1942–43 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

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

1942–43 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Premo-Porretta National Champions
Big Ten champions
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1942–43 record17–1 (12–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPAndy Phillip
CaptainArthur Mathisen
Home arenaHuff Hall
1942–43 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Illinois120 1.000  171  .944
Indiana112 .846  182  .900
Northwestern75 .583  89  .471
Wisconsin66 .500  129  .571
Purdue66 .500  911  .450
Minnesota57 .417  89  .471
Ohio State57 .417  89  .471
Michigan48 .333  108  .556
Iowa39 .250  710  .412
Chicago09 .000  021  .000
Rankings from AP Poll
"1942-43 Fighting Illini men's basketball team"

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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4]

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

1942–43 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G 3 Frank Bohac
So Braidwood, Illinois
G 4 Bishop Barrick
Jr Stillman Valley, Illinois
C 5 Raymond Bergeson
Jr Bridgeton, New Jersey
G 6 Clifton Fulton
So Pittsburg, Kansas
F 7 Raymond Grierson
So Champaign, Illinois
F 8 Edwin Parker
Sr Taft, California
G 9 Kenneth Parker
Sr Granite City, Illinois
G 10 Gordon Hortin
So Evansville, Indiana
G 11 John Kjellstrom
So Hebron, Illinois
F 12 Ken Menke
Jr Dundee, Illinois
C 13 Alton Shirley
So Edmond, Oklahoma
F 14 Oliver Shoaff
So Mt. Carmel, Illinois
G 15 Arthur Smiley
Jr Waterman, Illinois
F 16 W.L. Miller
Fr Chicago, Illinois
F 17 Herb Matter
Jr Naperville, Illinois
C 19 Arthur Mathisen (C)
Sr Dwight, Illinois
G 25 Ellis Vance
Jr Clinton, Illinois
F 33 Charles Fowler
So Watseka, Illinois
G/F 47 Andrew Phillip
Jr Granite City, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[5]

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/7/1942*
no, no
Detroit W 38–25  1–0 (0–0)
Huff Hall (5,277)
Champaign, IL
12/12/1942*
no, no
Nebraska W 69–27  2–0 (0–0)
Huff Hall (4,884)
Champaign, IL
12/14/1942*
no, no
Missouri
Rivalry
W 51–30  3–0 (0–0)
Huff Hall (4,465)
Champaign, IL
12/19/1942*
no, no
Great Lakes W 57–53  4–0 (0–0)
Chicago Stadium (13,295)
Chicago, IL
12/21/1942*
no, no
Camp Grant L 31–41  4–1 (0–0)
Camp Grant Y.M.C.A. (2,200)
Rockford, IL
1/2/1943*
no, no
Stanford W 38–26  5–1 (0–0)
Huff Hall (6,835)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/9/1943
no, no
Michigan W 47–34  6–1 (1–0)
Huff Hall (7,188)
Champaign, IL
1/11/1943
no, no
Wisconsin W 47–34  7–1 (2–0)
Wisconsin Field House (14,000)
Madison, WI
1/16/1943
no, no
Iowa
Rivalry
W 61–41  8–1 (3–0)
Huff Hall (7,004)
Champaign, IL
1/18/1943
no, no
Iowa
Rivalry
W 66–34  9–1 (4–0)
Huff Hall (6,684)
Champaign, IL
2/1/1943
no, no
Northwestern W 68–51  10–1 (5–0)
Huff Hall (6,766)
Champaign, IL
2/6/1942
no, no
Ohio State W 60–48  11-1 (6–0)
Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (3,300)
Columbus, OH
2/8/1943
no, no
Ohio State W 50–44  12–1 (7–0)
Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (2,900)
Columbus, OH
2/13/1943
no, no
Minnesota W 56–35  13–1 (8–0)
Williams Arena (6,800)
Minneapolis, MN
2/15/1943
no, no
Minnesota W 55–29  14–1 (9–0)
Williams Arena (5,100)
Minneapolis, MN
2/20/1943
no, no
Wisconsin W 50–26  15–1 (10–0)
Huff Hall (7,102)
Champaign, IL
2/27/1943
no, no
Northwestern W 68–51  16–1 (11–0)
Chicago Stadium (19,880)
Chicago, IL
3/1/1943
no, no
University of Chicago W 92–25  17–1 (12–0)
Huff Hall (6,443)
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[6]

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
Andy Phillip1813143305
Arthur Mathisen188651201
Ken Menke177043183
Jack Smiley175917135
Gene Vance185614126
Edwin Parker18121034
Oliver Shoaff147317
Kenneth Parker147216
Alton Shirley14306
Cliff Fulton6124
Herbert Matter2124
Charles Fowler7204
W.L. Miller5102
Gordon Hortin6102

[7]

Awards and honors

References

  1. National Athletic Trainer Association
  2. http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0747268.html
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2010-10-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. p. 565. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  5. FightingIllini.com
  6. University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1942–43 pg.79, FightingIllini.com
  7. "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  8. List of MVPs
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