The Illinois Coaching Search

EJ33 · Mar 18, 2017

mattcoldagelli said:
Drew or Underwood would be incredible hires.

We're at the point where I wonder if the people on this board even watch college basketball.

Underwood was 9-9 in his first year in the Big 12 and there's no reason to believe he would recruit well at Illinois.

If we fall this far in the search then there's no denying that Whitman blew it. I would take Cuonzo over him all day long.

Caveat: I don't believe any of these rumors.

shipjumper99 · Mar 18, 2017

IllinistuckinGopherland said:
Thank goodness. We now have definitive clarity. Everyone go home.

haasi · Mar 18, 2017

Underwood Keatts and Bryce all had great success at mid major level, much greater than anything Groce had. None have great success yet to point to at P5 level. I think any would/would have been real upgrade from Groce but unclear whether they are solid or awesome hires

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HC Illini · Mar 18, 2017

Underwood is a great coach. Hi s system will fit our recruits if they stay.

sacraig · Mar 18, 2017

There's a new rumor every few hours or so and I'm over here like...

GBPillini · Mar 18, 2017

EJ33 said:
Underwood was 9-9 in his first year in the Big 12 and there's no reason to believe he would recruit well at Illinois.

If we fall this far in the search then there's no denying that Whitman blew it. I would take Cuonzo over him all day long.

Caveat: I don't believe any of these rumors.

Should probably be noted he took over a team that went 3-15 in the Big 12 the year before.

Recruiting is the obvious questions with him.

Deleted member 8213 · Mar 18, 2017

EJ33 said:
Underwood was 9-9 in his first year in the Big 12 and there's no reason to believe he would recruit well at Illinois.

If we fall this far in the search then there's no denying that Whitman blew it. I would take Cuonzo over him all day long.

Caveat: I don't believe any of these rumors.

What did Ford do the year before with that same team? Underwood would coach Martin out of the gym do you watch basketball?

Roundball Shaman · Mar 18, 2017

FiveStar said:
Off the court, NBA players are adults. Professionals. They don't necessarily require life mentoring after their first year unless they seek it out. College students are learning how to become reasonable and professional adults. They need to be taught those habits every day. An NBA coach might not be used to doing that much off the court intervention, or quite frankly might not want to. I'm not saying this is true of Monty, but it's a legit concern anytime someone makes that jump.

There is a fundamental difference in coaching between college ball and pro ball. In pro ball, in most cases the power is with the players. They know it and act accordingly. In college ball, the coach is always Big Man On Campus. He's (usually) got the power and the players know that, too. That's why some coaches prosper on one level and not the other. Some coaches personalities are likewise more suited to one situation than the other.

Illinifanforlife · Mar 18, 2017

If underwood is last on the list, that is one HELL of a list.

Second and Chalmers · Mar 18, 2017

mattcoldagelli said:
Drew or Underwood would be incredible hires.

We're at the point where I wonder if the people on this board even watch college basketball.

I know. Baffling.

GBPillini · Mar 18, 2017

FrankNitty · Mar 18, 2017

Underwood

Underwood is most definitely a next level coach! He is very, very good. Went to to toe with Beilien yesterday, with an inferior product. Did you watch his Stephen F. Austin teams play? Offensive genius-- great spacing, great tempo, great sets.

In fact he reminds me offensively a lot of Beilien. we should have went after him last year. To downplay Underwood is asinine.

Now, if you want to criticize me for possibly spelling Michigan' coach's name wrong--- that is fair game.

bluemountain · Mar 18, 2017

HC Illini said:
Underwood is a great coach. Hi s system will fit our recruits if they stay.

I would be thrilled with Underwood. I would also be thrilled with Prohm, either Drew, Miller, Williams (Buzz or Monty), Marshall, Bennett or the guy from butler

Roundball Shaman · Mar 18, 2017

IntenselyOrange;1293544 said:
Yeah, if we get either Archie or Monty we should crash Loyalty with posts of excitement.

The whole country will hear the wails of delight from Illini fans reaching from UCLA and Compton to the playgrounds of New York City.

FrankNitty · Mar 18, 2017

mattcoldagelli said:
Drew or Underwood would be incredible hires.

We're at the point where I wonder if the people on this board even watch college basketball.

Exactly! And Buzz Williams would be a great hire as well! For Illinois being a basketball state and then also the University being a Basketball school-- we have some incredibly uninformed people.

FatGreg · Mar 18, 2017

If somehow it turns out to be Brad Underwood I'll be satisfied. Very good basketball mind. His teams are fun to watch and play really hard.

I'd find it weird that he's moving on after one year in Stillwater, but that's not inconceivable. Not sure how he'd recruit here, but he'd probably do fine. He's a 53 year-old small town white dude from the Great Plains who spent 20 years as an assistant. Only one year as a head coach at the P5 level. Not the profile most of us were imagining, BUT he's very well regarded in basketball circles and has a .807 career winning percentage as a D1 head coach. Yep, 81% winning percentage. Not my favorite candidate and seems unlikely on the surface, but sure, why not. Respectable hire.

Lafong · Mar 18, 2017

If underwood

Very happy.

Illinifanforlife · Mar 18, 2017

Where are the underwood rumors coming from? This board? Lol

WesterveltVictoryCigar · Mar 18, 2017

Illinifanforlife said:
Where are the underwood rumors coming from? This board? Lol

No, other boards of course.

ChrisNMattoon said:
Never past the second round with all those great offenses and genius coaching ability. Freaking Groce and Weber at least made it to the second weekend

You'd think people would learn to not put too much emphasis on a couple of games in March, especially when talking about guys coaching at mid/low majors. I mean, you even acknowledged it when mentioning Weber and Groce. SMH

ChrisNMattoon · Mar 18, 2017

jjh22003 said:
If you think Underwood would be a great hire, then you have very low expectations for this program.

:thumb:

GBPillini · Mar 18, 2017

ChrisNMattoon said:
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (Southland Conference) (2013–2016)
2013–14 Stephen F. Austin 32–3 18–0 1st NCAA Round of 32
2014–15 Stephen F. Austin 29–5 17–1 1st NCAA Round of 64
2015–16 Stephen F. Austin 28–6 18–0 1st NCAA Round of 32
Stephen F. Austin: 89–14 (.864) 53–1 (.981)
Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big 12 Conference) (2016–present)
2016–17 Oklahoma State 20–12 9–9
Oklahoma State: 20–12 (.625) 9–9 (.500)
Total: 109–26 (.807)

Never past the second round with all those great offenses and genius coaching ability. Freaking Groce and Weber at least made it to the second weekend

Aww yes, the greatest metric for rating a coach after 135 games - the results of 4 games where his teams are underdogs against power 5 conference teams with better talent.

chrisRunner7 · Mar 18, 2017

Illinifanforlife said:
Where are the underwood rumors coming from? This board? Lol

You just need to track the tail number listed earlier with a service other than FlightAware.

mattcoldagelli · Mar 18, 2017

I don't have the time or energy to hand-hold people through why it would be impressive to rip a first year coach out of the hands of a program at Oklahoma State's level, let alone one who took a dumpster fire and turned it into one of the top offensive teams in the country.

bluemountain · Mar 18, 2017

In case anyone cares, Underwood went 89-14 in 3 years at SFA (53-1 in conference!) and upset both VCU and WVU in the ncaa tourney, almost upsetting Notre Dame to get to the sweet 16.

At OSU he took a team that went 3-15 in the Big 12 under Travis Ford and improved to 9-9.

GBPillini · Mar 18, 2017

ChrisNMattoon said:
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (Southland Conference) (2013–2016)
2013–14 Stephen F. Austin 32–3 18–0 1st NCAA Round of 32
2014–15 Stephen F. Austin 29–5 17–1 1st NCAA Round of 64
2015–16 Stephen F. Austin 28–6 18–0 1st NCAA Round of 32
Stephen F. Austin: 89–14 (.864) 53–1 (.981)
Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big 12 Conference) (2016–present)
2016–17 Oklahoma State 20–12 9–9
Oklahoma State: 20–12 (.625) 9–9 (.500)
Total: 109–26 (.807)

Never past the second round with all those great offenses and genius coaching ability. Freaking Groce and Weber at least made it to the second weekend

Clearly terrible tournament loses here.

SFA was awarded the Southland Conference automatic berth to the 2014 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament where they upset VCU in the round of 64, before eventually falling to UCLA.

He then led the Lumberjacks to an upset victory over the third seeded West Virginia Mountaineers coached by Bob Huggins, who he worked as an assistant with at Kansas State. Stephen F. Austin had a 75-70 lead over sixth seeded Notre Dame with two minutes to play in the second round before the Irish scored six straight points and won on a tip-in with 1.2 seconds left.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Underwood

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