Illini men's basketball set sights on NCAA championship after Elite 8 exit
ROSEMONT, Ill. (CBS) -- The college basketball season doesn't tip off until next month, but Big Ten Media Day arrived in Rosemont as Illinois sets its sights even higher after an Elite 8 appearance last year.
Brad Underwood will begin his eighth year in Champaign with a whole new cast. Junior Ty Rodgers is one of only two returning players from last year's Elite 8 team.
Underwood has retooled his entire roster with some talented freshmen and transfers after just missing the Final 4 with a blowout loss to UConn.
This year, it's national championship or bust for the orange and blue.
"To me, Illinois basketball is back where it should be," Underwood said. "But there's two more games to play and we didn't get there. That's our goal. I've said many times we can win a national championship at Illinois. I'm not gonna rest until we do that."
Rodgers, a Thorton Township alum, said he gets "chills" thinking about how far the program has come during his tenure at Illinois. He said the opportunity to improve this season is "exciting."
"It's stuff you dream of as a kid," Rodgers said. "So just to put that work in and right now that's what we're thinking of. We're thinking San Antonio. So that's where our heads are at."
The NCAA men's basketball championship game will be held in San Antonio next year.
Kylan Boswell, an Illinois guard who transferred over form Arizona, said while the team is quite young, its depth compares favorably to any team in the nation.
"All we can do right now is keep working on our chemistry," Boswell said. "Trying to get better each day, and just working on our competitiveness."