What to know about Lincoln's connection to Illinois' run to Final Four

Lincoln’s own Geoff Alexander will appear in the men’s Final Four in Indianapolis, where the University of Illinois will take on Connecticut on Saturday, April 4 at 5:09 p. m. Alexander serves as Illini head coach Brad Underwood’s assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

This is his fifth season as an Illinois assistant and ninth overall on the staff. What is Alexander’s role? Underwood attributed the team’s heavy European presence to Alexander and fellow assistant Orlando Antigua.

It includes six Europeans: David Mirkovic (Montenegro), Andrej Stojakovic (Greece), twins Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic (Croatia), Mihailo Petrovic (Serbia), and Toni Bilic (Croatia). Lithuanian point guard Kasparas Jakucionis turned out to be a 2025 first-round NBA draft pick as well. "It's taken years,” Underwood said, according to USA Today.

NIL has obviously helped enhance our abilities to attract some of the best players in Europe. But they're a great fit for us. It's not for everybody.