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Illinois Basketball: Recruiting pitch to Ayo Dosunmu

By Rees Woodcock

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 09: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Oklahoma State Cowboys reacts from the bench during the quarterfinal game of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament against the Iowa State Cyclones at the Sprint Center on March 9, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 09: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Oklahoma State Cowboys reacts from the bench during the quarterfinal game of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament against the Iowa State Cyclones at the Sprint Center on March 9, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 10: Basketballs are shown in a ball rack before a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament between the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Nevada Wolf Pack at the Thomas /

No. 3 Winning head coach

One of the best moves in the history of the Illinois basketball program was to have a coaching change this past March. Illinois was a struggling program on and off the court, and starting over was the right thing for the Illini to do.

Illinois then made a shocking move with hiring Oklahoma State head coach Brad Underwood. No one saw this coming and even the professional recruiting people thought it was going to be Archie Miller from Dayton. But, athletic director Josh Whitman fooled everyone and signed Underwood.

This was a great signing because Underwood brings a winning mentality, something Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning can’t tout.

Manning has been a college head coach for five seasons, two with Tulsa and now three with Wake Forest. When he was with the Golden Hurricane, he finished with 17 wins year one and 21 wins in year two. Tulsa made the NCAA tournament the second season and lost in the first round as a No. 13 seed.

Manning then decided to take over a Wake Forest program that had 17 wins the year before he got there. The first season under Manning, the Demon Deacons only had 13 wins. The following season the team actually dropped down to 11 wins. This past season, the team got up to 19 wins and they were selected to the First Four of the NCAA tournament and failed to get past Kansas State.

Underwood’s history is much better. He has been a head coach for four seasons now, three with Stephen F. Austin and one with Oklahoma State. He has made the NCAA tournament all four seasons he has been coaching as well.

In year one with the Lumberjacks, Underwood beat No. 5 VCU in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The following season, the team got back to the postseason as a No. 12 seed again and about beat No. 5 Utah. In Underwood’s final season with Stephen F. Austin, the team was a No. 14 seed and beat No. 3 West Virginia in the first round and only lost to No. 6 Notre Dame by one point in the second round.

Underwood then accepted the job at Oklahoma State. In the only season he was with the Cowboys, he took a 12 win program and made them into a 20 win team. They went to the postseason in that one season and that was a big accomplishment.

So, Illinois has a clear coaching advantage. Underwood brings a better winning track record to the table in the regular season and in the postseason. Illinois should use this as a recruiting pitch.

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