OMAHA, Neb. — Brad Underwood stood on the finish of the court docket, seemed towards the Illinois followers and saluted. Minutes after clinching a spot within the Candy 16, Underwood wished to understand the second with the individuals who had been there to witness the Illini making it previous the opening weekend of the NCAA Event for the primary time since 2005.
This trip, nevertheless lengthy and bumpy it’s been, was as a lot concerning the followers because it was his crew.
“I at all times thought I’d get right here — and past,” Underwood mentioned within the hallway at CHI Well being Middle. His hair was nonetheless moist from a water gun struggle the teaching workers initiated within the locker room after punching their ticket to Boston to play No. 2 seed Iowa State on Thursday. “It’s not about that or me or getting this off my again. You guys make that up. It is a fully completely different crew.”
This third-seeded Illinois squad, winners of the Huge Ten event and slayers of the longstanding opening weekend narrative, was constructed with March in thoughts. It’s why they’ve constructed a roster that’s versatile sufficient to play and win in numerous methods. They’ll go actually massive with Coleman Hawkins. They’ve discovered success by getting Dain Dainja on the ground. They’ll even go smaller if wanted with Luke Goode and three perimeter gamers.
GO DEEPER
After philosophical shift and help from Jay Wright, Illinois is lastly again in Candy 16
“I believe we will form of deal with no matter we’d see,” Underwood mentioned.
Being a part of a crew that might have success in March was what the workers pitched to Marcus Domask final spring when the 6-foot-6, 215-pound guard entered the switch portal after 4 seasons at Southern Illinois. Domask, who grew up enjoying on a racquetball-sized sports activities court docket in his household’s basement in Waupun, Wisc., dreamt about happening a deep NCAA Event run like those the Badgers had with Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky. Now, Domask is in that dream, having already posted a triple-double within the opening spherical in opposition to Morehead State. He added 22 factors and 7 assists within the second-round rout of Duquesne. He even stayed to signal autographs earlier than jogging off the court docket.
“My No. 1 guidelines within the portal was going to a crew that might win essential video games, win significant video games in March,” Domask mentioned.
Illinois has the system to go on a run. It has the top-ranked offense in adjusted effectivity at KenPom.com. It has among the finest gamers within the sport in Terrence Shannon Jr. whose burst makes everybody else on the court docket look a step gradual. It has veterans like Domask and Justin Harmon, gamers who had been resistant to what Illinois did and extra importantly hadn’t achieved beforehand in March.
“Everyone knows what we got here right here for,” mentioned Harmon, who spent the final two years at Utah Valley and two earlier than that at Barton Group Faculty. “We all know what we’re able to and what we have to do to win video games and to get a hoop.”
This actuality wasn’t so clear a month in the past. Illinois continues to be enjoying in late March partially due to the way it responded to what gamers say now was a much-needed wake-up name on Feb. 21.
That evening, Underwood fumed as his crew blew a 14-point lead and misplaced to Penn State, 90-89. The Nittany Lions outscored Illinois 8-0 within the ultimate 35 seconds. Harmon’s layup on the buzzer rimmed out. Illinois had 18 turnovers, 13 of them within the second half. Penn State followers stormed the court docket whereas Shannon seemed towards the locker room.
This was all-time low for a crew that was seeking to show that the following month would yield improved outcomes.
“That loss acquired our consideration,” Underwood mentioned. “It was actually unhealthy. It’s good as a coach if you don’t should say a lot. They knew.”
The floodgates opened for criticism. How might these Illini go on a deep run in March in the event that they couldn’t even shut out a sport in opposition to a rebuilding Penn State crew?
Gamers had been offended — like, no person mentioned something on the bus or aircraft trip again to Champaign form of offended, Domask recalled. Actuality had set in and smacked Illinois sq. within the face. This evening would grow to be an inflection level for a crew that didn’t simply need to win a sport or two in March, however has its sights set on a nationwide championship.
“We simply had gotten too comfy,” Hawkins mentioned. “I don’t assume we had been enjoying laborious sufficient, and I believe we thought we had been going to get away with it. … We went again and watched the movie, and none of us had been enjoying laborious in any respect. Particularly on the defensive finish.”
Underwood knew how his crew responded after the Penn State loss was essential. Choice Sunday was three and a half weeks away. If Illinois was going to dwell as much as its potential, if this March was going to be completely different, this crew wanted to dial it up in follow.
Underwood would observe by way of with the form of exercise that elicits raised eyebrows from gamers when requested about it.
“Coach Brad calls them a ‘Brad follow,’” Goode mentioned. “I attribute our success on the finish of the season to practices like that and that mentality.”
A Brad follow goes one thing like this. There is no such thing as a follow sheet. Gamers, managers and coaches normally have one to allow them to maintain the exercise transferring. When there’s no plan all of them stroll into the health club figuring out they’re rolling with no matter Underwood throws at them.
“It’s a follow the place he’s looking for the one who needs to interrupt,” mentioned Dainja. “He needs to try to discover the weak hyperlink. It’s undoubtedly a tricky follow, however these are the practices that make Illinois who they’re.”
It’s a whole lot of operating and a whole lot of yelling, as Harmon put it. The exercise normally comes after a very unhealthy loss, however it could additionally occur if there’s an extended layoff between video games.
There was the one follow in the summertime forward of the crew’s journey to Spain by which gamers recalled Underwood barking throughout the health club that the opponent was going to beat them by 40 in the event that they stored working towards like that. They nonetheless chortle about that one.
The clunker in State Faculty definitely certified for a Brad follow.
“Brad is a mentally powerful man,” mentioned assistant coach Tim Anderson. “He simply felt like our crew wasn’t as powerful as they wanted to be. There’s no manner it is best to lose a sport down the stretch like that. That’s simply psychological toughness.”
Underwood delivered a few of the hardest practices of the season the week following the Penn State loss. After a 10-minute elevate and no movie session, the crew acquired a full dose of Underwood.
“It’s much more defensive drills the place you gotta get so many stops to get out, and for those who don’t get them or get ’em in a row you simply maintain going,” Domask mentioned. “There’s instances the place you simply proceed to go, no breaks, since you haven’t earned your manner out of the drill but. These instances the place we’re in these stretches, these are the hardest instances.”
The top coach was even faster to ship gamers to the treadmill after that loss too, Domask mentioned. One will get despatched to the treadmill throughout follow for a scarcity of effort, a blown defensive project, “all of the little issues that you could do to win,” Domask mentioned.
These practices are the place Underwood needs to push his crew to the brink. In the event that they wished to keep away from the all-out, late-game meltdown once more they wanted this high-stress, high-intensity exercise.
“Powerful gamers win video games,” Harmon mentioned. “After we misplaced to Penn State it wasn’t a loss as a lot because it was a studying lesson. I really feel like we realized loads from that. We acquired manner higher in our late-game execution and defensive assignments. … That sport actually helped us develop into what we at the moment are.”
This was the wake-up name they wanted to propel them into March. Illinois has gained 9 of 10 video games since then, the lone lack of course coming by six factors to Purdue.
“Our total depth in follow since that loss has simply flipped,” Domask mentioned. “Since then I believe there was a way of urgency that clicked with us that we hadn’t had earlier than that.”
On Saturday evening, Underwood was handed a pair of goggles and a water gun as he stepped into the locker room. The person who molded this crew’s toughness now wished to remind his gamers to loosen up and rejoice this journey to the Candy 16.
“At first, we wished to have a small celebration as a result of we haven’t actually achieved something but like in our eyes,” mentioned freshman Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.
Underwood, who Anderson insists is far more of a jokester than individuals understand, in fact, had a special thought.
The splotches of water on the ceiling and droplets on the crew’s bracket had been reminders that Illinois, 19 years later, has lastly damaged by way of. Gamers threw cups of water at Underwood as he pointed the water gun again at them. They squealed like little children.
“It’s a cool factor to have the ability to take a look at your coach and say ‘Congrats on making the Candy 16,’” Goode mentioned. “That’s a giant accomplishment for anyone.”
Later, gamers would gather the nameplates above their lockers. They’d snag the March Insanity indicators plastered all through the room, too. These are all mementos from a event run they need to keep in mind, one they hope extends into April.
“Coach Brad, if there’s one knock on him it’s form of the postseason, and he was capable of recover from that hump this sport,” Goode mentioned with a smile. “We acquired 4 extra.”
(High picture of, from left, Marcus Domask, Luke Goode and Justin Harmon: Dylan Widger / USA Right this moment)