Illinois basketball head coach Brad Underwood expressed his joy of him and his team being at Madison Square Garden at the Jimmy V Classic. He said to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports after the win to the FAU Owls, 98-89, that he envisioned the program being at this stage and doesn't want to forget that.
“I don't ever lose sight of what … we're here in the Jimmy V. We begged to get into this stage when we first got here,” Underwood told me Tuesday night. “I've always said this is where this program should be. But I don't ever want to lose sight of where it was.”
Underwood was open and honest about his team and how it matches up to the rest of the Big Ten Conference. He goes on to say to Norlander that he has a “great staff” around him and that he's just a part of the puzzle in terms of the success of the Illinois Fighting Illini.
“I've got the best strength coach in the business. Great staff. I'm just a piece of it,” Underwood said. “My biggest fear when I got there was we're in the Big Ten. Everybody's got stuff and everybody's got players. How in the world are we going to pass these people? And I mean, nobody lets you — you've got to pass them.”
The head coach believes he is “a builder and a teacher at heart” which makes him a perfect fit as a college basketball head coach, especially in terms of instructing people at a university level. Since becoming the head coach of the basketball program back in 2017, he's had a 121-80 record, 67-52 in conference play.
FAU's Dusty May talks Jimmy V Classic loss vs. Illinois
Another head coach who showed their excitement for being at the Jimmy V Classic was Florida Atlantic basketball head coach Dusty May. He also said to Norlander that he's happy to be at this stage with a team like FAU who besides their recent exposure, has not historically been a well-known university, especially in the state of Florida.
“To be here with Florida Atlantic is something that you probably never could have imagined,” May said. “We also understand that we're not here just to be here. This is a great opportunity for us once again, a chance to put our players in the biggest spotlight and college basketball. So we're honored that we're excited and realize that we're not just trying to be here. I'm trying to make a statement.”
Riding high of the Owls' miraculous run from last season, they entered Tuesday night with one loss under their belt as they have lofty expectations with returning most of their lineup. The Illinois basketball team would shoot a whopping 63.2 percent from the field and seemed unstoppable on offense which May gives credit to Underwood and the team as a whole.
“Credit to Illinois, they exposed some of our weaknesses and we have to go back to our drawing board and fix some things,” May said to the media after the game. “That is why you play these games, to learn more about yourself. We will be better because of this experience.”
Big performances from Illinois' key players
On the floor, the Illinois basketball team was led by the duo of Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask who each had 33 points. May gave props to Shannon Jr. and said the offense of Illinois took advantage of the Owls' defense.
“Shannon is one of the most dynamic wings in the country,” FAU coach Dusty May said. “We didn’t get our defense set and he found seams in transition and did a great job of attacking and getting downhill and was able to convert.”
It was especially a big win for the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini as they beat FAU who was ranked No. 11 in the country. They should be seeing an uptick in the rankings as their next game will be against the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, December 9.
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