Illinois coach Brad Underwood took the high road Saturday afternoon in responding to a random stray lodged earlier in the day from Georgetown coach Ed Cooley at his Illinois program in which he called Illinois a "bullshit school." Cooley made the remark after Georgetown's 82-65 home win over Saint Francis when talking up Jayden Epps -- a junior guard who transferred from Illinois -- and specifically Epps' defensive development, saying he felt he was almost seeing an entirely new player from when he played for "that other bullshit school" vs. what he's become with the Hoyas.
"That's not even worth a waste of my time on," Underwood said. "I don't know what he was referencing that about, and Jayden had a productive freshman year here. But I'm not going to get into all that. I'll let our fans and everybody else have some fun, which I'm sure they probably are."
Ed Cooley on Jayden Epps’ defensive development:
— Karl Heiser (@KHeiserCBB) November 23, 2024
“It’s almost like he’s a new player. It’s something I saw in him his freshman year when he played for that other bullsh*t school.”
😅😅😅 pic.twitter.com/mO2PJPecn8
Cooley for his part issued an apology on social media shortly after his press conference before Underwood could even respond. Technically, his initial comments did not explicitly name Illinois, which he was quick to note in his press conference, but it was not hard to put the reference together quickly.
"My comment today was said in jest with one of my players, but I admit it was a poor choice of words," he said. "I have the utmost respect for the University of Illinois, its men's basketball program, coaches and players."
Epps averaged 9.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in his one and only season with Illinois in 2022-23. He transferred to Georgetown last year and nearly doubled his scoring production, averaging 18.5 points, 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game.
On Saturday, Epps scored 23 points and added three steals and a block in pacing the Hoyas to their fourth win on the season. It marked the ninth consecutive outing Epps has scored double figures dating back to last season, and was his fifth game in which he's logged three or more steals with Georgetown.
