Takeaways From Underwood at Media Day

Watch Underwood's Media Day Press Conference

It's official: October is here, and thus begins the journey of a new Illinois men's basketball season. 

The Fighting Illini return eight players from one year ago, though head coach Brad Underwood has brought in seven new faces to his 2023-24 roster as he enters his seventh season at the helm of the Orange and Blue.

A lot has happened since the last time the Illini took the court back in March, and the program is eager to build off a 2022-23 campaign during which they earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season.

Ahead of the Illini's first official practice of the 2023-24 season on Friday, head coach Brad Underwood addressed local media on Sept. 29, speaking on topics ranging from the team's summer trip to Spain to the newcomers on the roster. Here are a few talking points from Underwood's first preseason press conference.

Underwood is incredibly optimistic about the team's depth, talent after summer Spain trip

The Illini spent nearly two weeks in Spain this summer, a trip that included games against teams in Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia. Returning from Europe with a perfect 3-0 record, Illinois used the preseason scrimmages to get all of its players some minutes and develop chemistry amid a relatively new-look roster.

Underwood also gave three assistant coaches the chance to serve as head coach for one game, using the trip to experiment with both his staff and his roster ahead of the team's preseason exhibition opener later this month.

"It was fantastic on every front," Underwood said. "Travel was great. No problems. We had incredible weather every day. Everybody had fun and enjoyed it, and then the basketball was pretty good as well.

"A lot of equality in the minutes over there. That was on purpose. We pretty much knew what some of our veterans were going to do, so it was a great opportunity to look at a lot of new faces. We came out of that trip, and I felt much better about it after than I did going in. I really kind of surprised myself. Usually you'll see a bunch of holes, but I didn't have that feeling."

Though Southern Illinois transfer Marcus Domask did not get minutes during the three-game stretch while recovering from a hamstring injury, the Illini rotated in the rest of its 15-man roster. Domask has since recovered from his ailment, further adding to the depth of the group moving forward.

Underwood says he was pleased with all of his guys, particularly the newcomers who are still integrating themselves into the program. Forward Quincy Guerrier may have been the lone Power-5 portal addition to the team this offseason, but the onboarding of freshmen and other talented pieces have the Illini primed to be contenders in the Big Ten once again.

"I came away from Spain loving our depth," Underwood said. "That depth always has a way to play itself out a little bit. We'll see how that works, but we have tremendous experience coming off the bench, starting, whatever it is, one through 11."

Underwood is "not worried" about leadership heading into the season

The Illini are much older and more experienced than they were one year ago, a point of emphasis for Underwood this offseason. Adding three fifth-year transfers in Domask, Guerrier, and Justin Harmon, Illinois boasts one of the oldest rosters in the Big Ten, something Underwood is excited about heading into the season.

"We'll have multiple 24-year-olds this year. When you can put 24-year-olds out there instead of 18-year-olds, just physically and experience wise, we should take advantage," Underwood said. "We were very purposeful with what we went after in the portal."

The returns of Coleman Hawkins and Terrence Shannon Jr., who both entered the NBA Draft before opting to withdraw and return to Illinois, are also significant in terms of talent, experience, and leadership. Hawkins is the lone player on this year's roster who has spent at least three years with the program, and he was one of the biggest voices in the locker room last season.

An All-Big Ten first-teamer one season ago, Shannon was a huge piece of Illinois' success in 2022-23, and he will once again take on a big role both on and off the court in his final year of eligibility. 

"Leadership is hard. It's getting harder to find in today's age," Underwood said. "I told all of our guys, 'Sometimes to be a leader, you have to tell people you really care about something they don't want to hear.' This team has some natural leaders. I think we're still trying to identify who all those leaders are.

"We didn't set a rule book with this team. We set standards. There's a big difference. Rules, you have to abide by. Standards, you live by. Every single person on our team stood up. Every single one of them stood up and gave what they thought was important to them for our team to be successful. I was blown away by that. We have multiple guys who can lead. I don't think it is going to be one. I think there are a lot of things out there, but that is one thing I'm not worried about at this point in time. I am not worried about our leadership. I feel really, really good about where that locker room is at."

Underwood is encouraged by the team's competitiveness as they look to establish an identity

Even before the team begins its first official practice, Underwood has already been very pleased with the Illini's competitiveness, even if it is something as simple as the fastest mile time. Harmon broke the program record, a mark that beat out former Illini Jacob Grandison. And later the same day, Sencire Harris set a new Illini record, breaking Harmon's time. 

"This is an ultra, ultra competitive group. Little things like mile times, usually young people just try to get through that, and there's a lot of complaining," Underwood said. "This year, they're all trying to shatter records. It's been a very, very mature, competitive group."

That competitive drive has been especially important as the program looks to reestablish its identity with a new group of players. After the Orange and Blue finished with a 20-13 record one season ago, Underwood wants to return to the top of the Big Ten and make a postseason push once again.

With opening tip-off less than three weeks away, the Illini still have time to further build chemistry and connectivity on and off the court, but Underwood is excited about where things stand heading into the month of October.

"It's about execution and staying within what we do," Underwood said. "It's more about having an identity where we know we need to get a good shot every time. Are we still going to play fast? Yeah, we still want to score in under seven seconds. That's one of this team's great assets. It's our ability to run, our ability to play with tempo. 

"We have to execute. We have to be able to go a little deeper into the shot clock, and execute, and not take that contested 3. Those are all things that we've talked about ad nauseam already with this group."