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Illinois Basketball: 5 reasons Illini fans should be optimistic about the future

By Rees Woodcock

Mar 12, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; A fan of the Illinois Fighting Illini waves a flag in support as they celebrate defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; A fan of the Illinois Fighting Illini waves a flag in support as they celebrate defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Illinois basketball
Feb 27, 2021; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood directs his team in the game with the Wisconsin Badgers during the second half at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /

The Illinois basketball season ended in disappointing fashion, but that doesn’t mean the future is not extremely bright.

Despite the way the season ended, there is so much to look forward to with the program. The grieving period over the loss to Loyola-Chicago is over with. Now your heart needs to be filled with optimism and your soul with hope. The future is so bright for the Illini.

Here are five reasons Illini fans should be optimistic about the future.

1. Great coaching

Despite Illinois falling short of expectations in the 2021 NCAA tournament, there is always hope for the future. One of the big reasons to have hope if you are an Illinois fan is due to the fact, we have a solid coaching staff.

Led by Brad Underwood, the Illini coaches have done a great job of building the Illinois basketball program into a national contender once again. They were able to do this in three short years after about 12 years of mediocrity, at best.

The turnaround of this sleeping giant of a program proves this coaching staff has what it takes to keep the Illini at the top. Winning isn’t something that is unusual for Underwood either.

Underwood has proven he can win in any situation. He made the NCAA tournament all three years at Stephen F. Austin. He went to the NCAA tournament in the lone year at Oklahoma State. And now he has made the past two NCAA tournaments with the Illini.

You don’t win on accident. You don’t slop into consistent winning. As long as we have Underwood and his coaching staff, the future is extremely bright for the Orange and Blue.

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