It is quite impressive what the Illinois basketball team has done this offseason by keeping most of the talent on the roster.
The first domino to fall was David Mirkovic. He is a player who I believe can win the John R. Wooden Award for the best player in college basketball. The Illini have a unicorn on their hands with Mirkovic.
Piece by piece, things started to fall into place after his announcement. Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic came back. Jake Davis returned. Andrej Stojakovic, kind of, came back. Just like that, Illinois had its core in place for another Final Four run.
On Thursday afternoon, the biggest retention of them all happened. While the players coming back are special, none of it would be possible without the conductor.
Illinois announced that they have amended Brad Underwood's current six-year contract. We now have him signed through June 30, 2036. Yes, for those counting at home, that is 10 years, a decade.
The current Underwood deal runs through 2032, so Illinois tacked on four extra years. The financial terms weren't laid out in the press release, but it does say that Underwood is now going to be among the highest-paid coaches in the game.
None of what Illinois has accomplished over the last half-decade or so is possible without Underwood's leadership. He is the puppet master. He pulls the strings on everything that is happening with the program.
From day one, even when Illinois was missing the NCAA tournament, Underwood started shopping at the right store. He picked the right ingredients for the meal, and now all Illini fans have been eating for years.
This was a great decision by Josh Whitman. Throughout much of the offseason, I was shocked by the fact that Underwood wasn't rumored to be in the coaching search for some programs. My guess is that this was being negotiated, and that is why his name wasn't thrown out there. Underwood wanted to stay. He wanted to be a part of this program in the future, and that was solidified on Thursday.
The Brad Underwood era of Illinois basketball has been one of the greatest runs in program history
When you look at what Underwood has done in his time in Champaign, you will be hard-pressed to find another Illini coach who has that type of resume.
Illinois has made six-straight NCAA tournament appearances, and it would have been seven if it weren't for a worldwide pandemic. Only Lou Henson has that long a streak.
Underwood is the only Illinois coach to have a Final Four and Elite Eight appearance in a three-year span during the expansion era of the NCAA tournament. The only other time that has happened was in the early 1950s when the postseason was just 16 teams.
As of right now, Underwood is fourth all-time with 193 wins for the men's Illinois basketball program. If he continues the pace that he has set over the last seven seasons of 23.8 wins per year, he would finish his new contract with 431 wins. That would put him 10 wins ahead of Henson for the most wins in program history.
What you are looking at with Underwood isn't just a good coach. He is an all-timer. He is a legend. He is someone you can currently make an argument for as the greatest coach this program has ever seen. And now, he has a contract that keeps him in Champaign for the next decade. This was easily the greatest retention of the offseason.
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This article was originally published on www.writingillini.com as Illinois basketball just pulled off the greatest retention possible this offseason.
