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For anyone who may have been worried that Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coach Brad Underwood was thinking of jumping ship or retiring, those assumptions are the furthest from accurate.
In an exclusive sit-down with the Illini Inquirer podcast, Underwood was able to reflect on what the Illini's Final Four run meant to him, what's next, and what life after coaching basketball could bring.
In summary, Underwood is content with where he's at in Champaign after spending nearly a decade turning a once-storied program into a powerhouse again.
"Sure," Underwood said of wanting to finish his coaching career in Champaign. "I've said it, nobody believes me, but you know, man — we've got it going pretty good. And you just don't mess with [being] happy. And your facilities. My relationship with Josh [Whitman]. I'm so thankful for having an AD who understands winning, who understands what that looks like. The sacrifices that winning takes."
Underwood has been strategic in building homegrown talent alongside going overseas. The team is in his image. It's how he likes it, and it's what he will continue to do to succeed, no matter what it takes.
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Underwood admitted that it's not just winning that keeps him wanting to stay in Champaign, but everything that goes along with it.
"The sellout crowds," Underwood added in as another factor. "The stages we're able to play on now. The build-up has been worth it to get to this point. I've said it since the day I was hired, 'We should be a top-10 program.' And, you know, for a while we had to act like it. And kinda, you know, fake it till you make it type deal."
It has been almost six years since Illinois stopped faking it. And Underwood knows it.
"And now, it's [a question of] where would you want me to go?" Underwood asked. "I mean, that's better than this [in Champaign]. And I say that...and to me, as long as we're competing for national championships — I know how hard it is to get there and I know how hard it is to do. But I still haven't done it."
Underwood will keep trying, though, he said.
"But, damn it, we're gonna get that done," Underwood said. "And that's [it]."
Underwood noted the true reason he is content, above all else, too.
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"I just think it's a very special place," Underwood said of Illinois. "It's the right time. I've got a relationship with Josh, an administration that's second to none. And I just don't think you ever mess with happy."
Come November, Underwood will have a chance to knock on the door of a championship once again.
But only time will tell.
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