Basketball
Brad Underwood has a chance to cement coaching legacy at Illinois
Heading into year nine, Brad Underwood has overcome adversity and all different types of hurdles to make Illinois a nationally relevant contender once again.
Brad Underwood had his work cut out for him when he first started his job at the University of Illinois in 2017. For the better part of a decade, Illinois had fallen to the middle-lower end of the Big Ten conference with zero momentum. After an incredible run to the 2005 National championship game, a crowd of mediocrity and stagnation was slowly growing over the program. Fast forward to 2025, Underwood will be entering his ninth season with the program and has just recently signed an extension into the 2030-2031 season. He has now made Illinois nationally relevant and a consistent factor as a contender in the Big Ten Conference.
Throughout these nine years, there have been so many times in which Underwood could have faced a hurdle that held him back. Something that previous Illinois coaches like Bruce Weber and John Groce could not say. Whether it was the Mark Smith saga and fall-through in the Metro East region, the Talen Horton-Tucker saga with the Chicago land programs, to losing all three assistants after a gut-wrenching loss to Loyola, Underwood has found a way to overcome and sustain success. If this trajectory continues, Brad Underwood has only Lou Henson to compare himself to as an Illini great.
In it for good
Brad Underwood had opportunities to entertain some Big 12 schools. His Alma Mater, Kansas State, came knocking before Jerome Tang took the job. This past year, Underwood had the chance to earn some major dough in a familiar area with the Texas Longhorns. Despite this, Underwood knows that he can win a national championship at Illinois. Had it not been for the unbeatable UConn Huskies in 2024, the Illini were poised to beat just about anyone else with the way they were playing.
In the last 5 seasons at Illinois, Underwood has averaged 23.6 wins per game. That is unprecedented winning for a program whose glory games seemed to be far behind them. This year, Underwood has two star returning players along with one of the best transfer portal additions in the country. His team should be fully equipped for a big-time run at being the best team in the Big Ten and in the country. If Brad Underwood can capitalize on that, his coaching legacy at Illinois will be legendary.
