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Brad Underwood's Postgame Reaction, With One Nitpick: 'It's All I've Talked About'

Underwood mostly liked what he saw in the Illini's win over Jackson State on Monday, but he calls his club "a work in progress"
Jason Langendorf|
Illinois men's basketball coach Brad Underwood applauds during the Illini's 113-55 season-opening win over Jackson State on Monday at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.
Illinois men's basketball coach Brad Underwood applauds during the Illini's 113-55 season-opening win over Jackson State on Monday at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. | University of Illinois

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No. 17 Illinois (1-0) opened its 2025-26 season on about as high a note as can be reached, but as usual, it wasn't all falsetto for coach Brad Underwood – who has a knack for uncovering a little murkiness among a bunch of silver linings. For the most part, though, the Illini head man came away upbeat from his club's first official action.

Here, we share an edited, slightly condensed version of Underwood's postgame presser concentrated on the sharpest takes, juiciest bits and most relevant info. (See full video just below if you prefer.)

Brad Underwood Best of the Presser

Opening statement

"So, good first night. I thought that we got off to a great start. I thought our energy was very good. I thought Kylan [Boswell] was extremely good on [Daeshun] Ruffin at the start on the defensive side, David [Mirkovic] got us off to a terrific start offensively. And then I thought our effort on the glass on both sides was really good. I thought we were dominant there. I told the team after the game, if you don't have all those balls go in, how are we going to win? And we do that with our rebounding.

"We had some kind of funky lineups out there at times, but I thought defensively we did a nice job of sitting down, guarding the ball – which was something I wanted to see against a team that I knew there would be some isolation, they would break some plays off and try to drive us. So I thought, for the most part, we were solid there. I thought our communication was good.

"Six guys in double figures. Sixty-one rebounds. I thought we had a nice assist total, with 23, so we shared the ball, and it was nice to see shots go in. I thought Jake [Davis] and Ben [Humrichous], they do what they do, and that's play hard, rebound and make open shots. And I think it should be noted, Keaton [Wagler] draws seven fouls tonight. That's a good thing. So, really nice start. Great. Everybody scored, and I thought Jason Jakstys also, 11 minutes, nine rebounds – we see that every day in practice. And that's why he's earned him himself the right to play minutes, and then Blake [Fagbemi] did a really nice job as well. So we were down a few guys. That's what we do, is just circle them up and play hard and go do what we do."

On the potential of the Illini frontcourt

"I don't know yet. I really don't. I'd be lying if I said I did. I mean, I like it because we're skilled, I think we can really pass, I think we're just touching the versatility side of things. I know [assistant] Tyler [Underwood] has worked really hard on the offensive side, how we use Mirk. Let's not forget, we didn't have Tomi [Ivisic] for 16 practices. So he's out with the sickness and the tonsils. So we're still trying to figure all of that out. It's a work in progress. To say it's anywhere close is ... I'd be lying if I said that.

"Right now, I'm just trying to get guys to sit down, guard and rebound, and then learn to play in space, and it's going to be somebody's turn every night. I thought Tomi was great offensively tonight, shooting it. He had four turnovers, and three of those were careless, so we can't have live-ball turnovers. But again, his conditioning is a shell of what it needs to be and will be. I thought [Zvonimir Ivisic] did a nice job in his time, coming in with nine rebounds, missed a couple shots he normally makes. But I don't know. I'm glad we've got him. I love him to death, and I think we're just still in a mode of searching, trying to figure it all out."

On several injury absences

"Yeah, Brandon [Lee], in the last 10 minutes of practice [Sunday], got a pretty good ankle injury – stepped on a foot and rolled it pretty good. And so I would think he'll be out Friday as well and not not be ready to go. Mihailo [Petrovic] is trending in a positive way. With Andre [Stojakovic], it's going to be game-time decisions. We just had him back for a week in practice. He still has not gotten through a full practice yet, and that's with intent – to not go through a full practice. But he was really, really good on Saturday, and he was pretty sore on Sunday, and we're going to monitor that and keep trending him in the right direction. So we'll see what it looks like Friday. Obviously, a couple days off here – we're off tomorrow – and that seems to refresh it pretty well. So, hope we get him. It's exciting for all them, but I felt terrible for Brandon, because Brandon has been playing great and was really good in the Florida scrimmage. Just one of those unfortunate situations with him."

On emphasizing improved rebounding with the team

"It's all I've talked about. We can run anything we want to run. We can do whatever we want to do, but if we don't rebound. ... And that's been the emphasis of practice. There's been multiple drills throughout practices, and rebounding, obviously, we're going to face much more size and much more athleticism in frontcourts, but the effort has to be there. And again, I tried to [stress] it in the second half tonight if you didn't go to the boards. I took David out really quick, I took Tomi out really quick, because they didn't go. And those are things with our depth that they're going to have to learn is, we're going to go, it's how you win games, in my opinion, when that ball is not going in as frequently as it did tonight."

On Kylan Boswell elevating the defense and defending without him on the floor

"It's hard to replicate what Kylan can do. You know, he's 6-2 or 6-3, whatever he is. He's 215 pounds. He's freakishly athletic. He might be, pound for pound, as strong as maybe anybody on our campus. He's just a gifted athlete, and then you add to that the fact that he's got just super-quick hands. When he wants to get after it, he can make life pretty hard. And then he's very physical. He's not afraid to use that body. So it's hard to replicate that. But our guys are seeing that. He is a great, great coach and teacher in terms of helping guys understand how to avoid screens. Kylan still gets in trouble himself, relaxing a little bit away from [the ball], but he's gotten much better there. So it's hard, but it's everybody's buy-in. You know, we have the saying, 'You're only as strong as the weakest link in your chain,' and we don't want any weak links. So Kylan's doing a really good job of holding guys to that standard."

On the joy David Mrkovic plays with

"I love it. That's what this should be about, is the understanding of having fun playing the game. I put on the board every game: play hard, have fun. And then he has fun doing that. He has just tremendous joy for the game. Now, I've got to get him to have fun and not be sloppy. The underhand pass that almost hit the scoreboard probably is not working too well in league play. Those are things that are enjoyable to him. We have to get them a little less enjoyable."

On Mirkovic's motor and influence on the frontcourt

"He was a priority recruit, because he's just different. He's different than Tomi was. He gives us that physicality. Then you put that with his skill set – it's very different. So he's been predominantly a block guy in his last few years, and he's not that with us. I mean, there'll be some times he's gonna play the point. We're just gonna give him the ball, because he's that kind of decision-maker and that type of handler. So again, we're still evolving in everything we do with them. And I think as he and Tomi and the other guys start figuring out chemistry, that gets me a little excited."

On Illinois' connectivity and shot creation

"One, I think Tyler has done a really good job, and [assistant] Zach [Hamer], in player development and getting the guys to understand. You talk about getting six guys in double figures, it's going to be somebody different every night. And that's what we want to be. I think that we feel like we're a good passing team, and it helps when you can do the little things, deliver a pass on time in the pocket. Keaton does that all the time. I mean, he's right there. You hardly ever see him throw a bad pass. That's a little thing. You see the same thing from from Mirk. Those are things that translate through success on the offensive side. They're also very contagious. But, like I said, I think we're still growing in that area. Our speed helps, our shooting space helps. One of the things we'll evaluate really closely in this film is how quickly we're getting to space. We have a rule: We want to be in space in four and action in six, in terms of seconds. So all those things are still works in progress."

On tapping into Mirkovic's full game by playing him outside the post

"We've seen him, shoot it, drive it, pass it, playmake. I think those are all the things that good players do. And I so I think it's not just one thing, where we isolate him and say, 'Well, you're 6-9, 260 pounds – that means you go to the post.' I don't care about that. So I think it's just putting him in positions to be successful. And the one thing he's proven to us is that he can do that. And he's still learning. It's going to be harder. Maybe? But he's unique. Great problem solver. He's a great teammate, so he doesn't care if he scores. And the thing I've been pleased with is the skill set – dribble, pass and shoot. He's got all that."

On what's behind Ben Humrichous' improvement

"Experience, confidence and a lot, a lot, a lot of time in the gym. I mean, I couldn't be happier for that. We see that every day, and just to be able to go translate that to the State Farm Center is really nice. And then you see the confidence in him trying to go up and dunk a couple balls, and him rip-driving right down the lane, and those are things that he couldn't do last year – or he didn't do. And so, yeah, it's really, really nice to see that added dimension coming from his game. And that's all confidence and hard work.

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Jason Langendorf
JASON LANGENDORF

Jason Langendorf has covered Illinois basketball, football and more for Illinois on SI since October 2024, and has covered Illini sports – among other subjects – for 30 years. A veteran of ESPN and Sporting News, he has published work in The Guardian, Vice, Chicago Sun-Times and many other outlets. He is currently also the U.S. editor at BoxingScene and a judge for the annual BWAA writing awards. He can be followed and reached on X and Bluesky @JasonLangendorf.

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