I don’t need to make this a huge editorial but at the same time I would be a complete moron to ignore a very simple fact right now: Brad Underwood is the perfect man to coach Illinois basketball.
A couple concessions:
- I’m biased by my personal love for him
- We played like shit in the NCAA tournament
- We’re probably starting from scratch next year again and that blows
And now my reasoning:
I think he’s the perfect guy because he’s the right combination of coaching, recruiting, administration, brand appeal and loyalty.
He gets the most out of his players and they’re always improving. That’s a tenet of Brad Underwood teams. The group always finishes better than where it starts and that’s because he’s a great fuckin coach who cares deeply about his players.
Recruiting: Underwood is always bringing in better players. Riley was the program’s biggest recruit since Bill Self. KJ played like lottery pick while we can start picturing a future built around Morez and Ivisic. And while there’s obvious implications, something more important is spending NIL money intelligently. The fact Underwood re-tooled so quickly from an Elite 8 run with none of the returning talent is a testament to his scouting and development. And that’s probably only going to get better with Illinois becoming a destination for good guard play that puts you in the NBA.
Administration: Can you think of a better 3-man weave in the history of Illinois Athletics between AD Josh Whitman, Bret Bielema and Brad Underwood? We’re rolling like it’s 2001 except this time there’s staying power and it feels different. I’m not celebrating 2nd round losses as much as I’m saying it feels good to know that a 6-seed is technically a down year. And the administrative success and strength is something we can lean on in the future knowing Josh-Brad-Bret are only going to improve together.
Brand Appeal: Apparently Illinois is becoming trendy on a national level? Alumni say that every year but I think it’s now getting more acclaim as an internationally renowned institution. And that’s deserved for a number of reasons: athletics, academics, social scene, development opportunities, proximity to Chicago, quality yet affordable real estate, blossoming night life, academic research and so much more. So for that to be aligned with Brad Underwood’s tenure is even more special because it all works off each other. And there’s no way to replicate the time spent and bond built for everything to come together like this.
And then most important is the loyalty. In this case, we’re very lucky to have the perfect circumstances that allow for Brad Underwood to be singularly devoted to Illinois. There’s no money from Texas or opportunity at UCLA or opening at UNC or Duke or anything compelling to take Brad away from Illinois. It’s truly his job for life which brings a sense of comfort and familiarity to the fanbase and community.
All of this to say that I know we played like shit yesterday. I know we had insane turnovers and sloppy uninspired play. I know 9-for-32 behind the 3-point line blows and quite frankly it makes my skin crawl.
But 3 more makes have us in a tie-game with the exact same amount of turnovers and sloppy ass dogshit play.
Just 3 more made 3-pointers from 23 total misses and we’re looking at a game that comes down to the final possession vs. complaining about more referee review bullshit.
And again that’s without changing anything else from turnovers, defense, awareness or anything.
Just 3 more made 3’s and we’re not far away from the Sweet 16 with just about the worst team performance (ANY SPORT) I’ve seen since Tim Beckman. And we almost did it with no returning players who were constantly hurt and sick in the world’s hardest conference playing one of the worst games of the season.
So while I’d hate to sit here and spin moral victories, it’s almost impossible to be negative towards the long-term health of Illinois basketball for as long as Brad Underwood wants to coach it. Especially with all the fallout from NIL and the need to be dynamic at the forefront of college athletics. There’s really nobody better to lead the program and that’s my most important takeaway 24 hours after a gut wrenching NCAA loss. We’ll be better for it overall and that’s entirely because Brad Underwood is in charge.
Go Illini.