Illinois Basketball: 3 head coach options for the Illini women’s program

Illinois basketball is going through some change with the women’s program.

On Friday, the Illini athletic department put out a press release that head coach Nancy Fahey is retiring from the program. This news doesn’t come as a surprise as the program has been struggling. It seems to be a nice clean way to cut ties.

But that now leaves a void in the Illinois program. We need a head coach who can really turn this team around and start winning games. I have some options in mind.

Here are three head coaching options for the Illinois basketball women’s program.

1. Ashley Langford – Stony Brook Seawolves Head Coach

Illinois basketball needs a reboot on the women’s side, and I think someone like Ashley Langford could be a solid choice as the next head coach.

While Langford doesn’t have a long head coaching resume, she does bring a lot of basketball experience and a youthful shot in the arm that the Illini need.

Langford had a great playing career with Tulane where she is the all-time assists leader for the program. She then joined Auburn’s coaching staff as a graduate assistant. Following the first job with Auburn, Langford then had stops at Bucknell, Denver, and James Madison before becoming the head coach at Stony Brook in 2021.

This is Langford’s first season at Stony Brook, and they are performing better than they did last season. The Seawolves are currently sitting at 23-5 overall and 14-4 in the American East Conference. They would have been the No. 2 seed in their conference tournament, but Stony Brook is ineligible to play in the tournament. They are leaving the American East and joining the Colonial Athletic, so the conference decided to ban them from the tournament.

I think Langford has done a great job in year one with Stony Brook. I want a coach who can come in and give this Illini program some life and develop players. Langford seems to be that type of coach.