Illinois Basketball: Coaching staff filling out for the Illini

Illinois basketball has gone through some changes on the court this offseason.

It isn’t easy losing at least one of your two top players to NBA aspirations. In addition to that, the Illini had their backup big man depart and one of their up-and-coming freshmen transfer out. But the subtractions from the Big Ten Tournament winning team weren’t finished with the players.

Illinois lost a ton on the coaching staff as well. The first two departures were Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman to Kentucky. These two recruiting giants will be hard to replace. After those two decided to join the Wildcats, Illinois assistant coach Stephen Gentry packed up his bags and headed back home to become an assistant with the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

As I said, there have been a lot of changes to the Illinois team we had the privilege to watch this past season. With subtractions come additions, though.

The first addition to the Illinois coaching staff came in the form of former Illini player, Chester Frazier. He joins Brad Underwood in the fight to get the Orange and Blue back to the promised land. But with three assistant coach positions open, Illinois needed to fill two more.

One of those spots has now be filled with an internal candidate. On Friday, the Illini announced that Geoff Alexander will have an increased role on the team, as he is now an assistant coach for the program.

What does Alexander bring to the Illinois basketball program?

Familiarity is the first thing that comes to mind. Alexander is a coach who has been with the Illini for four seasons, and he knows the program. He is already someone players are familiar with and there is not much training for Alexander thanks to him already being on the staff.

Alexander brings assistant coach experience to the table. He was an assistant coach with Evansville (5 years), Eastern Illinois (1 year) and Idaho State (5 years) before joining the Illini. The experience in knowing what to do as an assistant is there.

I know what most fans are thinking, though. Can this guy recruit big boy talent? There is zero proof that Alexander can land top players, but there is also zero proof that he can’t land those players. This is his first role as a high DI level coach. Underwood has done a great job getting the Illini back on track, so I think I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt until he shows me otherwise.