Not so sure about the “one of the few” statement. There are a lot of people on this board that believe BU will turn this program around and support him in his efforts. Me included.
I definitely think this year's team may be more fun to watch than any Illini team going back several years. They have some talent and athletic ability and I think I see some pretty good character that should make them fun to cheer for and follow. The only Plan A guy on the roster is Ayo I think, but I think the cast around him can become a pretty good team by the end of the season.
Thinking back to our last National Championship contender team (2005), how many of those guys were Plan A guys? Roger, Luther, Augie were not 1st choice recruits. Dee Brown was definitely a Plan A guy and Deron may have fit into that category, but remember that we were not even Deron's Plan A school. We kind of picked him up by default. Kenny Battle wasn't a Plan A guy for Illinois. Neither was Kendall Gill. Nick Anderson and Lowell Hamilton were. Marcus Liberty was a Plan A guy. Dion Thomas, Richard Keene and the Manual trio were Plan A guys. Corey Bradford, Lucas Johnson, Damir Krupalija, not Plan A guys.
Point is, it has been a long, long, long time since Illinois could go out and pick up more than 1 Plan A guy in a given recruiting class. Illinois has had the most success with a couple of Plan A guys in different classes and bunch of lunch pail guys around them. I am perfectly fine with that. I think Illinois needs a guy like Underwood that will reward hard working, unselfish, team first guys and promote a culture that embodies those characteristics and play with high basketball IQ. Every now and then we will get a Plan A guy and maybe a Plan B guy or two and some Plan C guys like Roger, Luther and Augie. That is our formula for winning at Illinois.