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Cool Tub Pic Shows How Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Relates To Players

Illinois coach Brad Underwood is making sure his team is entering the NCAA Tournament with a cool demeanor
Shandel Richardson|
Cool Tub Pic Shows How Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Relates To Players
Cool Tub Pic Shows How Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Relates To Players

The Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team went viral Saturday night and it had nothing to do with the players. 

Coach Brad Underwood received all the love when he posed for a photo on social media with a few of his players in a cold tub. Yep, a shirtless coach just chilling with his team in, of all places, an ice bath after they defeated Nebraska in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament. 

"I didn't know I looked that good with my shirt off," Underwood said a day later after clinching the championship versus Nebraska. "I actually cold tub every day. We're fortunate we've got one in our practice facility. I'm a big fan."

 If anything, the photo shows how cool and calm Underwood and his No. 3-seeded team are entering the NCAA Tournament this week. They open in the first round Thursday against No. 14 Morehead State in the East Region in Omaha. 

"A few of the guys called me out the first day and had to go in and really show them that even though I'm a little older than them, I'm still pretty tough. None of them can go dunk all the way under and hold their breath for 10 seconds while I can so I had to show them the old man has a little toughness to them."

If the Illini can remain calm long enough, they just may make it out of the opening weekend for the first time under Underwood.  

Illinois Coach Brad Underwood: "I'm Here To Win A National Championship"

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com 

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

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