Meet the Illini Coaching Staff

#26      

IlliniBrave75

IlliniBrave75
IlliniBrave75
Josh Whitman‏ @IlliniAD 5h5 hours ago
Fun breakfast today with great #ILLINI coaches, both past and present! Thanks to Coach Henson & @CoachUnderwood!pic.twitter.com/bTXk3Z4nzv

DArVVD5XcAUNjw-.jpg
 
#29      

RichBradIllini

RichBradIllini
Peoria
RichBradIllini
Didn't see this posted anywhere. Orlando cleared of any wrongdoing.

http://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...ied-provided-extra-benefits-to-two-prospects/

"Former University of South Florida men's basketball assistant coach Oliver Antigua provided impermissible benefits for two prospects and lied to NCAA investigators about violations committed, according to the NCAA's summary disposition report obtained Thursday by the Tampa Bay Times.

The NCAA has been investigating USF for much of the past year.
Oliver Antigua resigned last July. His brother, former USF head coach Orlando Antigua, was not implicated in any violations, according to the report. Orlando Antigua was fired in January. He's now an assistant on Brad Underwood's staff at Illinois.
 
#31      

icengineer

I
Southern Illinois
icengineer

I've clicked on that tribune link both times it was posted but it doesn't go to the right place. I figured it out. Here is the correct link.

You know, this looks like it could just be one of those situations where they were just trying to help get the kids squared away and getting their grades up. I don't know why they were staying at Oliver Antigua's home those couple of nights. Just one of those deals where they got caught for whatever reason. It's something many of us would do to help someone out. No money was involved. Heck the kids could have just been hanging with the tutor, playing video games, whatever and it got late so they slept over or maybe it was simply a more chill place to hang out instead of the dorms.

Anyway,s our guy is cleared so it's a non-issue. Thankfully!
 
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#34      

IlliniBrave75

IlliniBrave75
IlliniBrave75
FiveStar said:
NG story with quotes from people who know Underwood.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-05-28/big-10-jeff-dalessio-may-28-2017.html
Click to expand...



Part 2:


http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-04/big-10-jeff-dalessio-june-4-2017.html


Love this quote...


"I recall his fearlessness in preparing for any foe, no matter what team or coach he was facing, and no matter the relative skill level of his players vis-à-vis their opponent. He'd say, in effect, 'If my bosses ever think that I don't believe I can beat the team — any team — I'm facing, they need to fire me. I've never believed that I could not win any game I've coached.'
 
#35      

Illini B-Ball Fan

Illini B-Ball Fan
Illini B-Ball Fan
IlliniBrave75 said:
Part 2:


http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-04/big-10-jeff-dalessio-june-4-2017.html


Love this quote...


"I recall his fearlessness in preparing for any foe, no matter what team or coach he was facing, and no matter the relative skill level of his players vis-à-vis their opponent. He'd say, in effect, 'If my bosses ever think that I don't believe I can beat the team — any team — I'm facing, they need to fire me. I've never believed that I could not win any game I've coached.'
Click to expand...

Good stuff.
 
#36      

FrankNitty

F
FrankNitty
Garth Gardiner

I know him. He coaches not far from me. We have even coached against each other. He is a HUGE cattle farmer and KSU grad. I am going to give him crap about being great friends with my University's Head Coach.
 
#37      

RichBradIllini

RichBradIllini
Peoria
RichBradIllini
IlliniBrave75 said:
Part 2:


http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-04/big-10-jeff-dalessio-june-4-2017.html


Love this quote...


"I recall his fearlessness in preparing for any foe, no matter what team or coach he was facing, and no matter the relative skill level of his players vis-à-vis their opponent. He'd say, in effect, 'If my bosses ever think that I don't believe I can beat the team — any team — I'm facing, they need to fire me. I've never believed that I could not win any game I've coached.'
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link.

Add this....

"That's pretty brash, but I really believe he meant that, and as a result, his players believe they can win, and so they play above the level they think they're capable of."
 
#39      

TMillini

T
TMillini
What do you think about Matta for Gentry? In any other scenario of a big name coach moving to a assistant to head coach position it would be unrealistic but...
1) Matta is an Illinois guy convincing him to come back to his home state would not be that hard of a sell.
2) Matta is a BIG 10 coach who would only bring that much more experience and recruiting ability to lock down the Midwest for an already talented staff. A sneaky move that no one would see coming
3) Matta needs to worry about his health but although that was a problem, the guy was not ready to be finished coaching by a long shot. This move would give him not only the chance to become healthy again but also it could be his way of getting his next big gig if the team were to perform well instead of taking a few years off then working up the latter again.
4) Money should not be an issue because he will be receiving money from Ohio State for the next three years, so the check from us would only be a bonus and in 3 years or 4 years i would love to see that Underwood and his staff has this good enough that not only the players have an opportunity to succeed but the coaches as well for example Alabama in football.
Just an idea though
 
#40      

Poe's Law

P
Poe's Law
TMillini said:
What do you think about Matta for Gentry? In any other scenario of a big name coach moving to a assistant to head coach position it would be unrealistic but...
1) Matta is an Illinois guy convincing him to come back to his home state would not be that hard of a sell.
2) Matta is a BIG 10 coach who would only bring that much more experience and recruiting ability to lock down the Midwest for an already talented staff. A sneaky move that no one would see coming
3) Matta needs to worry about his health but although that was a problem, the guy was not ready to be finished coaching by a long shot. This move would give him not only the chance to become healthy again but also it could be his way of getting his next big gig if the team were to perform well instead of taking a few years off then working up the latter again.
4) Money should not be an issue because he will be receiving money from Ohio State for the next three years, so the check from us would only be a bonus and in 3 years or 4 years i would love to see that Underwood and his staff has this good enough that not only the players have an opportunity to succeed but the coaches as well for example Alabama in football.
Just an idea though
Click to expand...


:popcorn:
 
#41      

BMo79

B
BMo79
TMillini said:
What do you think about Matta for Gentry? In any other scenario of a big name coach moving to a assistant to head coach position it would be unrealistic but...
1) Matta is an Illinois guy convincing him to come back to his home state would not be that hard of a sell.
2) Matta is a BIG 10 coach who would only bring that much more experience and recruiting ability to lock down the Midwest for an already talented staff. A sneaky move that no one would see coming
3) Matta needs to worry about his health but although that was a problem, the guy was not ready to be finished coaching by a long shot. This move would give him not only the chance to become healthy again but also it could be his way of getting his next big gig if the team were to perform well instead of taking a few years off then working up the latter again.
4) Money should not be an issue because he will be receiving money from Ohio State for the next three years, so the check from us would only be a bonus and in 3 years or 4 years i would love to see that Underwood and his staff has this good enough that not only the players have an opportunity to succeed but the coaches as well for example Alabama in football.
Just an idea though
Click to expand...



No thanks, even going with things you said, why not give an EX illini the job for those reasons, Get some Illini Blood back in house. Dee would of been the perfect answer, but I do not see that happening, so why not Trent F, Deon, or any of the many other ex players who are coaching places out there
 
#42      

TMillini

T
TMillini
BMo79 said:
No thanks, even going with things you said, why not give an EX illini the job for those reasons, Get some Illini Blood back in house. Dee would of been the perfect answer, but I do not see that happening, so why not Trent F, Deon, or any of the many other ex players who are coaching places out there
Click to expand...

The only problem with hiring those ex illini is that we dont need to. There is not much more they can do for us with the position. Dee is coaching AAU right now which give him the best opportunity to sell our program before they are really even thinking about were they want to go why would you want to take that away it would be a bad chess move. Also 10 years ago is a long time and alot of the kids we are recruiting now dont really care about how good the 2005 team was they want relevant sustained success and while BU has a good record the last ten years Ohio State and Matta have been a success and there is no denying that
 
#43      

Deleted member 8213

D
Guest
Deleted member 8213
TMillini said:
What do you think about Matta for Gentry? In any other scenario of a big name coach moving to a assistant to head coach position it would be unrealistic but...
1) Matta is an Illinois guy convincing him to come back to his home state would not be that hard of a sell.
2) Matta is a BIG 10 coach who would only bring that much more experience and recruiting ability to lock down the Midwest for an already talented staff. A sneaky move that no one would see coming
3) Matta needs to worry about his health but although that was a problem, the guy was not ready to be finished coaching by a long shot. This move would give him not only the chance to become healthy again but also it could be his way of getting his next big gig if the team were to perform well instead of taking a few years off then working up the latter again.
4) Money should not be an issue because he will be receiving money from Ohio State for the next three years, so the check from us would only be a bonus and in 3 years or 4 years i would love to see that Underwood and his staff has this good enough that not only the players have an opportunity to succeed but the coaches as well for example Alabama in football.
Just an idea though
Click to expand...

tumblr_myaq6nMLMF1rpc1rco1_500.gif
 
#44      

Doc I

D
Warrenville, IL
Doc I
Any news on a new Assistant Coach, or did I miss it?
 
#45      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
Geoff Alexander has been named Assistant to the Head Coach

New #Illini staffer @Alexander_Geoff spent the last 5 years as assistant at Evansville. Geoff played for @CoachUnderwood at Western Illinois

https://twitter.com/IlliniMBB

Illinois head basketball coach Brad Underwood has announced the hiring of Geoff Alexander as Assistant to the Head Coach.

Alexander is a 17-year veteran of the coaching profession and comes to Champaign after spending the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Evansville. During his time serving under head coach Marty Simmons, the Purple Aces recorded three 20-plus win seasons. Included in that run was a 25-win campaign in 2016 that equaled the most wins for Evansville in its Division I history and culminated in a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title-game appearance. The 2015 Evansville squad, meanwhile, won 24 games, highlighted by the CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship.

http://www.fightingillini.com/news/...xander-named-assistant-to-the-head-coach.aspx
Click to expand...
 
#48      

Illini34

Illini34
Champaign, IL
Illini34
Welcome Geoff! A terrific fit for this program. I went to school where his dad Neil is the high school coach in Lincoln. Great basketball minds. Geoff was taught well under Neil and other coaches through the ranks and then coach Underwood at Western. Can't wait for this season!
 
#50      

Ransom Stoddard

Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Ransom Stoddard
Henson71 said:
So, he's basically Dwight Shrute - Assistant to the Head coach, rather than Assistant Head Coach?
Click to expand...

a) Schrute :D

b) Assistant to the HC is a staff position, not a coaching position. IIRC he cannot be in direct contact with recruits, but is likely to coordinate recruiting.