Inside Illini Basketball

Episode 414: Focus shifts to fall

Workouts are underway again at Ubben Basketball Complex with the majority of the team back from their summer vacations save for Tomislav Ivisic, who is stuck in Croatia.

Episode 413: Vibes remain high

Summer is officially over with classes resuming this week in Champaign. That means the college basketball season is right around the corner. Practices start in a month, t

Episode 412: Planning ahead

There's still a week left before the 2026-27 Illinois basketball team returns to campus, so the brief summer slowdown mostly continues. Except on the recruiting front, wi

Episode 411: Summer slow down

Summer workouts wrapped up last week for Illinois, with the players (and coaches) getting a short break before preparation resumes for the 2026-27 season. Fall work that

Episode 410: End of summer quiz

Illinois will close out its summer workouts this week. With the new school year is just around the corner we quizzed beat writer Scott Richey on all things Illinois baske

Episode 409: Ubben's a happy place

Brad Underwood has plenty going on to make him happy as summer nears its unofficial end. Stefan Vaaks is back and getting reacclimated with his teammates. Andrej Stojakov

Episode 408: A visit with Loren Tate

The dean of Big Ten sportswriters and a U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Famer, News-Gazette columnist Loren Tate is as high on Brad Underwood's program as any

Episode 407: Summer hoops

Las Vegas has become the center of the basketball world. Particularly this past weekend with NBA Summer League ongoing and Nike taking its EBYL circuit to the desert. Bot

Episode 406: Vaaks a pealtpanek for Illinois

That's "slam dunk" in Estonian, and adding the Tabasalu native out of the transfer portal was exactly that for Illinois this offseason. Vaaks fits the mold Brad Underwood

Episode 405: Summer of opportunity 

Workouts continue for Illinois, with the whole team save for Stefan Vaaks (back in Estonia for World Cup qualifiers) on campus and putting in the summer grind. David Mirk

Episode 404: Good vibes only

This is a big week for Illinois with Keaton Wagler (and maybe Kylan Boswell) in the 2026 NBA Draft and the second week of summer workouts underway at Ubben Basketball Com

Episode 403: Summer grind

Roster retention put Illinois in position to be considered one of the top teams in the country heading into the 2026-27 season. But there are still roles to fill in the r

Episode 402: Impressive, if not golden

Quentin Coleman was the most consistent player on the court for Team USA during its entire FIBA U18 AmeriCup run and the only American to make the All-Star Five. The one

Episode 401: Preseason hype ... in June

Illinois was a clear winner following the NBA draft early entrant withdrawal deadline. Andrej Stojakovic's return to Champaign for the 2026-27 season — full retention — r

Episode 400: Special guest Brad Underwood

Illinois coach Brad Underwood joins our Scott Richey for another milestone episode of Inside Illini Basketball and a wide-ranging conversation that hit on the Final Four

Episode 399: Everything's coming up Illinois

The NBA draft is less than two months away, with Keaton Wagler still projected as a high lottery pick. Brad Underwood is in line for a contract extension and raise (and s

Episode 398: Diving into the draft

This week is an important one for Illinois' Keaton Wagler, Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic with the NBA draft combine . Beat writer Scott Richey will eventually join

Episode 397: Offseason Q&A 

Beat writer Scott Richey answers a series of questions during this week's Inside Illini Basketball, including the NBA draft future for a trio of Illinois standouts, where

Episode 396: Illini and the NBA

Keaton Wagler projects as a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Kylan Boswell could go from Champaign to the league if his second-round projection holds. Andrej Stojakovi

Episode 395: Offseason success

Last week solidified Illinois as legitimate contender as the preseason No. 1 team in the country. Retention was the offseason priority in Champaign, and Brad Underwood an