Robbie Hummel praises the winning Brad Underwood has done with the Illini

Brad Underwood has gotten a lot of flak these past few offseasons. After earning a one-seed and winning the Big Ten tournament, the season was highlighted by a gut-wrenching defeat to Loyola in the NCAA Tournament. The 2022-2023 season ended with some bad “vibes” and a meek first-round exit in the NCAA tournament. This leads us to this year, despite having two one-and-done prospects, a first time in program history, the Illini fizzled out and lost in the round of 32. Many are disappointed with the frustrating focus on three-point shooting this year and the lack of retention year in and year out.

However, we must not lose sight of what Brad Underwood has accomplished at Illinois. Underwood is 139-62 in the past six seasons. He is 81-39 in Big Ten play with two Big Ten Tournament Championships.

Robbie Hummel weighs in on Brad Underwood and Illinois basketball

Thanks to Illini Inquirer for posting the video interview where Hummel said, “They win; that’s the biggest thing…They run the spread. They run pick-and-roll. They run dribble hand-off for Ayo. They’ve run ball screen stuff. It’s been a lot of different ways to do it, and I think his flexibility is really fun to watch. As someone who really likes basketball and likes to see different ways. ” Certainly, Hummel has plenty of Big Ten experience and does a fantastic job calling games. Additionally, he has seen Illinois back in the era when it made three NCAA tournaments in nine years.

When we compare Brad Underwood to that, life is truly good for the Illini.

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