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Illinois Basketball: Brad Underwood’s record doesn’t tell the entire story

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 23: Illinois Fighting Illini Head Coach Brad Underwood looks on during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 23, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 23: Illinois Fighting Illini Head Coach Brad Underwood looks on during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 23, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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I think it is fair to say that Brad Underwood’s tenure with the Illinois basketball program has not started off well.

It is hard to push back the detractors because there are numbers to show that the first two years of the Underwood rein hasn’t been good. Year one he was 14-18 and last season the record dipped to 12-21. While the record tells a story, it doesn’t necessarily tell the entire story.

Underwood was hired to lead this program in March 2017. Illinois was coming of four-straight disappointing seasons in which John Groce couldn’t manage to lead the team to the NCAA tournament. Change needed to be made. Not only were we losing a coach, but we were also losing a lot of production that did manage to get us to 20 wins that season.

The roster during the final year of Groce was talented and had experience. That is one of the reasons it was so frustrating not getting to the NCAA tournament. The following season was the first of Underwood’s, but he didn’t inherit a lot of that talent. Only 39-percent of the minutes from the year prior returned for Underwood’s first season at the helm.

It is hard to win as a new coach anywhere, but if you only return 39-percent of the players from the previous season, then the feat of getting this team to the postseason is daunting. Included in those losses were Malcolm Hill, Maverick Morgan, Tracy Abrams and Mike Thorne Jr. all to graduation. Jalen Coleman-Lands was the lone transfer.

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Those departures also hurt other areas of the team as well. Underwood only inherited 27-percent of the scoring, 42-percent of the rebounding, 23-percent of the assists, 30-percent of the steals and 17-percent of the blocks from the year prior. I feel like these numbers tell a more complete story on why year one was rough for Underwood.

Year two actually had a worse record, though. Why is that? Well, there were a lot of departures from Underwood’s first year to his second year. While the numbers were a little better, only 40-percent of the players returned to the team last season. Illinois lost Leron Black to the professional ranks. This departure hurt the most. Michael Finke, Mark Smith, TeJon Lucas, Greg Eboigbodin and Matic Vesel all transferred out of the program.

So, heading into last season, Underwood was starting over with 60-percent of his rosters minutes being brand new. That is a tough ask of any head coach. That is also probably why the Illini only hit the 12-win mark. The upcoming season is going to be different, though.

While year one and two of the Underwood era only saw 39-percent and 40-percent of the minutes return from the prior year, respectively, the upcoming rendition of the Illini is going to be more experienced.

The only players that departed the program from last season were Aaron Jordan, Adonis De La Rosa and Drew Cayce. They only contributed 17-percent of the Illini minutes, which means Underwood is getting back 83-percent of the minutes played from last season. That experience should lead to more wins on the court.

Illinois is getting back the experience and also the production as well. The Illini are also bringing back 85-percent of the scoring, 79-percent of the rebounding, 86-percent of the assists, 85-percent of the steals and 85-percent of the blocks this season. Having mostly the same team returning will help Underwood because of the experience and the fact he won’t have to teach a brand new crew of players his system.

Next. Projected Illini lineup with Adam Miller and DJ Steward. dark

No one can dispute that the first two years of the Underwood regime were bad. Winning a total of 26 games in two seasons usually lands you in the unemployment line. But let’s look at the entire picture. Underwood finally has a majority of the roster coming back. He has his players and coaching staff in place. This is the season where things should turn around for the Orange and Blue.

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