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The Champaign Room •

‘That’s competing’: Underwood, White on what separates hard workers from competitors

What makes an ‘Every Day Guy’?
Brad Underwood says that the phrase is reserved for guys who play hard, something that he has demanded and seen to this point in the season, but also says that playing hard and competing to win are two different things.
“I think competing to win is the play Tre White made at the end of the game,” Underwood said during availability to the media on Tuesday. “Diving on the floor for a loose ball. First one on the floor. It’s going to offensive rebound even though you’...
The Champaign Room •

‘I don’t like it very much’: Underwood not a fan of JUCO eligibility ruling

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — How would your sporting career have gone different if you could play out a few specific years differently?
Let’s day dream a little and have an Uncle Rico moment:
“If coach would have put me in fourth quarter, we’d have been state champions, no doubt. No doubt in my mind. You’d better believe things would’ve been different. I’d have gone pro. In a heartbeat, I’d be making millions of dollars, living in a big ol’ mansion somewhere.”
Snap! Back to reality now.
Earlier this week,...
The Champaign Room •

Inside Luke Altmyer’s decision to come back to Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In front of the loudest 15,544 that Champaign had to offer on Dec. 14, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer had the smile and swagger of a star — like a singer who might perform at State Farm Center in its vacant summer months.
It was just another media timeout. Maybe a blindfolded student would find a cardboard cutout of some Portillo’s fries or launch a half-court heave to shave a few dollars off of their tuition.
At the time, Illinois men’s basketball held an 8-3 lead over No....
The Champaign Room •

‘Pure pandemonium’: Bielema, Lunney balancing portal and bowl prep

With a bowl game just under two weeks away and the transfer portal heating up with each passing day, Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. and his staff have been hard at work to pick up from the portal.
“You got a lot going on, you gotta think about this, you gotta think about that, you gotta be spot on,” Lunney said. “It’s an interesting time in our business, but it’s a fun time in the same breath.”
South Carolina is no small task, either. The Gamecocks’ No. 15 ranking suggests they...
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‘Those are what lottery picks look like’: Jakucionis, Riley shoot up NBA draft boards

It’s been said for a few years now, but gone are the days when players are expected to stay at one school for four years. What has Brad Underwood done to keep up with the times? Find NBA-hopeful, NBA-ready prospects and push them into lottery conversations.
He’s done just that with two of his most prized offseason acquisitions in Lithuanian guard Kasparas Jakucionis and Canadian forward Will Riley, who are the Illini’s first and third-best scorers respectively this season.
Here’s a look at this...
The Champaign Room •

‘Game by game, day by day’: How Underwood, Illini are approaching 18-team Big Ten

CHAMPAIGN, Ill — Remember when the Big Ten had ten teams? Well if you needed a refresher, it was 1949. The shot clock was still a novel development in the sport of basketball, and the NCAA Tournament had just eight teams.
Fast-forward to 2024, and the 18-team conference has grown to almost double its namesake’s head count. It also isn’t just a Midwestern conference now—it spans from coast to coast. We’ve already seen in football how expansion has affected conference play.
“You’re gonna see disc...
The Champaign Room •

‘Your play adjusts to the way they’re calling it’: Recapping Saturday’s officiating circus

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — There was a lot to be upset about on Saturday’s 25-17 loss to Minnesota, but one group of interest for Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was the zebras.
An early missed holding on linebacker Seth Coleman had Bielema on the hashes. An expired play clock and an assessed (then given back) timeout had him halfway to the numbers. A no-call on his offense’s final drive had his entire sideline and the better part of 58 thousand screaming.
The game was frustrating enough as it was for B...
The Champaign Room •

‘I’m looking for the next Terrence’: Underwood wants more from team as offseason nears end

With just over a dozen days until his team starts its 2024-25 season, Illinois men’s basketball head coach Brad Underwood has just one preseason exhibition remaining to assess where his team stands before game time. In Sunday’s exhibition game against Ole Miss, he has an opportunity to find the answer to some questions he still has.
“We’re not gonna go into a real in-depth scout at all with Ole Miss,” Underwood said during availability to the media on Thursday. “It’s more gonna be personnel-base...
The Champaign Room •

‘It’s definitely worth it’: Illinois using crowd noise to prepare for No. 1 Oregon

If you were on campus on Tuesday morning, you likely overheard some of the crowd noise that the football team is using to prepare for a loud environment when they travel to play Oregon this Saturday.
The trip to Eugene is the program’s first conference road game with one of the four new former Pac-12 teams, with the team slated to host USC and visit Washington next year.
“I ain’t never been out there that far to the west, but it’s gonna be pretty exciting,” said defensive back Xavier Scott on Tu...
The Champaign Room •

How Illinois is studying the NBA for its pro-ready offense

In basketball, like any other field, you have to learn from the best if you wish to be the best. During Illinois men’s basketball’s on-campus media day last week, The Champaign Room spoke with members of Illinois’ coaching staff to talk NBA offenses, and how Illinois has been following trends at the highest level of basketball.
A few months ago while assessing his offseason additions, Illinois men’s basketball head coach Brad Underwood was excited at the combination of size and shooting that the...
The Champaign Room •

‘Tim was awesome’: Underwood praises Anderson after departure from program

At Big Ten Media Days in Rosemont, Illinois, Brad Underwood spoke on former assistant coach Tim Anderson for the first time since it was announced he would step away from the program indefinitely in September.
When asked by a member of the media about how his staff will fill the void that Anderson left, Underwood highlighted the rest of his staff.
“We got Orlando [Antigua] back, and Geoff [Alexander] has been killing it on the recruiting trail,” Underwood said, but acknowledged that Anderson, wh...
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‘It’s an absolute gauntlet’: Green loving the new Big Ten

Illini Nation is now entering year three of the Shauna Green experience. With two postseason appearances and one postseason trophy under her belt, Green now looks to build upon the legacy she’s built at Illinois and build towards even greater. TCR’s Zeno Jo was in Rosemont, Illinois for Big Ten Media Days, and spoke with Green and a handful of her Big Ten head coaching colleagues.
This isn’t your parents’ Big Ten conference. This also isn’t the women’s sports landscape that they grew up in, eit...
The Champaign Room •

‘Routine for him’: Illinois’ receivers showed up when it mattered most

Goooood afternoon, Illini fans. If you’re reading this on Sunday, it’s the one-year anniversary of the Illini’s loss to Kansas in Lawrence. It’s also the one-day anniversary (not sure if that’s a thing) of the win over No. 19 Kansas in Champaign. There were plenty of positives to take away from the game, including but not limited, to our receiving game.
“Holy cow, did you see that catch?”
That’s a question you could’ve asked a handful of times during Illinois’ 23-17 upset win over the Kansas Jay...
The Champaign Room •

‘Routine for him’: Illinois’ receivers showed up when it mattered most

Goooood afternoon, Illini fans. If you’re reading this on Sunday, it’s the one-year anniversary of the Illini’s loss to Kansas in Lawrence. It’s also the one-day anniversary (not sure if that’s a thing) of the win over No. 19 Kansas in Champaign. There were plenty of positives to take away from the game, including but not limited, to our receiving game.
“Holy cow, did you see that catch?”
That’s a question you could’ve asked a handful of times during Illinois’ 23-17 upset win over the Kansas Jay...
The Champaign Room •

Three questions following Illinois’ big win over EIU

What a win, huh Illini fans? TCR’s own Brandt Dolce had a fantastic column this week about Illinois football answering every question in the team’s win over EIU, but here’s a shot at playing devil’s advocate.
Illinois’ dominant 45-0 win over Eastern Illinois answered a lot of questions for fans who were in the dark following a long offseason, but it also left them with a few questions. It can’t all be good, right?
But first, what did we learn? Altmyer is the surefire QB1. An efficient outing sa...
The Champaign Room •

How EA Sports’ new video game helped an Illinois punter on the field

How many national championships does Illinois have? Five, thanks to some success in the early and mid-20th century, but that number could be much higher if you’re playing EA Sports’ College Football 25 on your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S.
It’s the developer’s first college football game since NCAA Football 14, released in 2013, bringing much hype to gaming football fans.
While players and fans alike are having fun with the video game, one Illinois player has been using the game to learn mor...
The Champaign Room •

‘We’re gonna ball in them’: Illini react to Red Grange throwback uniforms

On Wednesday, Illinois football announced that it would honor the legacy of Red Grange and his six-touchdown day for Memorial Stadium’s rededication game on Oct. 19, when the Illini host the Michigan Wolverines.
October’s game will mark exactly 100 years since ‘The Galloping Ghost’ ran for five touchdowns and threw for another against the Wolverines. The game was Memorial Stadium’s “Dedication Game,” which honored those who served the nation in World War I.
In the first game ever played at Memo...
The Champaign Room •

Brad Underwood is building an NBA factory in Champaign

Call it an overreaction. Bradley Cole Underwood might go down as the founding father of a great basketball empire in Champaign. A tenure that started slow and with results arguably worse than his predecessor has outgrown and built upon it.
Just under two months ago, Brad Underwood, as he’s more commonly known, was speaking to the media to discuss the signing of Croatian big man Tomislav Ivisic. In the same breath that he touched on the skillset of his new 7-foot-1 Eastern European giant, he ment...
The Champaign Room •

‘Elite’: Brad Underwood’s analysis of his newest portal pickups

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — On Tuesday, Illinois basketball head coach Brad Underwood spoke to the media for the first time since the program signed Ben Humichrous and Tomislav Ivisic.

In introducing the pair of 6-foot-9-plus players, Underwood dug deep into the skills that both athletes bring to the table and what Illini fans can expect from them when they take the court this fall.

He also discussed the recruiting philosophy behind his six-man class that he’s brought in from the transfer portal and Eur
The Champaign Room •

Does Illinois have a culture conundrum on its hands?

Last Tuesday, when head coach Brad Underwood and new associate coach Orlando Antigua were made available to the media, much of the talk would be about the latter’s return to Champaign and the process behind it. As they spoke further, talk shifted towards roster construction and — you guessed it — the transfer portal.

It’s not particularly surprising, as Antigua is a phenomenal developer of talent. Over the years, he’s coached NBA-level talents like Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns and DeMarcus
The Champaign Room •

How Brad Underwood pulled Orlando Antigua back to Champaign

On Tuesday, Orlando Antigua spoke to the media for the first time since being announced as the team’s associate head coach, bringing him back to Champaign for the first time since 2021. Head coach Brad Underwood was also available to the media.

When he left, it was for his then-former employers at Kentucky and to reunite with his then-former boss John Calipari. Antigua chose not to follow Cal to his new job at Arkansas, and despite rumors of him wanting to stay in Lexington to work with new hir
The Champaign Room •

Offensive takeaways from Illinois’ 2024 spring game

On an offense that replaces seven starters, there were several questions surrounding how well Illinois could get the ball downfield this fall.

With 41 points combined by the offensive units, questions were asked and answered on Saturday as the Blue and White teams drew 0-0 in a game that had no official scoring.

Leary was under center for the second-team offense White team, while Luke Altmyer started the game for the first-team offense Blue team. On the first exchange of offensive drives, the
The Champaign Room •

The Shauna Green Experience: Three words, two years, one trophy

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In only year two, Shauna Green has hoisted a trophy and secured a spot in the rafters of State Farm Center. Using three key words, here’s more about what Green and her staff are building at Illinois, her place in the program’s history, and the heights it could reach.

Just over two years after the retirement of former head coach Nancy Fahey, Shauna Green did something that nine Illinois head coaches b
The Champaign Room •

Shauna Green has Illinois playing its best basketball... ever?

Two months ago, Illinois’ season was looking like one of years past.

Years past of course referring to the Dark Ages of Illinois Women’s Basketball. When recording double-digit wins was a milestone and a record above .500 was a once-in-a-blue-moon-type rarity.

To open the month of February, Illinois dropped a game on the road to Purdue. Illinois played some of the worst basketball it had all season long, and checked all of the boxes of a bad Illinois loss. They had a slow start on both ends of
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