There was a point last spring when it would've been understandable if Brad Underwood decided to leave society and go live in the forest for a couple of weeks. His No. 1-seeded Illinois team was drop-kicked out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round by No. 8 Loyola Chicago, an in-state school that Illinois avoids scheduling.
So, that was quite terrible.
Ten days later, former five-star prospect and Illinois Mr. Basketball Adam Miller entered the transfer portal. (He's now at LSU and, unfortunately, out for the season with an injury.)
That was a curveball.
A month later, Underwood lost two of his three assistants to Kentucky. Another would soon thereafter go to Gonzaga.
That, there, was a blow to the gut.
Illinois also (expectedly) lost its alpha to the NBA Draft in Ayo Dosunmu. And for months, the future of Kofi Cockburn was uncertain. Like Miller, he entered the transfer portal. He also declared for the draft. It's a little harder to see now, given Illinois' success in 2022, but the reality of Illinois last June was that it was a program mired in uncertainty.
It would have been rational if Illinois was merely decent this year as opposed to the viable Final Four contender it's stubbornly insisted on becoming. On Saturday, the 18th-ranked Illini won their fourth straight, a 74-57 conquest at Indiana to improve to 10-2 in the Big Ten and 17-5 overall. Illinois' 17-point margin was the program's largest at IU since 1956. That kind of win will instill deep hope in a fan base that is craving its first Sweet 16 appearance (or better) since 2005 — that famous 37-2 crew that made it all the way to the national title game.
That was also the last team to win at least 10 of its first 12 Big Ten games. (It won all 12. Dee Brown was awesome. Deron Williams was a rock. And shouts to Luther Head, my favorite of the three.)
What Underwood has done has been exceptional. As the team bus scooted out of Indiana and back into Illinois on Saturday afternoon, Underwood reflected over the phone with CBS Sports on the spring of 2021 and what's transpired in the months since.
"I tried to control what I actually can and never get beyond that," Underwood told me. "I know that sounds cliché, but guys make decisions to leave for whatever reason. My approach was very simple: They were great, they were family, they'll always be that. They were instrumental in helping us build. But let's go again."
Things turned for the better for Illinois when, in early July, Underwood helped convince Cockburn to return and be a program legend. (Update: as a national player of the year candidate, he most certainly will be.) Illinois also had the chic preseason breakout player nationally in point guard Andre Curbelo, whose play at the end of his freshman season seemed to portend great things in year two, particularly with Miller having left for LSU.
Still, things don't come easily at Illinois. The team's record and ranking don't reflect how, again, almost nothing's gone to plan in the past 10-or-so months. Illinois is good in spite of its circumstances. Underwood told me he's used more different starting lineups this season than in all his prior seasons as a head coach. Cockburn had to sit the first three games of the season due to NCAA violations tied to NIL rules (that now no longer apply). Curbelo suffered a concussion and was out for two-plus months. Curbelo's also recently gotten over having contracted COVID-19. Injuries and COVID have given this team fits and starts; only four of Illinois' players have played all 22 games.
Yet here are the Fighting Illini, sitting alone atop the Big Ten. A season ago, a team with a bit more hype than this one was one game worse through 22 games.
"We beat Duke at Duke last year, that's it," Underwood said. "You beat Duke and everybody thinks you're king of the hill. Well, we didn't play Duke this year. In some ways we do some things better. We're better offensively because we shoot better. I don't know what translates [to March], I'm not a fortuneteller, but the one thing that, last year, our team didn't understand was the urgency of the end. We had no one in that locker room, other than my son, who'd worn a jersey in an NCAA Tournament game.
"You have to understand how quickly that crap can end — and not to take anything away from Loyola, they outplayed us. You have to understand that for six nights, you have to bring it or you go home. Being a one-seed means nothing. I think this team can believe more because they've been there now. They remember that locker room after that loss. We had nobody to really grasp that concept a year ago."
Underwood told me he didn't watch the Loyola Chicago loss until August. What prompted him after keeping it at bay in his psyche for more than four months?
"Tired of being miserable," he said. "I needed to put it to bed. It was one of those that you wear it. We didn't play very good. We wear it. You work so hard you get to be in position where you're a one-seed. I think we had a chance to win it [all] and we didn't. I'm not saying we could've beaten Baylor or Gonzaga or anybody else, but that night you weren't that. It stings, but next group's coming in and you better get refocused. I'd just had it."
No reason why this year's Illini squad shouldn't be viewed as Final Four-capable, just as the one from 2021 was. It's yet to be healthy this season, and in many ways, never will be. Cockburn's missed five games. Frazier missed two. Backup point guard Austin Hutcherson is out for good due to hernia surgery. Curbelo's missed 14 games and is still working his way back into shape. He had just three points in 12 minutes on Saturday.
Yet this is the team with the best conference record in the Big Ten. Against Indiana, Cockburn had 17 points and eight rebounds. Sort of ho-hum for him, but Underwood focuses on the defense. Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis was held scoreless through the first half of the game and finished with six points and three turnovers in 23 minutes.
"He's turned into a great player because he elevates his teammates — and that's just on the offensive side," Underwood said. "You look at the job he did today on Trayce. Kofi never gets enough credit for what he is defensively. Everyone wants to talk his points and rebounds. That's a small piece of it. He's elite in ball-screen defense the way we play it. We force hard twos and play a drop coverage like the Bulls or the Bucks and force teams into those twos and he's elite at it. He's at another level than where he was two years ago, for sure, and way better this year with his left hand. He can back into post-ups with four or five dribbles. A year ago, even, if he dribbled it, he's probably going to turn it over. Not now."
🔑 Rebounding, Defense & Effort #Illini | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/PrKeLPpV1t
— Illinois Basketball (@IlliniMBB) February 5, 2022
Plus, Cockburn's playing 30-plus minutes a game. Underwood remembers two years ago, when Cockburn's battery couldn't go more than 20 minutes of hard play before he was tapped out. It's obviously not just Cockburn who's responsible for this. Trent Frazier, a super-senior who has become one of the more accomplished players in school history, was the star on Saturday. He had 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting and one turnover. Frazier and Cockburn outscored Indiana 26-21 in the second half.
The Illini haven't even needed Curbelo to be the dazzling star so many want and expect him to be. Underwood said Curbelo can get there, but he's not in shape enough yet to expect that in the next couple of weeks. March could be when this already-good team morphs into a great one. In the past four games, the Illini have kept opponents to 36.2% shooting and held teams to 58.8 points.
"I think we've got another level to go to," Underwood said. "We've ridden Trent very hard, played him a ton of minutes — and that's OK because he never gets tired — but we all know what 'Dre can be. To be very honest, he was exceptional in his return vs. Purdue and played way more than I had ever anticipated and probably shouldn't have played him. Then he gets COVID and is out nine days. Just getting him in practice to get into shape, he's running extra every day. It wouldn't be fair for me to put him out there and see the Andre Curbelo from the end of last year. He's not in shape and he's missed 10 weeks. Can he get back to that? Sure, absolutely. He can do things that most people can't. But we're going to manage that the right way and put him into a situation to not fail."
If and when Curbelo returns to form, Illinois should collectively have the end-of-game element it carried last year with Dosunmu, who was considered the best closer in college hoops. Alfonso Plummer (40% from 3) is one of the best shooters in the sport. Frazier is a veteran who confronts the moment (and who is a top-15 defender). Cockburn commands so much attention, yet is still a top-three candidate for player of the year.
"Last year everybody had a good idea of where we were going, and that speaks to Ayo's greatness, really," Underwood said. "But this year I think we have multiple guys. Kofi iced it vs. Wisconsin. Today it was Trent. [Plummer's] helped at the end of some games as well. It's going to be different but we have guys who are capable."
So many Big Ten games are big, but the next is among the largest of Illinois' season so far. Another bus trip for another road game, this time against No. 4 Purdue, which improved to 20-3 after beating Michigan on Saturday. For some, Purdue is the best team in the country. Illinois, for now, is atop the league ledger. It's been that way for a while; the program is 29-6 in its last 35 conference games. For Illinois, the obstacles are the opportunities. Yet another awaits on Tuesday night, and it should be no surprise if Illinois emerges victorious.
