1938–39 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1938–39 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

1938–39 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1938–39 record14–5 (8-4 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
CaptainTom Nisbet
Home arenaHuff Hall
1938–39 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Ohio State102 .833  167  .696
Indiana93 .750  173  .850
Illinois84 .667  145  .737
Minnesota75 .583  146  .700
Purdue66 .500  127  .632
Northwestern57 .417  713  .350
Michigan48 .333  119  .550
Wisconsin48 .333  1010  .500
Chicago48 .333  911  .450
Iowa39 .250  811  .421
Rankings from AP Poll

Regular season

The 1938-39 season was year number three for head coach Doug Mills. Overall the team regrouped from a miserable eighth-place finish in the Big Ten a year earlier by winning 9 of their 10 home games only losing to conference rival Indiana. Unfortunately for the Fighting Illini they finished with a 5-5 record on the road to finish in third place overall in conference action. Mills' Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team featured only 5 returning letterman. Along with team captain Tom Nisbit, the Illini also featured a starting lineup of Lewis Dehner at the center position, John Drish, Joe Frank and William Hapac at forward and George Wardley, and Colin Handlon at guard.[2]

Roster

1938–39 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G 3 Colin Handlon
Jr Connersville, Indiana
G 4 Henry Sachs
Fr Chicago, Illinois
C 6 Robert O'Neill
So Pitman, New Jersey
C 8 Lewis Dehner
Sr Lincoln, Illinois
F 9 Edsel Hart
So Kensington, Kansas
G 10 James Phillips
So Oak Park, Illinois
G 11 Darold Staley
So Decatur, Illinois
G 12 Robert Richmond
So Johnston City, Illinois
G 15 George Wardley
Sr Gary, Indiana
F 17 Joe Frank
Jr Urbana, Illinois
G 18 Tom Nisbet (C)
Sr Chicago, Illinois
F 19 William Hapac
Jr Cicero, Illinois
G 20 Harold Shapiro
So Chicago, Illinois
F 21 John Drish
So Evanston, Illinois
F 26 Ivan Johnson
So Thebes, Illinois
F 27 Howard Cronk
So Anderson, Indiana
F 28 Norman Cusick
So Chicago Heights, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Rosters Roster

Source[3]

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/10/1938*
no, no
Washington (St. Louis) W 49–31  1–0 (0–0)
Huff Hall (5,000)
Champaign, IL
12/17/1938*
no, no
North Dakota W 61–33  2–0 (0–0)
Huff Hall (4,000)
Champaign, IL
12/21/1938*
no, no
Connecticut State W 49–33  3–0 (0–0)
Huff Hall (4,763)
Champaign, IL
12/27/1938*
no, no
Manhattan W 60–41  4–0 (0–0)
Madison Square Garden (17,000)
New York, NY
12/29/1938*
no, no
Villanova W 28–22  5–0 (0–0)
Municipal Auditorium (9,000)
Philadelphia, PA
1/3/1939*
no, no
Cornell W 35-34  6–0 (0–0)
Huff Hall (8,500)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/7/1939
no, no
Michigan W 30–20  7–0 (1–0)
Yost Field House (6,553)
Ann Arbor, MI
1/9/1939
no, no
Indiana
Rivalry
L 28–29  7–1 (1–1)
Huff Hall (6,706)
Champaign, IL
1/14/1939
no, no
University of Chicago W 43–33  8–1 (2–1)
Henry Crown Field House (3,500)
Chicago, IL
1/16/1939
no, no
Ohio State W 45–31  9–1 (3–1)
Huff Hall (6,846)
Champaign, IL
1/21/1939
no, no
Wisconsin W 37-34  10–1 (4–1)
Wisconsin Field House (11,200)
Madison, WI
1/23/1939
no, no
Minnesota L 33–35  10–2 (4–2)
Williams Arena (16,500)
Minneapolis, MN
2/3/1939*
no, no
Notre Dame L 24–38  10–3 (4–2)
Notre Dame Fieldhouse (5,500)
Notre Dame, IN
2/6/1939
no, no
Iowa
Rivalry
W 34–26  11–3 (5–2)
Huff Hall (6,000)
Champaign, IL
2/11/1939
no, no
Purdue L 30–34  11–4 (5–3)
Lambert Fieldhouse (5,000)
West Lafayette, IN
2/13/1939
no, no
Michigan W 35–28  12–4 (6–3)
Yost Field House (4,000)
Ann Arbor, MI
2/20/1939
no, no
Purdue W 35–28  13–4 (7–3)
Huff Hall (6,900)
Champaign, IL
2/25/1939
no, no
Northwestern L 34–36  13–5 (7–4)
Patten Gymnasium (5,000)
Evanston, IL
2/27/1939
no, no
University of Chicago W 49–26  14–5 (8–4)
Huff Hall (6,500)
Champaign, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Bold Italic connotes conference game Source[4]

Awards and honors

References

  1. National Athletic Trainer Association
  2. Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 1-58261-356-7
  3. FightingIllini.com
  4. University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1938–39 pg.79, FightingIllini.com
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