Seems to be a solid Coach. We took his 2 best assistants and it didn’t phase him in the least. He might be an option after next season.
Underwood
- Thread starter TOMCATS1990
- Start date
He's 60 years old. He turns 61 in December, and would be at least 62 when he started at Kentucky.
Hard pass.
I don't want any more comfortable coaches pushing towards retirement.
Hard pass.
I don't want any more comfortable coaches pushing towards retirement.
Illinois has always been a sort of sleeping giant in NCAA basketball. If they can keep the big recruits in the Chicago area, that should always prime them for conference titles and tournament runs.
Underwood has been successful everywhere he has been but his age is a question mark.
Underwood has been successful everywhere he has been but his age is a question mark.
A 60 year old with a slightly better winning percentage at Illinois than Tubby had at Minnesota with an accused rapist leading him past the round of 32 for the first time in his career is definitely UK material. I don’t trust Mitch Barnhart to make this hire, we need a committee of fans to bring in a Brad Underwood, Todd Golden, or Brad Brownell.
No thanks to Underwood. He's a good coach, but not someone you want taking over UK at the age of 62. Just doesn't have the consistency to justify a coach essentially the same age as Cal.
Underwood has lost 87 games in 7 years at Illinois. He’s not that good
To quote the great philosopher Janet Jackson "What have you done for me lately"? Apparently a Sweet 16 or Elite 8 run this year makes up for a career of mediocrity when it comes to coaches.
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Still an upgrade over what they had before and he had to rebuild there for 2 years to get it going, which is where 39 of those losses come from.
He's taken them to 4 straight NCAA tournaments and won the Big 10 tourney twice. Under John Groce, the Illini never had a winning record in the Big 10. Even Bruce Weber never won a conference tournament (and has just 1 more NCAA appearance). Underwood is the best coach Illinois has had since Bill Self was there.
"Sleeping giant" is a stretch. Thats just it, they can't keep those in-state recruits, and those high-profile ones they do get like Marcus Liberty way back in the 80s don't pan out. They've always been mediocre, middle of the pack in a weak basketball conference.
4 straight tournaments? Damn! Move over John Wooden. Bring this man is stat!
I didn't say he was elite. Just saying that people scoffing at what he's doing there need to evaluate him versus what his predecessors have done much better.
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