CHAMPAIGN – It’s impossible to knock the good mood out of Illini basketball coach Brad Underwood, and it’s just as hard to wipe that smile off his face.

He just sees things finally falling into place for a basketball program that once was a regular on Selection Sunday. He wouldn’t let a problem with Visas for two key players or a loss to the Netherlands National B team get in the way of the feel-good heading into what might be the most important year in his tenure with the Illini.

More players are signing up to join the Illini, and Underwood is still flashing a grin over shooting numbers produced during the Italian exhibition tour by Ayo Dosunmu, the Big Man on Campus these days. Sorry, Kofi.

So with the fall semester just around the corner, fall conditioning in September and the start of practice likely sometime in early October, Underwood can’t wait for the season’s opening tip after setting a school record with 21 losses last winter. Perhaps in his mind, it’s time for some pay back.

Considering the opportunity to take an experienced team to for games in Europe following the NCAA allowed 10 practices on campus, plus the additions of two transfers who must sit out the season and a prep recruit committed over the weekend, Underwood showed off a growing confidence where the Illini program stands

“It’s been a very productive summer,’’ Underwood said. “The trip to Italy was fantastic. Overall, we came out a better basketball team.

“It’s nice to have a group of veterans back to be able to enhance and move forward you’re your teachings, then to add some pieces and not have a complete overhaul had we gone the year before. The timing was perfect.’’

Players like Alan Griffin and Tevian Jones were able to blossom in those hot, stuffy gyms in Italy, where the Illini were 3-1 against a mixture of competition. The loss came in the fourth game in five days, Underwood said, in part because of having only seven scholarship players on the bench.

Of course, he mentioned this with that smile on his face, so nothing is bothering him these days.

The improvement from last season started at the top with Dosunmu, who showed off an improved shooting accuracy from the extended three-point line that goes into effect this fall. There’s no argument. From a talent and leadership standpoint, this is Ayo’s team. The Illini go as Ayo goes, so it’s good for the Illini-heads to see him putting up some big numbers.

“If you want to look at the numbers, you can start with Ayo,’’ Underwood said. “You can see the hard work is paying off for him with his shooting. It was close to 60 percent from the field and his three-point shooting was way up to the mid-40s. That’s due to a lot of work.’’

The Illini ranked a respectable seventh in the Big Ten last season in three-point shooting. With the new line pushed back to 22 feet, 1 ¾ inches, Illinois could use a bigger threat outside to create more room to maneuver for Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Kofi Cockburn.

The extended line “creates more space,’’ Underwood said. “For guys who can really shoot it, it creates a step or a step and a half of more coverage. That can really benefit us as we work Kofi and Giorgi into post up opportunities.’’

Guard Trent Frazier may also benefit because he’s tasked with playing downhill and driving toward the rim. It creates chances for himself or others, and gets Frazier to the line more.

“Trent was great on both ends of the court,’’ Underwood said. “He didn’t have great shooting numbers, but his aggression was something we were really talking about. He’s a 14-, 15-point a game scorer for us in his first two years. There’s no reason that shouldn’t go up, but he’s got to be more aggressive. By doing that, he’ll get to the foul line, where he’s got to have more opportunities. We’ve got to make that next step. He did really good job in Italy. We saw marked improvement. Defensively, he’s going to hawk the ball and do a great job of denying.’’

Meanwhile, Griffin and Jones came alive during the absence of Cockburn and Andres Feliz. Griffin worked on his body and his game in the short offseason, and he was allowed to play through some early mistakes in Italy. But he improved his rebounding,

“He missed one opportunity on four games to go to the offensive glass,’’ Underwood said. “He found out there are a lot of points there. He was a big piece of what we did over there.’’

Of course, the trip wasn’t prefect. Cockburn and Feliz were blocked from leaving the country because of passport issues. It’s shocking a program with so many layers of coaching and administration wouldn’t have an answer before arriving in Miami. Therefore, the Illini weren’t able to play the two big men together overseas, where the Illini could see them hassle opposing offenses.

“We didn’t’ get to see the two big guys play together,’’ Underwood said. “We saw a lot of it in practice and liked it. I still have a lot of questions as we try to grow a mentality. We don’t want to outscore people. We want to stop people. We did some good things. We turned over some people. We still made a few too many mistakes, but that’s what August is about.’’

There was more feel good from Underwood on two transfers, but they must sit out for a year. Jacob Grandison came to Illinois from Holy Cross, where the coach (Bill Carmody) just threw up his hands and, um, retired, so there wasn’t a high level played there. And Division III transfer Austin Hutcherson has to handle a transition to a different kind of game and a different kind of coaching.

Underwood wasn’t able to speak yet on Jermain Hamline, a class of 2019 forward who committed to the Illini over the weekend.

That’s for another day, when Underwood will probably be smiling again.