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Illinois Basketball: 5 changes since John Groce was fired

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini cheerleaders run on the court before a basketball game against the Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. Illinois won 75-66. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini cheerleaders run on the court before a basketball game against the Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. Illinois won 75-66. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 5, 2015; Columbia, SC, USA; South Florida Bulls head coach Orlando Antigua directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Columbia, SC, USA; South Florida Bulls head coach Orlando Antigua directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 4 Staff changes

With Brad Underwood becoming the new head coach of the Illinois basketball program, he is going to want to hire his own guys and possibly keep some coaches on staff.

There have been quite a few coaching moves to really solidify his staff in recent weeks. Underwood did keep a few key pieces of his staff recently too.

One of the biggest hires that Underwood made was bringing on Orlando Antigua to be an assistant coach and one of the main recruiters. He has a history of bringing in top talent to big programs like Kentucky and he also has a nice long coaching history.

Antigua was a hire that I loved and retaining assistant coach Jamall Walker was another great move as well. He was one of the main recruits for Groce who could get decent talent into the program and had a top class for 2017 at one time.

The combination of Antigua and Walker out in the recruiting fields will surely bring in some top 10 classes in the near future.

I love keeping strength and condition coach Adam Fletcher on staff as well. He clearly made a huge difference in quite a few players including Maverick Morgan last year. He was able to really build up the Illini so they could be more physical.

Underwood also brought Joey Biggs, director of operations, and Patrick Schulte, video coordinator, from Oklahoma State. These two guys are familiar with Underwood so there is a seamless transition there.

All of the coaching and personnel moves seem to be spot on. I can’t wait to see how this program shapes up in the next year or so.

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