Illinois men's basketball notebook: The two Coach Underwoods

Jul. 14—CHAMPAIGN — Count on two people responding when someone shouts out "Coach Underwood!" at Ubben Basketball Complex.

At least for a little while.

"I think I've got that title for a little bit, anyway," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. His son, former Illini walk-on Tyler Underwood, was recently promoted to one of the two new assistant coach positions.

"His mother may disagree," the elder Underwood continued. "We'll probably both say, 'What?' when asked that. It's nice for him to have that and be recognized as a coach."

Brad Underwood said he doesn't take for granted the fact he gets to continue to work with his son after coaching him at Stephen F. Austin, Oklahoma State and Illinois.

The Illini coach also said the decision to promote both Zach Hamer and his son to newly created assistant positions was an easy one to make.

"Those guys are both great teachers," Brad Underwood said. "They've earned that right to be on the floor teaching. They can now communicate their knowledge and understanding of what we're doing.

"It was an easy move," the Illinois coach continued, "and an easy decision for me — two guys with a wealth of knowledge and experience that know what we're looking for."

The promotions of Hamer and Tyler Underwood to assistant coach spots won't be the only summer changes to the Illinois roster. Brad Underwood said he anticipated hiring at least one new staffer to fill what was Tyler Underwood's previous role as director of recruiting and scouting.

"Basically the (transfer) portal was a full-time monitoring deal," Brad Underwood said. "A lot of film work. Tyler also got very involved with scouting. We'll continue to look to add to that level. We'll make sure we keep the portal guy. That's a vital and important position."

The only real restriction for Hamer and Tyler Underwood as new assistant coaches is recruiting. Neither can recruit off campus. Once prospective recruits hit campus, though, is an entirely different story.

Tyler Underwood was involved in that process the past two seasons in his previous role and will hold on to that piece of his old job.

"I'll still handle our visits, because we have some processes in place and I'm comfortable doing it," Tyler Underwood said. "I enjoy getting to know the players and their families."

Tyler Underwood will fill a role on the Illinois coaching staff, just as any player would on the team. But he has his specific interests and said he leans more toward an offensive mindset. Guard play — ball-screen offense in particular — is at the top of his list.

"Just getting guys to grasp what we want from them," Tyler Underwood said. "There's no gray area. They know the assignment — there's no real question marks about it — and now we can go out and play effortlessly. We're trusting our instincts. We're making plays.

"Basketball is a hard game to play when you're constantly thinking and trying to process. We want a game where we're trusting our instincts — we know we've put the work in — and we just want to make plays. It's kind of like being the quarterback. You go through your progression. That's what I enjoy spending time on."

Illinois' primary three assistant coaches — Geoff Alexander, Tim Anderson and Chester Frazier — will get a chance to lead the team during its trip to Spain next month. All three will get a chance to serve as in-game coach during a game, which matches what Brad Underwood did four years ago during the trip to Italy.

The Illini are set to leave for Spain on Aug. 4. The games are important — an early look at what a team with seven returning players and five newcomers can do on the court. But it's not the only purpose of the trip.

"It's about the practices," Brad Underwood said. Illinois is allotted 10 official practices before its trip and using them this week. "It's about the educational experience of being in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia — places I've never been, but they haven't been either. To learn each other on the court through competition, but also learn each other off the court and have fun.

"There's nowhere to go. We're all there together. Families will be there and coaches. The interactions that happen on the road are very meaningful."