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Illinois Basketball: 5 reasons to be excited about Brad Underwood

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 30, 2016; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood reacts during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2016; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood reacts during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 4, 2017; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Brad Underwood during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /

Recruiting

Before beginning his head coaching career, Underwood was an assistant coach at Kansas State from 2007-2011. He then was the associate head coach for a season with the Wildcats and then the following season was an associate head coach for South Carolina.

During this time with Kansas State and South Carolina, Underwood was a key member of the recruiting staff. He was a part of teams the got some talented players to come play for them.

The class of 2007 for the Wildcats was extremely impressive. They snagged the No. 2 player in the nation in Michael Beasley and the No. 7 player in the nation in Bill Walker. This was the best class in the nation.

In the class of 2009, Kansas State managed to get the No. 19 player in the nation in Wally Judge. This class also ranked No. 28 in the nation as well.

Then when Underwood went to South Carolina they brought in a great class. They secured the No. 30 player in the nation in Sindarius Thornwell and the No. 91 player in Demetrius Henry. That was good enough to get this class up to No. 23 in the nation in 2013.

Underwood now has a tough task on his hands with the Illini. He is coming into a situation that is a little on edge with the No. 9 class in the nation committed to Illinois for 2017. They have four players that are crucial for the future.

There have already been re-commitments from Da’Monte Williams and Trent Frazier. Those two players are huge for the future because Underwood’s offense is very guard oriented. Frazier is also the No. 77 player in the class of 2017 and Williams should be top 100 but injuries hurt his ranking over the last year.

Illinois fans are still waiting to see what Javon Pickett and Jeremiah Tilmon do. I think Pickett stays with his National Letter of Intent, but Tilmon makes me nervous.

Underwood already has a big job on his hands. I hope he can secure all four players but no matter what, the future is bright.

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