Before Shauna Green, there was Theresa Grentz, winner of a program-record 210 games, one Big Ten title and five NCAA tournament bids in 12 seasons coaching Illini women’s basketball.
On Illini Hall of Fame induction day 2025, we asked Grentz's former players and coaches to share their favorite stories about one of the headliners of class No. 9.
“The first memory that I’ll never forget was when she handed each of us an index card with a tiny mustard seed taped to it. On the card, she wrote the words, ‘Have the faith of a MUSTARD SEED! Go Illini.’
“During a team meeting, she explained the meaning behind it and that even the smallest amount of faith can move mountains. It was her way of telling us to believe in ourselves, in each other and in our ability to be champions. I’ve held on to that card all these years, and I still reflect on the message often.
“Another memory that always makes me smile happened during a practice. I was having a rough day and kept missing my shots. After another miss, I blurted out, ‘Jesus.’
“Coach looked at me and said, ‘Nic, it’s not His fault.’ I replied, ‘I’m just asking for His help, Coach!’ She burst out laughing and then gave us a water break. It was moments like that that reminded us that she cared, but also knew how to keep things light when we needed it.
“What I appreciated most about Coach was how present she was, not just during games or practices, but during postgame. She always made time to speak with the fans, our families and especially my parents. I know how much those conversations meant to my mom and dad.
“This speaks to how special Coach Grentz is, always taking the time to recognize and appreciate everyone who was part of the women’s basketball program. That’s why we had such a great following because Coach made everyone feel part our our Illini team.
“Coach Grentz wasn’t just a coach on the court; she was a mentor, a motivator and a person who truly believed in us. I’ll always be grateful for the impact she had on my life.”
“Once we finished preseason conditioning workouts, we had a graduation ceremony. Here is when we’d get a certificate of completion, along with our official practice gear, shoes, etc., for the upcoming season.
“We all thought she was crazy, of course, when she did this but then it became a rite of passage. We proceeded into Huff, where there were chairs on the court and a podium at the front. Coach Grentz and the staff made some remarks, and then we were all called up by name to get our ‘diploma.’
“It marked the start of a new chapter, each year. We’d reflect on what we accomplished but more importantly, how we prepared ourselves for the season ahead.
“Another memory: Coach Grentz was a proven winner when she arrived at Illinois in 1995. She was going to instill that winning mentality in her new Illini team in any and every way that she could.
“One way of doing this was to go through the experiences that champions go through. In this case, it was cutting down the nets. She actually had us practice cutting down the nets. She wanted to make sure that when we won a championship, we would know how to cut the nets down.
“Some of us cut down nets in high school but this was different. Again, we thought she was crazy. She got the ladder out, had us get up there and cut our piece down, one by one.
“Sure enough, that following year, we cut down some nets — we were champions.”
“Coach Grentz always made a grand entrance into the gym, no matter the day, as if she was on a mission to save the world, but more importantly, to positively impact a bunch of young college athletes.
“She always entered the gym with a resounding ‘HELLO GURLS!’ or ‘What’s new, Bergermeister?’ and acted as if today was the most important day to make an impact.
“She would occasionally ask how our day was going, but we all knew that today was an opportunity to become better, and after practice was the time to exchange pleasantries.
“If she wasn’t busy quoting Mother Teresa in practice, she would be heard saying, ‘You never stay the same, you either get better or you get worse. What’s it going to be today?’
“Practices were always well-planned out to the exact second; yet, in that same moment, there was always time for a quick-witted comment or one-liner to make the team laugh.
“And my favorite one-liner of all-time, which has become my life motto, is ‘FIND A WAY! I don’t care how you do it, make sure it’s legal, just FIND A WAY!’”
“Coach Grentz is the reason I get to do what I love to do every day. She took a chance on me and allowed me to be part of the Illinois women’s basketball family.
“I will never forget when she showed up in the stands in Philly at the Palestra to support me coach our team at Yale in the Ivy tournament. I told her we could have used her on the sideline that day.
“A fun memory: Our team winning a holiday tourney at St. Mary’s and her and the staff teaching us how to celebrate and why winning is fun.
“A highlight memory: Our foreign tour to Russia, Lithuania and Latvia. That was my tryout — getting called up to Coach Grentz in first class on the way home and her telling me there would be a jersey waiting for me at home.
“I made the team! Life-changing moment.”
“When I think of Coach, I think of someone that cared about me as a young woman coming onto campus. She always wanted to see me succeed on the court; however her love, courage and discipline made me become a better woman.
“A lot of coaches I have played for just worry about the game and not who the athlete is as a person. My parents would come in town and Coach would always have them over for a good meal. Have the team over. Really made it feel like a family there.”
“One of the most impactful things that Coach Grentz instilled in us was belief. From day one, she told us that we were going to win. Because we had not won much, I am not sure we believed her at first, but in her East Coast accent, she never stopped saying it, so we didn’t really have a choice.
“Also, I think we were probably a little scared of her. It all worked out.
“My years at Illinois were some of the best years of my life. Having the opportunity to play for Coach Grentz was life-changing. I learned so much about the game of basketball, but more than anything, I learned about life.
”I am forever grateful for all of it.”
“Kylie Martin and I both were recruited by Coach Grentz to go to Rutgers and then she left right before our freshman year. So my story is about our first game in an Illinois uniform — Kylie’s and mine — which was at 19th-ranked Stanford.
“We flew out there a day or two early and we were allowed an extracurricular. Those who toured the Stanford campus found a palm leaf that had fallen off a palm tree and walked it around the campus. We affectionately named it Pam the Palm.
“Coach Grentz allowed us to have it in the hotel, then take it to Stanford. It was in the locker room when we beat them and we as a team decided that Pam the Palm was our lucky charm.
“Pam the Palm came on the plane home with us. Our entire team saw Pam the Palm get loaded into the bottom of the plane and had a huge cheer for it.
“Pam the Palm ended up spending the rest of the 1998-99 season in our locker room and Coach Grentz loved it. It was kind of our own unofficial mascot from that big win at Stanford.”
“To commit to play for a coach twice — at two different places — says a lot about that coach. I wanted the opportunity to play for Coach Grentz. And getting that chance exceeded my expectations.
“What I can say about her is she is extremely confident in her coaching, and in her players, and made us all believe we could win every game. She brings out the best in everyone. She won’t even take your best 99 percent. She will get all of your best —100 percent.
“We truly believed we were capable of winning a national championship my senior year — and why wouldn’t we think that? We barely lost to Purdue in the Big Ten championship my junior year and they went on to win it.
“And my senior year, we beat Notre Dame, which went on to win it all the next year. She had us right there. She truly got everything out of every player. She demanded it. And we wanted to give it our all — for our teammates, for her and for our school.
“What she brought to Illinois was winning. And it was so fun to win. After a big win, and we had a lot of them, we would be all excited and happy and waiting in the locker room for the postgame talk, and she would come in pumping her fist and cheering. She loved to win.”
“My favorite Coach Grentz moment was when we played NAIA style during a portion of practice. The rules for the game of women’s basketball were structured slightly different back in her Immaculata College (playing) days, making it fun for us Illini.
“Coach G participated without hesitation and literally lit up Ubben, our Illini basketball practice facility, that day — moving swiftly, quick on her feet and every shot and pass on point.
“She never missed a shot.”
“I still remember the day Theresa asked me to join her at Illinois — it was a conversation that changed my life. She taught me how to build a program, create a strong culture, empower women and win the right way.
“Theresa was a generational coach and a true visionary who inspired change and built a championship culture with Illinois players. Her leadership was instrumental in moving the program from Huff Hall to Assembly Hall, a pivotal moment that marked Illinois’ rise to perennial NCAA success.
“I am forever grateful that she believed in me and gave me the opportunity that shaped my career and my life.”
“I am so happy that U of I is inducting Coach Grentz into their Hall of Fame. A well-earned and well-deserved honor to an individual that brought so much to not only the individuals associated with women’s basketball, but also to the athletics department and the university community.
"She took a chance on me as a young coach, and I will forever be grateful. I am proud to have been a small part of her journey at U of I and bear witness to the spirit, enthusiasm and commitment she brought, primarily and most importantly, to the student-athletes and their team/individual success.
"Congrats T! So very happy for you.”
