It’s hard to tell who was more amped up on the first day of practice Monday, University of Illinois Springfield women’s basketball coach Chad Oletzke or the players.
“I was hanging up practice gear in the locker room,” Oletzke said. “It said, ‘The first day of practice get all jacked up’ on the dry erase board. It’s nice that players are writing notes to each other. You really sense there’s some excitement going into the first day.”
While it’s a new venture for the first-year coach and assistant Andrea Riebock at UIS, the Prairie Stars retained the bulk of last season’s roster. Freshmen Meredith Marti and Nicole Collins are the only new players.
Collins is a graduate of Barrington High School. The 5-foot-9 guard was voted to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 3A/4A all-state fourth team and averaged 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals as a senior.
“She can play the point,” Oletzke said. “That’s probably her more natural position. She can also shoot it pretty well.”
The team was featured by the State Journal-Register on October 16, 2012.
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