Illinois Basketball: Brad Underwood is a great choice for Illini
The Illinois basketball team has been searching for a new head coach for about a week now and it looks like they have found their man.
It was announced on Twitter today that Illinois has hired Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood to lead the Illini into the future. This was a name that wasn’t on the radar but it looks like he will be at the helm for quite some time.
Jeff Goodman of ESPN first reported the news and the contract agreement is for 6-years and $3-million per year. That is a big pay upgrade from his previous deal with Oklahoma State that was only paying him $1-million per year.
Brad Underwood agreed to a 6-year deal worth more than $3 million per season at Illinois, source told ESPN. Made... https://t.co/ahrhSW1JIn
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 18, 2017
There is a lot of reaction to this hiring, good and bad. Some people wanted a bigger name than Underwood and others are extremely happy and think this was a home run hire for the Illini.
I didn’t have a ton of time to really dive into Underwood’s coaching history before, but after looking into it I am happy with what I see.
Underwood is a great coach who has a track record that has winning written all over it. He was the head coach of Stephen F. Austin starting in 2013 and spent three seasons there in which he made the NCAA tournament every year.
In the first season with the Lumberjacks, Underwood took the team to the second round as a No. 12 seed after upsetting No. 5 seed VCU. The following year he made it back to the NCAA tournament as a No. 12 seed and came close to upsetting Utah.
In Underwood’s final season with Stephen F. Austin, he brought the team back to the NCAA tournament as a No. 14 seed. They went into the first round matchup against No. 3 West Virginia and pulled off a major upset. He then fell one point short of advancing to the Sweet 16 against No. 6 Notre Dame.
After three great seasons with the Lumberjacks, Underwood took the job at Oklahoma State. He only spent one season with the Cowboys but they made the NCAA tournament this season as a No. 10 seed and only lost by one point to No. 7 Michigan.
The only thing that makes me nervous about Underwood is that he has only been a head coach for four seasons, but in those four seasons he has made it to the NCAA tournament. He has the winning ability and that is one of the major elements of success.
Underwood has also had experience in the recruiting game as well. He was a top recruiter for Kansas State and South Carolina before coming to Stephen F. Austin. This will help in hopefully, keeping the current class of 2017 for the Illini.
Overall, I really like this hire because he is a proven winner. He won everywhere he has been and that is exactly what Illinois needs right now. He isn’t a ‘flashy’ name but we don’t need flash, we need wins.
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I believe this is a great hire for the Illini and one no one seen coming. Josh Whitman did a great job snagging this talented coach and really living to the slogan ‘We Will Win’.