1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

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1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
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Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches #16
AP #18
1954–55 record 17–5 (10-4 Big Ten)
Head coach Harry Combes
Assistant coach Howie Braun
MVP Paul Judson
Captain Morris Sterneck
Home arena Huff Hall
Seasons
« 1953–54 1955–56 »
1954–55 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#5 Iowa 11 – 3   .786     19 – 7   .731
#18 Illinois 10 – 4   .714     17 – 5   .773
#11 Minnesota 10 – 4   .714     15 – 7   .682
Michigan State 8 – 6   .571     13 – 9   .591
Northwestern 7 – 7   .500     12 – 10   .545
Purdue 5 – 9   .357     12 – 10   .545
Michigan 5 – 9   .357     11 – 11   .500
Wisconsin 5 – 9   .357     10 – 12   .455
Indiana 5 – 9   .357     8 – 14   .364
Ohio State 4 – 10   .286     10 – 12   .455
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

Head coach Harry Combes, in his eighth year at Illinois, directed a youthful team with only three returning seniors, none of which were regular players. Combes' team, once again, was primarily made of sophomores and juniors recruited from the state of Illinois.

The 1954-55 team had some talented juniors including the return of twin brothers, Paul and Phil Judson from Hebron, Illinois, Bruce Brothers and Bill Ridley. It also added sophomores George Bon Salle, Bill Altenberger, Hiles Stout, and future Illini head coach, Harv Schmidt. Exactly like the previous season, the Illini finished with a conference record of 10 wins and 4 losses, finishing in a 2nd place tie in the Big Ten. Unfortunately the Illini would lose 5 total games with three of the five losses coming at the hands of ranked opponents. The starting lineup included George Bon Salle at the center position, Bill Ridley and Bill Altenberger at guard and Bruce Brothers and Paul Judson at the forward slots. The team also included former University of Minnesota head coach Jim Dutcher.[1]

Roster

No. Player Position Height Weight Class Hometown High School
7 Morris Sterneck Guard 6–1 175 Senior Salem, Illinois Salem High School
9 Elmer Plew Guard 6-0 170 Senior Paris, Illinois Paris High School
10 Hiles Stout Forward 6–4 205 Sophomore Peoria, Illinois Central High School
11 Bill Ridley Guard 5–9 160 Junior Taylorville, Illinois Taylorville High School
16 James Burks Center 6–8 210 Sophomore Horse Cave, Kentucky Horse Cave High School
20 Bill Altenberger Guard 6–1 175 Sophomore East St. Louis, Illinois Senior High School
22 George Bon Salle Center 6–7 215 Sophomore Chicago, Illinois Loyola Academy
27 Jim Dutcher Forward 6–3 185 Senior Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove High School
30 Phil Judson Guard 6-2 165 Junior Hebron, Illinois Alden-Hebron High School
32 Bruce Brothers Forward 6–5 200 Junior Quincy, Illinois Quincy Senior High School
33 Harvard Schmidt Forward 6–6 190 Sophomore Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee High School
34 Paul Judson Guard 6-3 170 Junior Hebron, Illinois Alden-Hebron High School

Schedule

Date Opponent Score Result Location Attendance
December 2, 1954 Butler 88–34 Win Champaign, IL 4,566
December 4, 1954 Missouri 77–69 Win Champaign, IL 4,766
December 11, 1954 Oklahoma A&M (#11) 59–53 Win Stillwater, OK 8,200
December 15, 1954 Miami (OH) 97–72 Win Champaign, IL 4,898
December 18, 1954 Notre Dame (#20) 66–57 Win Champaign, IL 6,804
December 21, 1954 Rice 86–53 Win Houston, TX 3,300
December 22, 1954 Loyola (New Orleans) 66–72 Loss New Orleans, LA -
January 1, 1955 Wisconsin 64–79 Loss Champaign, IL 6,912
January 8, 1955 Indiana 99–75 Win Champaign, IL 6,912
January 10, 1955 Purdue 83–73 Win West Lafayette, IN 9,700
January 15, 1955 Ohio State 86–78 Win Columbus, OH 6,154
January 17, 1955 Iowa (#19) 80–92 Loss Iowa City, IA 15,000
January 29, 1955 Loyola (Chicago) 95–69 Win Chicago, IL 12,181
February 5, 1955 Northwestern 104–89 Win Champaign, IL 5,844
February 7, 1955 Michigan 81–80 Win Ann Arbor, MI -
February 12, 1955 Minnesota (#12) 71–78(OT) Loss Minneapolis, MN 11,879
February 14, 1955 Michigan State 90–72 Win Champaign, IL 6,912
February 19, 1955 Wisconsin 99–71 Win Madison, WI 12,100
February 21, 1955 Iowa (#15) 70–89 Loss Champaign, IL 6,912
February 26, 1955 Ohio State 85–77 Win Champaign, IL 5,829
February 28, 1955 Michigan 81–75 Win Champaign, IL 4,366
March 5, 1955 Northwestern 81–69 Win Evanston, IL 9,765

Bold Italic connotes conference game

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
Paul Judson 22 139 85 363
Bill Ridley 22 123 88 334
George BonSalle 20 98 67 263
Bruce Brothers 22 93 55 241
Bill Altenberger 22 91 25 207
Hiles Stout 16 40 44 124
Harv Schmidt 21 36 28 100
Phil Judson 22 35 22 92
Jim Dutcher 13 20 20 60
Morris Sterneck 12 4 1 9
Elmer Plew 12 3 3 9
James Burks 7 2 2 6
Dick Rapp 2 0 0 0
William Bosnak 2 0 0 0

[3]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick
No Player Drafted

[5]

Rankings

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Main article: 1954–55 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

References

  1. ↑ Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 1-58261-356-7
  2. ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters
  3. ↑ Season Stats
  4. ↑ List of MVPs
  5. ↑ 1955 NBA Draft
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