CHAMPAIGN — All three of Brad Underwood’s children were born in Illinois during his decade as an assistant coach at Western Illinois University.
His son Tyler’s first basketball jersey was that of formerIllini standout Brian Cook — a story Underwood said he likes to tells all the time.
Underwood now makes his return to Illinois, hired as the 18th coach in Illini basketball program history on Saturday.
“I’ve got tremendous love for the state of Illinois and for this program,” Underwood said late Saturday afternoon after arriving in Champaign from Stillwater, Okla. “Having spent 10 years (in Illinois), I got a true appreciation for how great this program is and how important basketball is.