In the Illini nation, the opinion of Deron Williams will always hold sway. The greatest NBA player in Illini basketball history, or at least for the modern era, he is what you would call “a club legend.” So his public endorsement of current Illini basketball head coach Brad Underwood matters, a lot.
As we pointed out on RG.org: “Among the Illini faithful, “D. Will” will always be the guy that hit “the shot.” And by “the shot” we mean of course the 2005 Regional Final, where Arizona went up 75-60, with less than four minutes remaining, on the Illini.
That immortal comeback culminated with Williams hitting a cold-blooded three-pointer with 39 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 80. Illinois went on to win in overtime and with that, advance to the Final Four.
Williams praised the current Illini basketball coach, but also noted the challenges that come with trying to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
“I love Brad as a person,” Williams said to the media, during the 2004-05 Illini national runner-up team’s 20-year reunion party.
“I think he’s a phenomenal coach, got the chance to see him in practice situations, I used to see him in games, and I know he’s doing a phenomenal job. They haven’t kind of gotten over that hump yet, you know, really been able to make an impact in NCAA Tournament. But, I mean, he’s right there.
“He’s knocking on the door. In today’s age with the turnover of talents, it’s just about getting hot and staying healthy and getting the right breaks at the right time.”
In 2024, Underwood made the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his career. In the process, it marked the first time the program had reached that level since Deron Williams was still in school (2005, 19 years).
Upon reaching that benchmark, Illinois then won the next game, beating #2 seed Iowa State to teach the elite 8, where they were subsequently blown out by eventual national champion UConn. Underwood has made it vey clear, time and time again, national championships are the goal; period.
D. Will’s main running mate on the ’05 Final Four team, Dee Brown, discussed how much winning matters at the same Labor Day weekend media opportunity. He also lamented not being able to close the deal, and capture the big prize.
“I won a few championships as a pro, but also I lost a lot of championships when I got to that next level,” Brown said. “Losing isn’t in me so one of the things that haunts me to this day is not bringing home the big boy trophy my junior year.”
The ’04-’05 Illini team has produced three college basketball coaches, although Williams is one of them, and he made clear during this interview that he had no interest in becoming one. Brown is the head coach at Roosevelt University while Roger Powell is in the same position at Valparaiso.
Jerrance Howard has been an assistant at several of the nation’s most premier programs. Williams discussed the trio of former teammates who have gone into coaching.
“I knew Jerrance for sure had it in him,” he said.
“I knew Dee. Rog, I think is the one that kind of surprised me, right? Like, I didn’t really know that side of Rog. So it’s just been awesome to see him be able to take over a program.”
Maybe Underwood is the Illini coach that will finally get the program over the national title hump? Perhaps the recruiting of the Balkans will be the ultimate winning formula?
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter