Illinois basketball’s all-time leading scorer, Deon Thomas, hopped on The Champaign Room podcast with Isaac Ambrose and Ethan Pavey to touch on head coach Brad Underwood’s recent success and highlight the bright future of Illinois athletics.
Thomas emphasized the importance
of last season’s Final Four run, noting that he himself had never been past the second round of the NCAA Tournament with the Fighting Illini. Now serving as Illinois athletics’ director of major gifts and radio color analyst, Thomas saw firsthand just how much that meant to his department.
“I know how important that was to, not just the coaches or the players themselves, but to the department which I’m a part of right now, and to Illini nation as a whole,” Thomas said.
Thomas noted that while Illinois has been regarded as one of collegiate basketball’s historically elite programs, the past few decades lacked milestones to back that claim up. But the Underwood era of success and eventual accomplishment of reaching the Final Four sent the message to the NCAA that the Illini are back in the conversation that they belong in, and the crowd of orange at Lucas Oil Stadium made it clear that the fans were starving for it.
In this rapidly changing era of college basketball, Underwood has consistently kept Illinois afloat during his nine-season tenure, and Thomas gave some insight into how he does it.
“Brad has an open mindedness about himself that allows him to look at situations and figure out solutions,” Thomas said. “His flexibility from a coaching standpoint, utilizing and learning from and understanding the staff that he has brought in, and making adjustments when he has had to has really helped, not just Illinois basketball, but I think his personal growth.”
Thomas didn’t hesitate to show his appreciation for Brad Underwood and what he’s done for this program, putting Underwood’s growth hand in hand with the team’s success.
“As he grows, the team grows. Look at where we are right now,” Thomas said. “Here we are a decade later, and he’s been shining for us.”
With Illinois retaining a large portion of its Final Four squad, both Illini fans and Deon Thomas expect that momentum to carry over into next season. Thomas highlighted how having multiple veteran voices in the locker room helps new additions adapt quickly.
“What that does is, it cuts down the learning time,” Thomas said. “When you’re able to bring back pieces that can help the younger players or new players understand what you’re expecting from them, the older players or returning players can help them learn the system and help them groom and grow faster.”
With a veteran core returning, fresh talent settling in and a stampede of orange and blue backing Underwood as he carries the torch into next season, who says no to another Final Four run for Illinois?
