Brad Underwood has Revived Illinois Basketball

Brad Underwood has Revived Illinois Basketball

Yes, Illinois Basketball has not yet reached a Sweet 16 since the Bush era. Yes, Brad Underwood has let some talented guards fall through his grasp. I realize that Brad Underwood has his faults and has some work to do. However, I think it is safe to say that Brad Underwood has revived Illinois Basketball. In a recent AP poll, Illinois Basketball was ranked 25th. Though it may not seem like much, Derek Piper of 247 brought up a pretty cool point. This is the fourth straight year that Illinois Basketball will start the season as a ranked team. A feat that has not been achieved since the 1950’s.

Despite the postseason woes and losing some talented guards to the portal, Brad Underwood deserves lots of credit.

Starting the season at No. 25

Make it four straight years that @coachunderwood has the Illini ranked in the preseason @AP_Top25, the longest streak in program history.#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/vv0D8UMPQq

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) October 16, 2023

Utilizing Momentum

Just look at the Illinois Football program. Winning is difficult, and Illinois athletics has made that known. Brad Underwood has put together four straight 20-win seasons at Illinois. His 55-25 Big Ten record over the past four years is insanely impressive. Though no one should ever use the John Groce years as a benchmark, think about how many times that Illinois was not competitive in a Big Ten road game. Though Underwood may have squandered a huge opportunity by not making the second weekend with two program greats on his team, Brad continues to build momentum for Illinois Basketball.

Since landing Dosunmu, Illinois Basketball has consistently brought in high-major players. As many flecks he gets for Brandin Podziemski and Jayden Epps, Coleman Hawkins and Terrence Shannon Jr both decided to return for an additional year due to their belief in Coach Underwood. For additional perspective, look at the image below

Pulled up a random Illini basketball game from 2020 and it's absolutely unreal that this was once Brad Underwood's record and now he's sitting at 94-66 with a 58.8 percent win percentage and with a Big ten tournament championship and two times finishing 1st in the regular season pic.twitter.com/1whs2ng1yQ

— Armchair Illinois (@ArmchairIllini) August 4, 2022

Stability

Does Brad Underwood have some flaws? Absolutely, however he deserve some credit for bringing Illinois Basketball in the conversation for top half of the Big Ten consistently. Though he has yet to reach a second weekend in the NCAA tournament, he looks well on his way to giving this program another shot at trying to do so.

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