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Illinois Basketball Promotes Kwa Jones to Assistant Coach

With the departure of Tim Anderson, Illinois basketball has quickly filled the vacancy.

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Mar 23, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood gestures after the game against the Duquesne Dukes in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

The news has arrived that Illinois basketball assistant coach, Tim Anderson, will be stepping away from the program. Though there have been mumblings regarding this for the past month, the timing of this news certainly is not ideal. Anderson was an ace recruiter for Brad Underwood and was a huge part of the recruitment of key players like Terrence Shannon Jr. and Matthew Mayer. In replacing Anderson, Illinois basketball has also quickly announced that Kwa Jones will be taking Anderson’s place. Jones was once a graduate assistant for the Illini and was just recently serving as the director of recruiting and scouting.

The promotion from within completely makes sense for the Illini given the timing of this news.

Onward and upward

Tim Anderson was certainly a key piece in the recent success of Illinois Basketball. However, Brad Underwood is well-versed in dealing with any kind of adversity. This offseason, he brought back former assistant Orlando Antigua back to Champaign. Additionally, current assistant Geoff Alexander has flexed his muscles with his international connections when landing Kasparas Jakucionis.

Additionally, Tyler Underwood has been named as one of the key engineers in last year’s top-ranked offense. In all, Jones is a young, fun-loving personality who already has an established chemistry with the current coaches and players. Next season, as roles start to realign, I do assume that Brad Underwood will go big fish hunting to pair alongside the recruiting prowess of Orlando Antigua.

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