No. 9 Illinois’ (17-3, 8-1) Saturday afternoon in West Lafayette, Indiana, not only featured multiple historic milestones for Illinois freshman guard Keaton Wagler, but one for his head coach as well. With Illinois’ 88-82 upset victory over then-No. 4 Purdue (17-4, 7-3), head coach Brad Underwood secured the 100th Big Ten win of his career. Underwood is now one of four active Big Ten coaches to reach this mark.
“I’m sorry it took nine years to do that,” Underwood said. “We had a couple of hiccups in the first couple of years, but that’ll be something that I’m obviously proud of … I reflect on where it started, and to me, that’s a tribute to having a lot of really good people around me. And then to do it in the best league in the country with the best coaches and the best players. Now I’ve only got what, 300 more to go to catch (Tom) Izzo.”
To say that Underwood rebuilt and turned around the Illinois men’s basketball program since his arrival in 2017 is an understatement. Before March 2021, the Illini hadn’t reached an NCAA tournament since 2013. They also hadn’t won a Big Ten regular-season title or a Big Ten tournament title since the renowned 2005 season. Underwood has not only brought all three of these honors back to Champaign, but has done it consistently and made it the expectation.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t speed bumps in the beginning for Underwood. In his first season in Champaign, Underwood and the Illini finished No. 11 in the Big Ten and only captured four conference wins. His second season saw a small improvement in Big Ten play, recording seven wins, but Illinois still ultimately fell to Iowa in the second round of the conference tournament. Even if inexperience hurt Illinois during Underwood’s early years, he found the core pieces of his roster that eventually solidified the program’s winning culture that stands today.
With a year or two under their belts, along with the addition of dominant big man Kofi Cockburn, Illinois’ young core started putting the pieces together during the 2019-20 season. For the first time in 40 years, Underwood led the Illini to a top 40 ranking in offensive and defensive efficiency during his third season, a common occurrence now for the Illini. This season saw Underwood establish Illinois’ offensive identity and knack for rebounding that stands to the present day.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
All of the work Underwood spent rebuilding during his early years culminated in the 2020-21 season, where Illinois finished the year as the program’s first Big Ten tournament champion since 2005 and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Illini marked their best record in Big Ten play, going 16-4 in the conference and recording 12 Quad 1 wins on the season. Although Illinois ultimately got upset by Loyola Chicago in the second round of the NCAA tournament, this season cemented that Illinois basketball was back to being one of the top programs in the nation.
Getting the Illini back in the AP poll and in the Big Dance wouldn’t have been possible without Underwood and his coaching staff sticking with and developing the key pieces of the roster. From backcourt members Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams to fan favorite Giorgi Bezhanishvili, these players bought into Underwood’s philosophies in his early years, building the foundation for future Illini success.
Underwood and his staff highlighted their ability to develop and help players improve by producing two All-Americans during his first five seasons as head coach. Both staying at Illinois for their college tenures before declaring for the NBA Draft, Cockburn and Chicago Bull Ayo Dosunmu received first-team All-American honors during the 2022 and 2021 seasons, respectively. These accolades are not only a testament to the hard work and talent of Cockburn and Dosunmu, but also to Underwood and his staff’s ability to push their talents to their full potential.
Now, Underwood has coached numerous players at Illinois who have moved on to play professionally in the NBA, the G League or overseas, including Terrence Shannon Jr., Coleman Hawkins, Marcus Domask and Quincy Guerrier. He also produced a few one-and-dones in last season’s star freshman guards Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley and could be on his way to sending off another one in Wagler.
While Underwood focused on improving his younger players during the beginning of his tenure, the NCAA transfer portal has changed how teams build their rosters as of late, focusing on finding “right now” pieces instead of waiting for underclassmen to improve. Underwood hasn’t shied away from using that mentality, though, and he has found success in doing so.
During the 2022-23 season, Underwood brought in Shannon Jr. from Texas Tech, who turned into an all-time Illinois great as he led Illinois to its first Elite Eight appearance since 2005 in 2024. Shannon Jr. ended the 2023-24 season as an All-Big Ten first-team selection while averaging 23 points per game. Underwood continues to utilize the transfer portal to its full potential, grabbing senior guard Kylan Boswell last season from Arizona and junior wing Andrej Stojakovic this offseason from California.
Even in the midst of the accolades and milestones, Underwood is still missing one: an NCAA national championship. As it is for most teams across the country, hoisting the national championship trophy at the end of the season and bringing Illinois its first one is the ultimate goal for Underwood each season.
“If you’ve ever heard me say anything other than that’s been my goal in my time at Illinois, then you haven’t been paying attention,” Underwood said. “We play in the Big Ten. We’re good, and we have been, and we haven’t got there yet. Just got to keep knocking on the door, and that’s always the goal. I start every season with that simple conversation and try to recruit to that and young men who can be part of trying to achieve that.”
After defeating Purdue on Saturday, Illinois moved up two spots in the AP Poll and extended its winning streak to nine games. This is the program’s longest winning streak so far in the Underwood-era in Champaign. Especially now with Boswell sidelined, Illinois’ depth is showing up in big ways. They’re proving to not only Big Ten competitors, but the entire nation, that they aren’t to be counted out when March rolls around.
“The ceiling is national championship,” Wagler said. “That’s our goal. That’s been our goal since the beginning, and this just proves we’re a contender for that.”
@evy_york2
