freshman Katie Donovans 14 rebounds vs. Louisville were the second-highest total in Redbird Arena by a freshman (teammate Steph Reichle had 15 against Southern Illinois as a freshman Jan. 2, 2000).
When you rebound well on the defensive end, you only give your opponent one shot, said Yopp. When you are successful rebounding on the offensive end, it can negate some of those turnovers because you get another opportunity. Our defense is playing hard and our rebounding has been successful. Those are good signs.
Northern Arizona (4-0) and Murray State (2-2) are the other teams in the Indiana Classic; they play at 7 p.m. central time on Friday.
For Yopp, the tournament is an opportunity to coach against friend and former Missouri Valley Conference rival, Kathi Bennett. They opposed each other in Bennetts last year at Evansville, where the daughter of former Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett built a perennial league doormat into an NCAA Tournament team.
I spent two days at the IU basketball clinic before the season, said Yopp. Our basketball philosophies, goals and objectives are very similar. Our personnel are different so those things might be expressed on the court a bit differently.
IU features a trio of outstanding seniors in 6-foot-5 center Jill Chapman, 6-foot-1 forward Erin McGinnis and point guard Heather Cassady, a former Dunlap High School star. Together, that trio averages 47 points per game for Indiana.
After the tournament, the Redbirds return home to play Ball State at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday in Redbird Arena.
