Illinois Basketball: Brad Underwood featured on The Field of 68 podcast

Illinois basketball head coach Brad Underwood went on the Field of 68 podcast ahead of the Final 4 in New Orleans

Monday night marked the end of one of the wildest college basketball seasons in recent memory, as Kansas overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to stun North Carolina, 72-69. For Bill Self, he had finally ended a decade-plus long drought of winning a national title, almost 18 years removed from the last time he roamed the sidelines sporting the Orange and Blue.

Unlike Self, Underwood had a different obligation to attend to when he traveled to New Orleans to take on some Final 4 festivities this past weekend. Former Illini guards Alfonso Plummer and Trent Frazier were invited to compete in a three-point contest and All-Star game, respectively. And with that came media obligations for Underwood to discuss the future of the program.

One of Underwood’s appearances came when he was a guest on The Field of 68 podcast on March 31. The interview was just weeks removed from Illinois’ second-round exit against Houston in the Round of 32.

Underwood was proud of the way his players competed but was left unsatisfied with the way that the 2021-2022 season came to a close.

"“Well, I think anytime you win a championship, that’s really hard to do,” Underwood said. “So, we’re never going to be able to get that [opportunity] back. We’ve won the most games in the Big Ten the last three years. And yet, it was a different year for me, for our team, for our program. We had 68 total missed games by starters and our top reserves. And I haven’t had that in my 35 years. It was a tribute to our guys, our togetherness, our connectivity. But yeah, you know,  again we go into March. We get Houston who was a good team. I’m still trying to figure out how they were a 5-seed. They were No. 2 in KenPom, they were terrific. And we’re not healthy. That’s not to make an excuse, but we were not healthy. Jacob Grandison was out [with a shoulder injury]. We were a shell of ourselves. We were a really good shooting team and didn’t shoot it. Trent Frazier had pink-eye and an infection. And with those two out, we were not whole, but Houston was.”"

Brad Underwood spoke about Kofi Cockburn’s future with the Illinois basketball program.

Underwood was keen on what Cockburn decides to do next. The three-year center has been a key piece of the puzzle for the Illinois attack and has a big decision to make this upcoming offseason. Underwood understands the circumstances of Cockburn’s decision, as he wants to do what’s best for him.

"“It is what it is,” Underwood said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a bench guy, a starter, or if you’ve won league championships or finished dead last. Kids are gonna put their name in and test the waters, you know. I think Kofi’s always in that mode of gathering information. It’s a different game in the NBA and where that translates. He had a great year for us and was a First-Team All-American. So, he has gotta make a choice. This will be his third time entering [the NBA Draft] and he can’t come back if he does make that choice. So, we’ll see. He has got until April 24 to do that, but he has been a huge part of our success here at Illinois.”"

Illinois finished the season 23-10 overall and 15-5 in Big Ten play, which was good enough for a co-conference title, the program’s first since 2005.