1942–43 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

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1942–43 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
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Conference Big Ten Conference
1942–43 record 17–1 (12–0 Big Ten)
Head coach Douglas R. Mills
Assistant coach Howie Braun
Assistant coach Wally Roettger
Assistant coach Ralph Fletcher
MVP Andy Phillip
Captain Arthur Mathisen
Home arena Huff Hall
Seasons
« 1941–42 1943–44 »
1942–43 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Illinois 12 – 0   1.000     17 – 1   .944
Indiana 11 – 2   .846     18 – 2   .900
Northwestern 7 – 5   .583     8 – 9   .471
Wisconsin 6 – 6   .500     12 – 9   .571
Purdue 6 – 6   .500     9 – 11   .450
Minnesota 5 – 7   .417     8 – 9   .471
Ohio State 5 – 7   .417     8 – 9   .471
Michigan 4 – 8   .333     10 – 8   .556
Iowa 3 – 9   .250     7 – 10   .412
Chicago 0 – 9   .000     0 – 21   .000
Rankings from AP Poll
File:The 1942-43 fighting illini mens basketball team.png
"1942-43 Fighting Illini men's basketball team"

The 1942–43 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

The 1942–43 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois. The Illinois Fighting Illini finished the season with a record of 17 wins and 1 loss. The season was cut short as three of the five starters headed off to active duty in the armed forces. Illinois won the Big Ten Conference Title and had finished the regular season as the nations' top ranked team. Paced by a group of players known as the Whiz Kids, the team consisted of 20-year-old All-America forward Andy Phillip and teenagers Ken Menke, Gene Vance, Jack Smiley and team captain Art Mathisen. These players were so dominant in the Big Ten, that only Northwestern's Otto Graham could crack the all-conference team.[1]

The Army drafted Mathisen, Menke and Smiley. That left only Vance and Phillip, both good enough to be selected to Illinois' All-Century team. Head coach Doug Mills made a decision in February 1943 that all five always supported, the club did not participate in either the NCAA or NIT tournament.[2] Wyoming's NCAA championship that season may not have happened had Illinois’ season not coincided with World War II. The team was retroactively named the national champion by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.[3]

Four of the five, minus Mathisen, returned to Illinois and tried to recapture the glory for one more season in 1946–47 after the war ended, but the chemistry had changed as well as their talent. Illinois went 14–6.

The final living Whiz Kid, Gene Vance, died in 2012.

Roster

No Player Position Class Hometown
3 Frank Bohac Guard Sophomore Braidwood, Illinois
4 Bishop Barrick Forward Junior Stillman Valley, Illinois
5 Raymond Bergeson Center Junior Bridgeton, New Jersey
6 Clifton Fulton Guard Sophomore Pittsburg, Kansas
7 Raymond Grierson Forward Sophomore Champaign, Illinois
8 Edwin Parker Center/Forward Senior Taft, California
9 Kenneth Parker Guard Senior Granite City, Illinois
10 Gordon Hortin Guard Sophomore Evansville, Indiana
11 John Kjellstrom Guard Sophomore Hebron, Illinois
12 Ken Menke Forward Junior Dundee, Illinois
13 Alton Shirley Center Sophomore Edmond, Oklahoma
14 Oliver Shoaff Forward Sophomore Mt. Carmel, Illinois
15 Arthur Smiley Guard Junior Waterman, Illinois
16 W.L. Miller Forward Freshman Chicago, Illinois
17 Herb Matter Forward Junior Naperville, Illinois
19 Arthur Mathisen (captain) Center Senior Dwight, Illinois
25 Ellis Vance Guard Junior Clinton, Illinois
33 Charles Fowler Forward Sophomore Watseka, Illinois
47 Andrew Phillip Guard/Forward Junior Granite City, Illinois

Record

Date Opponent Score Result Location Attendance
December 7, 1942 Detroit 38–25 Win Champaign, IL 5,277
December 12, 1942 Nebraska 69–27 Win Champaign, IL 4,884
December 14, 1942 Missouri 51–30 Win Champaign, IL 4,465
December 19, 1942 Great Lakes 57–53 Win Chicago, IL 13,295
December 21, 1942 Camp Grant 31–41 Loss Rockford, IL 2,200
January 2, 1943 Stanford 38–26 Win Champaign, IL 6,835
January 9, 1943 Michigan 47–34 Win Champaign, IL 7,188
January 11, 1943 Wisconsin 47–34 Win Madison, WI 14,000
January 16, 1943 Iowa 61–41 Win Champaign, IL 7,004
January 18, 1943 Iowa 66–34 Win Champaign, IL 6,684
February 1, 1943 Northwestern 68–51 Win Champaign, IL 6,766
February 6, 1943 Ohio State 60–48 Win Columbus, OH 3,300
February 8, 1943 Ohio State 50–44 Win Columbus, OH 2,900
February 13, 1943 Minnesota 56–35 Win Minneapolis, MN 6,800
February 15, 1943 Minnesota 67–43 Win Minneapolis, MN 5,100
February 20, 1943 Wisconsin 50–26 Win Champaign, IL 7,102
February 27, 1943 Northwestern 68–51 Win Chicago, IL 19,880
February 27, 1943 University of Chicago 92–25 Win Champaign, IL 6,443

Bold Italic connotes conference game

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
Andy Phillip 18 131 43 305
Arthur Mathisen 18 86 51 201
Ken Menke 17 70 43 183
Jack Smiley 17 59 17 135
Gene Vance 18 56 14 126
Edwin Parker 18 12 10 34
Oliver Shoaff 14 7 3 17
Kenneth Parker 14 7 2 16
Alton Shirley 14 3 0 6
Cliff Fulton 6 1 2 4
Herbert Matter 2 1 2 4
Charles Fowler 7 2 0 4
W.L. Miller 5 1 0 2
Gordon Hortin 6 1 0 2

[5]


Awards and honors

References

  1. ↑ http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0747268.html
  2. ↑ http://www.mylosingseason.com/2007/01/sailors-ferrin-mikan-and-great-santini.html
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters
  5. ↑ Season Stats
  6. ↑ List of MVPs
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