Jenna Giacone

Jenna Giacone is the Assistant Coach and Director of Scouting & Player Development for the University of Illinois Women's Basketball Team.  Prior to that, she played basketball at the University of Dayton from 2016-2022 and was on the training camp roster for the Seattle Storm in 2022. She talks about growing up in Delmar, New York, in a very athletic family, playing basketball with her sister Gabby, who is only 15 months older than her, her great career atBethlehem Central High School, and the recruiting process that led her to choose Dayton. Jenna discusses her coach leaving before her Freshman season began, her reaction to Head Coach Shauna Green getting the job, their relationship, and the foot injury that led her to miss a lot of her Freshman season and her entire Sophomore season. She details her career highlights at Dayton which include winning the A-10, playing in the NCAA Tournament, being First Team A-10 and winning Most Improved Player, and the importance of coming back for a 6th season in 2022. Jenna also talks about how she "randomly" wrote a children's book "Gabby's Got Game", going through the details of how it started, what it is about, getting a publisher, and the great reception it's gotten. Finally, Jenna shares her experience with the Seattle Storm, knowing she wanted to be a coach from a young age, how the opportunity at Illinois came up, her roles on the staff, and looking ahead to the 2024 season.