The Illinois basketball team once again laid an egg but this time it was against a lower-level program in Florida Atlantic.
If losing wasn’t such a trend right now with the basketball program, then I wouldn’t even blink at this loss. Sometimes bad losses just happen. But, this wasn’t an ordinary bad loss. Head coach Brad Underwood couldn’t afford to lose a cakewalk game. He hasn’t built that inventory of good graces with the Illinois fanbase yet. Honestly, he hasn’t even been close to building that inventory.
Back when John Groce was the head coach of the Illini, I thought that was the dark ages of the Illinois basketball program. Groce led the Illini to four-straight missed NCAA tournament appearances. This had been something the Illinois fanbase hadn’t dealt with since the first days of Lou Henson. Anyone born in 1978 or earlier weren’t alive for the last time this drought had happened.
The joke is clearly on me, though. I was done with Groce and his on-court shenanigans. His yelling theatrics had worn thin and it was time to move on. Surely, the next coach for the Illini could at least do what he was doing or maybe even better.
Illinois fired Groce after athletic director Josh Whitman was hired. It was the right move at the time no matter who the next coach was going to be. This could be a chance for the program to start anew and snag someone big for the job. At one time, a recruiting site released some paid-privileged information that Whitman was down in Indianapolis and the next head coach was going to be none other than Dayton head coach, Archie Miller.
Within a day, the hire was made. But, to my dismay, it wasn’t Miller that was hired. Whitman had snagged Oklahoma State head coach, Brad Underwood. After looking up his record, I thought this actually might be a solid hire. He did well with Stephen F. Austin and then turned around a Cowboys program in year one. This could be the guy we need in Champaign.
Underwood struggled immensely in his first season with the Illini, going 14-18 overall and only winning four Big Ten games. That was the least amount of wins this program had seen since the 1998-1999 season. I gave Underwood a pass year one because he was essentially playing with Groce’s guys.
We are now 13 games into year two. During the offseason, Illinois lost a few players. Leron Black, ill-advisedly, dipped his toe in the NBA pool and didn’t come back. Mark Smith transferred out and became immediately eligible to play for Missouri. These two losses were big. But, Illinois was getting Ayo Dosunmu, Tevian Jones and four other talented recruits. These guys were supposed to help get this program back on track.
I sit here today typing this article while the Illini just finished up losing to Florida Atlantic, at home, to bring their record to 4-9 on the season. I remember the day where it was shocking, yes shocking, to see Illinois lose at home. No one could win at the State Farm Center, formerly Assembly Hall. Now we are getting beat by Florida Atlantic. Not Florida, Florida State or Miami (FL) but Florida Atlantic.
I am not in a good place with Brad Underwood. At best, I am highly skeptical about what he is doing with the Illini, where this program is going and how the players are responding to his coaching. I am nervous this team is going to sink into a hole that will take a decade to dig out of. I am extremely skeptical he is the right person for the job. I am going to give him the rest of the season but, as of right now, I am leaning towards this program moving on sooner rather than later.