Strong offseason has Wallace poised to take game to another level
· Yahoo Sports
Oct. 8—ROSEMONT — Illinois women's basketball coach Shauna Green called this offseason the best one of Berry Wallace's time with the Illini.
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That's a noteworthy admission given the season the 6-foot-1 forward had as a sophomore when the Pickerington, Ohio, native was one of the best players in the Big Ten as an all-conference first team selection.
Wallace is expected to repeat that — and take another further step in her overall floor game during the upcoming 2026-27 season — with the conference's coaches and media members that cover the league naming the now junior to the preseason All-Big Ten team earlier this month.
"Berry had an unbelievable first two years in all facets," Green said on Wednesday during her Big Ten Network appearance at the conference's women's basketball media day from the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Her Illinois team tips off a much-anticipated season in less than a month on Nov. 4 against Detroit Mercy at State Farm Center in Champaign.
"But we went through (this offseason) and looked at, OK, how are teams guarding her last year?" the Illinois coach continued. "With her being at the top of the scouting report, what can we do to up her percentages from three? What can we do to up her percentages in the paint? How can we get her to be a better defender and a more versatile defender? Can she guard a wing? Can she guard a guard? How can we utilize her at more end-of-game situations? There's so many things that we dove into in terms of analytics, and then give Berry credit because Berry comes — and we talk about it every day in our program — about being everyday women. That is Berry Wallace. She's consistent. She works. She's coachable. She doesn't get too high. She doesn't get too low. And that's why you see the sustained growth in her as a player and as a person."
What that looked like last season was impressive. Especially with Wallace in a new role as a leader and the go-to player on her team. That was a new position for Wallace to be in as a de-facto "veteran" on one of the youngest teams nationally.
Wallace thrived in that, basically doubling her production in nearly every major statistical category from her freshman to sophomore years by averaging 18.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 47.2/34.7/86.5 percent.
That leap in Wallace's game directly correlated to how Illinois had another successful year despite a huge roster flip ahead of the 2025-26 season. That translated to the Illini winning 22 games and making their third NCAA tournament appearance in the last four seasons, with Illinois landing its best national tournament seed since 2000.
The seventh-seeded Illini got past No. 10 seed Colorado for a 66-57 first-round victory before a second-round exit, as No. 2 seed Vanderbilt handed Illinois a 75-57 season-ending defeat on its home floor at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn.
That Illinois has more than 99 percent of its scoring returning for the 2026-27 season while retaining the top nine players in its rotation has already heightened expectations around the program.
"Last year was so good," Wallace said on Wednesday. "It was awesome to be a part of this team. Having everyone pretty much coming back, it's just so special. We have a unique chemistry that other teams may not have. We've just been playing really well together. Growing that confidence in us and just excited to win a lot of games this year."
Now, after averaging 21 wins the last four seasons, the Illini will look to get to that next level as a program. The clear-cut goal? Making it out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament and reaching the program's first Sweet 16 since 1998.
That's the ambition.
But it goes beyond that for the 21-year-old Wallace.
"Just continuing to grow our leadership and togetherness is super special," Wallace said of what's been an offseason focus. "We have a unique group, and we're all so connected. It's fun to be a part of. It's a thing other teams might not have as we go out there and play them."
It all starts with Wallace, though. Illinois brought her in to be that for the program. Wallace's recruitment was a key win for Green and her coaching staff, indicating how they had changed the reputation of the Illini nationally when the former five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American arrived before the start of the 2024-25 season.
Now, she's trying to be one of the reasons why Illinois breaks through after what has been a second-round NCAA tournament stumbling block the last two years.
"Berry right now, this was her best offseason," Green said. "She's playing at a high, high level with a ton of confidence. I just think that she's developed her game even more, and she already has a pretty developed game. But she's expanded it. Just added some different moves inside. Shooting the ball at a high clip. And then her passing is another thing. People are guarding you this way. Now, how are you going to be a facilitator and have that part of your game and make people really pay on that? Her rebounding has been another thing. The defensive side is where I saw a huge, huge improvement this summer. Right now, she's guarding and really disciplined defensively and has taken some really big steps in that.
"A lot of that is from learning and understanding, figuring out how you need to get it done individually and then collectively. Really, really happy with where she's at and again, expecting a huge season for her."