The hopes of a national championship were dashed on Saturday night, but that doesn’t mean Illinois basketball is going anywhere anytime soon.
Over the past decade, the Illini have seen a resurgence under Brad Underwood. We went from a perennial bubble team, at best, to a national title contender, which seems like nearly every year.
It still hurts losing in the Final Four. I don’t think I am ever going to lose this pain because we were so close to getting to the pinnacle of the sport once again. With that being said, the proof of concept is there.
Illinois is one of the elite programs in college basketball.
Back in 2019-20, Illinois was just starting to gain traction. This was going to be our first NCAA tournament in nearly a decade, but it was taken away by COVID.
The following season, we were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. We flamed out in the second round. The next season, we were a No. 4 seed, but Illinois lost in the second round once again. In 2022-23, Illinois lost in the first round. Underwood got us back to relevance, but we couldn’t prove we belonged.
Illinois then got a whiff of the good life. In 2023-24, we made the NCAA tournament again, and this time the program advanced to the Elite Eight. The following season, it was back to losing in the second round.
The Final Four run we witnessed throughout the past few weeks has been special, but what it has officially established is proof of concept.
You can’t fake your way to an Elite Eight and Final Four appearance in two out of the last three seasons. This Final Four run showed the world that, on the court, Illinois is one of the big boys of college basketball. We proved that this thing is here to stay.
The Illinois basketball Final Four run also showed what damage Brad Underwood can do in the NIL era
Underwood has done a great job with proof of concept on the court, but his proof of concept off the court has also been validated.
Over the last six years, the recruiting world has been turned upside down. Underwood and his coaching staff have had to learn on the fly, and they have passed with flying colors.
The Elite Eight team was guided by a lot of transfer portal additions. Underwood has proved Illinois can be a legitimate contender when it comes to transfers.
Not only did Underwood adapt to the transfer portal well, but he also started a trend with overseas players. He took a chance, and it paid off in a big way. He proved that the European market can be very fruitful when it comes to recruiting.
At the end of the day, a national championship would have been incredible. Illinois was right on the doorstep. What we ended up getting as a consolation prize is proof of concept. Illinois proved that the overseas recruiting market can be beneficial. We proved that we can win in big games. More importantly, the Illini proved that we belong. This isn’t a goodbye; it is a see you around. We are here to stay.