The last time that Illini basketball coach Brad Underwood spoke to the media (a couple weeks ago on the night of the Inaugural Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame Gala), he spoke of swagger. Underwood said his team needs to have that swagger, and maybe the newest addition to his staff will help him get there.
On Friday, Underwood announced the addition of Geoff Alexander, who will serve as assistant to the Head Coach, as the newest member of the Illini basketball staff.
“We’re excited to have Geoff joining the Illinois basketball program,” reads a statement attributed to Underwood sent out by Illini basketball.
“He and I have a long history together dating back to our days at Western Illinois and Daytona Beach. He has great familiarity with me and our system, and being from Lincoln and playing and recruiting this state, he has connections with coaches and programs throughout Illinois.
“Most importantly, Geoff is a great basketball mind. He spent the last five years at Evansville with Marty Simmons, who is a tremendous offensive basketball coach. So I’m excited to get to explore some of the things he picked up during his time there. Geoff is a student of the game at all levels, including the NBA, and will push the envelope in terms of challenging our staff with fresh ideas and perspective.”
Alexander is fresh off a stint with the Purple Aces, serving as an assistant in Evansville for the past five years. He was also an assistant for Underwood at Daytona State College from 2003-06. In between his stints at Daytona State and Evansville, he was an asst. at Idaho State.
Below is the audio of Illini basketball coach Brad Underwood meeting the media on June 23rd.
https://soundcloud.com/p-m-banks/brad-underwood
The newest addition to the Illini basketball family also played for Underwood in 1998-2000 when he was an assistant at WIU.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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