Watch: Bill Self Calls Brad Underwood’s Move to Illinois a ‘Shock’

(Former) Oklahoma State head coach Brad Underwood is leaving to coach at Illinois for a much, much bigger salary it was announced on Saturday. It was an absolute stunner. And if you were surprised about it, Bill Self said he felt the same.

“I just heard it ten minutes ago, so it shocks me,” Self said. “I think it would shock most people, because obviously, you know, Brad was on a roll, I thought, in Stillwater. And a lot of great things have transpired in the short time he’s been there. So without knowing any details, I don’t know what else to say.

“I mean, if that’s — congratulate him, but certainly not discourage Oklahoma State from moving forward. I mean, because certainly the program is in better shape than it was a year ago.

“Illinois is a great basketball job. I was there. There’s no other way to look at it. It’s one of the better jobs in the Big Ten. If you look at recruiting base and institution, location, exposure, budget. There’s a lot of things about it that is very, very attractive.”

.@CoachBillSelf on #OKState coach Underwood leaving for Illinois: “It is a shock. You see a lot of coaching changes across America…” pic.twitter.com/2fK0FXau3h

— KCTV5 News (@KCTV5) March 18, 2017