Before the Illinois Fighting Illini played Maryland Eastern Shore at the State Farm Center, they found themselves in the spotlight due to comments made by Georgetown’s head coach, Ed Cooley, in Washington, D.C. Georgetown had just defeated St. Francis 82-65, but it was Cooley’s remarks about Jayden Epps, a former Illini player, that grabbed attention. Cooley mentioned that Epps was like a “new player,” implying that his time at Illinois wasn’t beneficial, although he did not directly name the school. This raised questions among fans, as the only school Epps had played for was Illinois, unless Cooley was referring to Epps’ high school in Suffolk, Virginia, which seemed an unnecessary insult.
Despite Epps’ evident improvement in his game, having increased his production at Georgetown compared to his freshman year at Illinois, Cooley’s choice of words—calling Illinois a “bull*** school”—was controversial. Afterward, Cooley posted a vague clarification, acknowledging he had made a “poor choice of words.”
When asked about Cooley’s remarks, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood dismissed them, saying it wasn’t worth his time. He expressed uncertainty about what Cooley was referring to and emphasized that Epps had a productive freshman season at Illinois. Underwood also noted that he wasn’t going to delve into the situation further.
Ed Cooley
Epps averaged 9.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in his freshman year at Illinois, before transferring to Georgetown, where his performance improved to 18.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Underwood, however, chose to focus on his team’s upcoming games, mentioning he had bigger concerns like the games against Arkansas and Little Rock.
Underwood also made it clear he wasn’t going to engage in any back-and-forth over the issue. He humorously left it up to the fans to have their say while he focused on his responsibilities as coach, particularly the upcoming matchups.
