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Nov. 5—CHAMPAIGN — Brad Underwood walked off the court at TD Garden in Boston on March 30 with two thoughts clear in his mind.
The first was he had just witnessed a championship-caliber team run roughshod over his own. What would be back-to-back champs, ultimately, when Connecticut defended its NCAA title nine days later in front of 74,423 fans at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
The second was tied to the first. Underwood understood that as much progress as his Illinois men’s basketball program had made since he became the Illini coach in March 2017, that there was still work to be done. The improvement going from 26-39 in his first two seasons to five straight seasons with at least 20 wins and an Elite Eight appearance in year seven was just the start.
Because arguably the best collection of experience and talent he’d accumulated in Champaign still wasn’t enough. Going old around Terrence Shannon Jr. and Coleman Hawkins in the 2023-24 season was the right move. Adding a trio of graduate transfers in Marcus Domask, Quincy Guerrier and Justin Harmon to pair with those returning stars was the catalyst for a 29-win season and the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16, let alone the Elite Eight, in nearly two decades.
Then a UConn team coached by Danny Hurley with a pair of soon-to-be Top 10 NBA draft picks in Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan, plus its own collection of experienced veterans, went on a 30-0 run spanning the end of the first half and start of the second half, putting a decisive end to one of the most successful seasons in Illinois basketball history.
“I told our staff as we walked off the court after that game, I said, ‘We were a Final Four team who got beat by the national champions,'” Underwood said. “I didn’t think there would be any question who would win it. I thought they were the best team in the country. I said if that’s a national championship team, we had to improve. We had to get better. I thought their talent level was extraordinary. Their…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/richey-building-championship-chase-mind-154800829.html
Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Publish date : 2024-11-05 15:48:00
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