Put me in the camp that was kind of nervous about Texas for BU but not nearly as nervous about other opportunities. I mean, Kentucky, Kansas and literally everyone should be at least KIND OF nervous about Texas ... with NIL and a seemingly MUCH bigger focus on hoops in Austin than ever before, they simply can outspend every single program in the nation, period. Apparently the AD is tough to work with, but money talks for some people (also, despite the narrative here, Texas hoops fans still have much lower expectations than, say, Kentucky fans).
However, Arkansas? Kansas State? I actually remain pretty confident that Underwood sees his potential to win here as just as high (if not higher) than those places. The ceiling has always been high at Illinois, and multiple coaches have proven that. 4 of our last 5 coaches have gotten a #1 seed ... that is impressive by itself, but also 3 of those 4 have reached at least the Elite Eight, with 2 reaching the Final Four. Yes, BU choked a bit in 2021, but you could actually even argue we were due for a letdown as a #1 seed, as 5 of the last 6 Tournaments have had one lose in the Second Round and we had never really disappointed in that slot before. He had the opportunity to leave for KSU literally last season ... I'll trust our insiders, but one frustrating season all of a sudden has him pining for the job he passed up last year, AFTER he got his fat raise??