Brad Underwood: Building and Rebuilding a Program

with Brad Underwood,
University of Illinois Head Coach;
2026 Final Four;
2x Elite Eight (2024, 2026);
2x Big Ten Tournament Champions (2021, 2024);
2023 NABC Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award;
2022 Big Ten Regular Season Champions;
Oklahoma State University Head Coach from 2016 to 2017;
Stephen F. Austin University Head Coach from 2013 to 2016;
2014 Joe B. Hall Award Recipient (Nation's top first-year coach);
3x Southland Conference Regular Season Champions (2014 - 2016);
3x Southland Conference Tournament Champions (2014 - 2016);
3x Southland Conference Coach of the Year (2014 - 2016);
South Carolina Associate Head Coach from 2012 to 2013;
Kansas State Associate Head Coach from 2011 to 2012;
Daytona Beach Community College Head Coach from 2003 to 2006;
Western Illinois Assistant Coach from 1992 to 2003;
Dodge City Community College Head Coach from 1988 to 1992;
Hardin-Simmons University GA from 1986 to 1987;
played college basketball for Kansas State, Independence CC & Hardin-Simmons (guard)

The Pyramid

At the core of Coach Underwood's philosophy is a pyramid. The pyramid's base is talent. Success is not possible without good players.

The next level is character. This is all about what the head coach is going to stand for and what he/she is going to allow and not allow. Underwood relays the lesson he learned from his former mentor Bob Huggins with the axiom of consistency as a head coach.

The third piece of the pyramid is self-improvement. Coach Underwood puts a plan in place to ensure that his players get better as much as possible. The process is to take weaknesses and minimize them, or get rid of them entirely.

The final piece is the results. This is more about the expectations of fans, media, and administrators. Without the other three pieces, this piece is not possible.

Offensive Approach

Underwood uses analytics to develop his offensive approach. Teams vary in ability and skill from year to year, so the design of an analytics-driven approach helps maximize performance with the differences in roster build.

Knowing that many of the best players in basketball do not do a good job of sprinting back on defense, Coach Underwood covers scoring in the first seven seconds of the shot clock. Teams that don't get their defense set are prone to giving up easy baskets and this gives the offense a huge advantage. You'll also learn why Coach Underwood wants to get three types of shots: lay-ups, threes, and free throws.

If a score doesn't happen in the first seven seconds, Underwood assumes control of what the offense will do. Using statistics as the basis, he explains how shooting percentages improve based on the number of times the ball changes sides of the floor.

To create spacing and mismatches, Coach Underwood demonstrates his well-known spread offense. With two guards on top, forwards at the wings and a center in the high post, three entries are demonstrated with opportunities to get open looks for lay-ups and open shots while taking advantage of the other team's defense.

Defensive Approach

The entire approach to Coach Underwood's defense is pressure. The emphasis on forcing turnovers and getting teams away from what they do best make his teams formidable every season. This means a lot of overplaying passing lanes and trying to take away what an offense does best.

You will hear Underwood discuss how to defend ball screens and the approach of forcing dribblers to use their off hand. Meanwhile, defenders responsible for guarding the ball screen are taught to either hard hedge, flat hedge, or ice ball screens.

In laying out his foundation for success, Coach Underwood demonstrates why he is one of the best coaches in college basketball and someone who will be successful for many years to come. This video is sure to help you make your program a winning one.

75 minutes. 2019.