Illinois Basketball: Where is the Illini program today?

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: The Lou Henson signature is seen on the court before the start of the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: The Lou Henson signature is seen on the court before the start of the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2018, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Illinois basketball team continues to go through changes every week.

The new coaching regime of Brad Underwood and Company have flipped this roster in less than two years and are now on the path to creating what they want in a program. This turnover has made some people uneasy but others seem hopeful.

Here is where the Writing Illini crew sees the Illinois basketball program today.

Eric Bruce

The Illini basketball program is on the rise. Or should I say, on the mend? After many long years of mediocre performance – to say the least – Brad Underwood has arrived with a solid vision for the program. It is a vision to specifically restore the team to the health and vitality of the late 1990s, into the mid-2000s. After 2005, the team floundered under Bruce Weber and completely broke down under John Groce. Underwood’s arrival came with enthusiasm and bravado – but also tinged with a seriousness and a commitment to the program that was lacking in the prior two coaches.

Granted, this year tested even the most positive Illini faithful. I put the blame for that on both the players and coach. The players frequently failed to execute. But, Underwood takes some of the blame for the sour attitude of some fans too. He dramatically overestimated the talent level he had on the team. He repeatedly told the fan base that he saw no reason the Illini wouldn’t be in the NCAA Tournament. He told us the team we see in November, isn’t the team we’ll see in January, and that isn’t the team we’ll see in March. As it happened, we didn’t see the team at all in March.

Underwood has clearly lost confidence in almost the entire roster. Whether players are leaving of their own volition, because of the urging of the coaching staff, or some combination of both, the signals are clear. Underwood wants different athletes, and everyone is getting the memo one way or the other. He wants players that he thinks can execute his vision for the program.

To get there, Underwood needs players who can execute his offense. He told us in his introduction a little over a year ago that while many of us may pay attention to how many stars a player has behind his name, he doesn’t. He recruits to his system. With that being said, he has some quality players coming in next year led by Ayo Dosunmu. He has quality remaining on the roster too. It can’t be a coincidence that the player who thrived most in his offense – Trent Frazier – was a player Underwood was recruiting when he was at Stephen F. Austin.

So, at this point, I trust Underwood to know who he needs. I trust that he can go get the players he wants. And I trust we will see results from this roster overhaul starting in November. It’s hard to counsel patience to a jaded and restless Illini fan base. And, believe me, I share that strong yearning for consistent excellence. But, I really do think we will see that soon with Underwood in charge. I look for next year to be more than just a growth year. Rather, I look for next year to be the one that Underwood’s enthusiasm and bravado are embodied by the players he has on the floor and that meaningful March basketball returns to Illini Nation.

Blake Dietz

If you asked any Illini fan which program needed a deeper rebuild, football or basketball, most would concede Lovie Smith inherited the more barren program. Unfortunately for basketball fans, dreams of a potentially quick turnaround with Brad Underwood at the helm turned out to be a mirage in the middle of a desert. With the departures of Leron Black, Te’Jon Lucas, Michael Finke, and Mark Smith, two things are clear; the 2017-2018 team was void of the players Underwood demands for his system to run at its best, and Underwood is looking at a deeper rebuild than even he thought.

Unlike football, however, turning around a basketball program can be fairly quick. Additionally, it’s unfair to judge Underwood in his first year, which is starting to resemble Lovie’s first year. Illinois’ coaching staff had to spend a large chunk of their recruiting efforts keeping players like Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams committed while trying to keep Jeremiah Tilmon away from Missouri. The nail in Underwood’s first-year coffin was the team he inherited from John Groce, a team that was sorely lacking in experience, athleticism, and consistency.

With that being said, the clock is beginning to tick and progress needs to be shown next year, and I’m confident it will be. The pain of familiar faces transferring should be offset by the hope that Underwood is bringing in guys to fit his system. 2018 recruits Ayo Dosunmu, Samba Kane, Giorgi Bezhanishvili, and Alan Griffin all look like athletic playmakers who can succeed in an up-tempo offense.

The 2018-2019 season might not be pretty, but it should be a year of progress and development. Players like Williams, Frazier, and Kipper Nichols will be expected to take steps into a bigger role while the freshman should carve out roles for themselves. If continued progress is shown in player development as well as recruiting, Illinois basketball will be trending towards competing and making noise in the 2020-2021 season.

John Everette

Illinois basketball is in good hands. At the very least, it’s in better hands than it was with Mike Thomas and John Groce at the helm. What Lovie is starting to do with football recruiting, Underwood can accomplish for basketball — and likely more quickly. Football rebuilds take longer, and the basketball program has a better product to sell.

Am I a little disappointed with how many players this team has already lost this offseason? Absolutely, but only because selfishly I thought next year’s squad could make a return to the tournament with Leron as a senior leader and quality guard depth with Trent, Ayo, Te’Jon and Mark. Oh well. The outlook has to be long-term, so be happy I’m not running the team. As a Cubs fan, I’m well-acquainted with how patience around a long rebuild can pay off in the end!

Rees Woodcock

When the Illini fired John Groce, I think it was the best decision they could have made at the time. Yes, he had a good recruiting class coming in, but he also had four years prior to establish a talented team but failed to do so. In steps a coach in Brad Underwood who made four NCAA tournament appearances in his four years of being a DI head coach.

This hire came as a surprise to me because there were ‘experts’ saying Archie Miller was going to be the next head coach. But, I loved the hire anyways because of his track record and what he did with Oklahoma State.

Through one season under Underwood, I think the Illini have underachieved. I know this isn’t popular to say, but I expected them to at least flirt with the postseason. After 13 games, they were on pace to potentially go dancing, but then they hit a rough patch. They didn’t even make the NIT, which came as a bit of a surprise.

Illinois had Leron Black, Michael Finke, Mark Alstork, Mark Smith and Te’Jon Lucas all depart who put up solid minutes last year. Losing four of these players will hurt the Illini depth, but only Black will hurt the starting rotation. His departure to the NBA was a surprise, and it will hurt this Illini team. But, they do have a solid class of 2018 coming in.

Ayo Dosunmu is the prized recruit in this class. He was a great get by Underwood. I also think Alan Griffin is going to surprise some people with how well he will perform this upcoming season. These two will easily replace Lucas, Smith and Alstork. The Illini will have improved guard play compared to last year. The paint is where I am worried.

Getting Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Samba Kane is good for the program, but I think we need something more immediate. Those two will be good pieces in the future. How well the team does next season could depend on what type of graduate transfer Underwood can bring in. The two players that are in the crosshairs are Jordan Caroline and Austin Trice. Either one of these forwards will help the team tremendously.

Next: 5 biggest surprises for the Illini in 2017-2018

So, after breaking down the situation Illinois fans are dealing with today, I would say short-term success depends on one more big piece to the puzzle. Underwood needs a strong grad transfer power forward. Long-term, though, I think Illinois will be just fine. Dosunmu will help bring in other talented players and this will help the team. Underwood’s system is in place and the team is used to what he teaches. He is weeding out the players who don’t want to be there as well. I am excited to see what the future holds for this program. Suffering as a fan now will only boost the happiness when the team starts winning and believe me, the winning will come.