With success of the Illinois basketball team comes well-earned extensions for the coaching staff.
In a statement released on Monday afternoon, Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced extensions for the entire Illinois coaching staff. Head coach Brad Underwood received a three-year extension through the 2026 season. His coaching staff was extended through the 2022 season.
These extensions have been earned by the performance of the team this season. Honestly, there was one time where I thought we were more likely to part ways with Underwood than extend his contract. But he has coached this team with perfection.
Underwood’s first year with the Illini saw the team fall to 14-18. Not many fans expected a tremendous year considering the team turnover and what was left from the previous regime. But year two was even rougher for the program.
A 12-21 record for Illinois had some fans calling for Underwood’s job. I was one of the fans who was seriously questioning what was going on considering the talent he had brought in from the class of 2018. This had also been the worst season since the 1974-75 campaign where the Illini only had eight wins.
The ship stayed the course, though. Underwood entered his third season with much of the same team returning and a few big-time pieces coming in. The year didn’t start great, but he coached this team up and has the Illini sitting with a 20-9 record overall and a 12-6 Big Ten record. This team is going back to the Big Dance for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.
I would say the job Underwood has done this season has earned him an extension. He has won me over with his coaching ability. He has also been a great recruiter with the current team mostly made up of his recruits, and he has a great squad coming in next year.
This extension is one that should keep Underwood in Champaign for a while. He is a coach that is going to lead us to a number of postseasons in the future. I love this move by Whitman.