Deon Thomas sees Illinois basketball’s rise as more than a hot stretch. To him, it’s proof that Brad Underwood has pushed the program back into the place it was always supposed to occupy.
Speaking on The Champaign Room podcast with Isaac Ambrose and Ethan Pavey, Illinois’ all-time leading scorer praised Underwood’s recent run and pointed to the Final Four breakthrough as a defining moment for the program, the athletic department and the fan base.
Thomas said the postseason run carried weight well beyond the locker room.
“I know how important that was to, not just the coaches or the players themselves, but to the department which I’m a part of right now, and to Illini nation as a whole,” Thomas said.
Now Illinois athletics’ director of major gifts and radio color analyst, Thomas has watched the shift from the inside. He noted that while Illinois has long been viewed as one of college basketball’s elite brands, the program had spent too many years without the results to match that reputation. The Final Four changed that, and the sea of orange at Lucas Oil Stadium made the message unmistakable: Illinois fans were ready for that level again.
Thomas also credited Underwood for navigating a college basketball landscape that keeps changing underneath everyone’s feet. In Thomas’ view, the coach’s flexibility has been a major reason Illinois has stayed steady during his nine-season run.
“Brad has an open mindedness about himself that allows him to look at situations and figure out solutions,” Thomas said. “His flexibility from a coaching standpoint, utilizing and learning from and understanding the staff that he has brought in, and making adjustments when he has had to has really helped, not just Illinois basketball, but I think his personal growth.”
Thomas tied that growth directly to the program’s progress.
“As he grows, the team grows. Look at where we are right now,” Thomas said. “Here we are a decade later, and he’s been shining for us.”
With a large portion of last season’s Final Four team back, Thomas expects that momentum to spill into next season. He pointed to the value of veteran players staying in the room and helping new faces get up to speed faster.
“What that does is, it cuts down the learning time,” Thomas said. “When you’re able to bring back pieces that can help the younger players or new players understand what you’re expecting from them, the older players or returning players can help them learn the system and help them groom and grow faster.”
In Other News...
Illinois Just Addressed A Tight End Problem Fans Were Watching
Illinois got a little more help at a position that had been thinned out by offseason injuries, with Bret Bielema announcing that fifth-year transfer Peyton Smith from the University of San Diego has joined the program. The tight end will wear No. 40 and arrives as an experienced option in a room that needed another body, giving Illinois some relief as it continues through preseason work.
Bielema also said there could still be more movement to come, depending on eligibility decisions tied to ongoing litigation. For a team trying to shore up depth while keeping an eye on what the legal process might open up, Smiths arrival feels like one piece of a larger roster picture that is still not fully settled. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Suddenly Has A Roster Problem It Cant Yet Solve
Illinois had already planned around two incoming veterans when the eligibility landscape changed again, and the timing could hardly be worse for Bret Bielemas roster construction. Peyton Smith and Josh Lorick were added under a prior federal ruling that had opened the door for Class of 2022 athletes to gain a fifth year, giving programs a chance to treat those players as immediate additions for the 2026-27 season.
Now a federal court in Colorado has stayed that injunction, leaving most of those athletes ineligible while the legal fight continues. Some players in separate cases still have temporary protection through individual lawsuits, but Smith and Lorick are not among them, and Illinois is left waiting for clarity on two roster pieces it had already counted on before the latest ruling scrambled the picture again. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Recruiting Momentum Just Reached Another Level Under Brad Underwood
Brad Underwoods recent run on the recruiting trail keeps giving Illinois a stronger case to sell. The latest sign came when five-star small forward Moussa Kamissoko scheduled an official visit with the Illini, giving Underwood his fourth official visit from a top-tier prospect in the 2027 class. For a program that just reached the Final Four without leaning on five-star talent, it is another reminder that Illinois is trying to turn on-court success into a deeper pipeline for the seasons ahead.
Kamissokos visit will be part of a busy senior-year itinerary, with nine official stops planned and several major programs in the mix. That kind of competition is the backdrop for what Underwood is building in Champaign, where the goal is no longer just to land one headline name but to stack high-end talent across multiple classes. Illinois has already shown it can win big without that level of recruit, and now it is pushing to see how much higher the ceiling gets if those players start choosing it too. [Read more 🡒]