A Century of Excellence: The History of Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball

The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team, representing the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, stands as a storied program within the NCAA Division I landscape. Competing in the Big Ten Conference, the Illini have a rich tradition marked by consistent success, memorable moments, and impactful figures. Their home court is the State Farm Center, located on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's campus in Champaign.

Through the end of the 2024-25 season, Illinois ranks among the elite programs in college basketball history. The Illini rank 10th all-time in AP poll appearances, 14th all-time in winning percentage, and 15th all-time in wins among all NCAA Division I men's college basketball programs. With 35 appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 5 Final Four berths, and 10 Elite Eight appearances, Illinois has consistently been a force on the national stage. In conference play, Illinois has secured 18 Big Ten regular season championships and 4 Big Ten Tournament championships. The Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively designated the 1915 season as a national championship for Illinois. Additionally, the 1943 team was retroactively listed as the top team of the season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. The Illinois Fighting Illini finished ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll once, in 2005.

Early Years and the Rise to Prominence (1905-1947)

The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team commenced play during the 1905-06 season. Elwood Brown guided the team to a 9-8 record as their first coach. Frank L. Pinckney took control of the team before the start of the 1906-07 season. Another coaching change led to Fletcher Lane being in charge of the team for the 1907-08 season. Even though Lane led a successful season, his style of coaching was deemed subpar. Former Illini player Herb Juul was then hired as the head coach of the 1908-09 squad. The Illini would not see the same success as the season prior, finishing the season with a 7-6 (5-6) record. Despite the struggles, Juul became the first coach in Illinois history to return for more than one season. Thomas E. Thompson took the reins before the 1910-11 season. The Illini would finish fourth in the Western Conference after earning a 6-6 (6-5) record.

Before the start of the 1912-13 season, Illinois hired former Purdue head coach, Ralph Jones. During his three seasons in West Lafayette, Jones compiled a 32-9 record, while also winning the previous two Western Conference titles. During the 1914-15 season, Illinois won their first-ever Big Ten title, going 16-0 (12-0). They were retroactively named as the national champion of that season by the Helms Athletic Foundation and were also retroactively listed as the top team of the season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.

Before the start of the 1936-37 season, Douglas R. Mills began acting as the head coach and athletic director of the Illinois men's basketball team. Before World War II broke out, the Fighting Illini men's basketball program had achieved a status that had never been seen prior. Mills grouped a team of players, all around 6-foot-3, into a nearly undefeatable lineup later known as the "Whiz Kids". The 1941-42 freshman and sophomore lineup of Arthur Smiley, Ken Menke, Andy Phillip, Gene Vance, Victor Wukovits, and Art Mathisen dominated the Big Ten by posting a 13-2 conference record and winning the conference title outright. The Illini finished 1942-43 season with a 17-1 (12-0) record, winning their second-straight Big Ten title. Despite being ranked No. 1 in the nation, they opted not to play in the 1943 NCAA tournament after three of their five starters were called to duty in World War II. The 1946-47 season, would be Mills' last season as the head coach of the Illini. The team ended the season with a 14-6 (8-4) record, finishing one game behind Wisconsin in the Big Ten standings.

The Combes Era and Integration (1947-1967)

Champaign High School basketball coach Harry Combes was hired to succeed Doug Mills as Mills left the position to focus on his duties as the athletic director. Through his first five seasons as head coach, Combes led the Fighting Illini to three NCAA Final Four appearances in 1949, 1951, and 1952. During his tenure as coach, Combes increased the Fighting Illini's offensive output by changing their style of play. In 1951, Combes signed the first black player to don an Illinois uniform, 3x All-State point guard Walt Moore of Mount Vernon. During the 1957-58 season, Mannie Jackson and Govoner Vaughn were inserted into the starting lineup as the first two African-Americans to start and letter in basketball at Illinois. Combes also oversaw the Illini's move from Huff Hall to Assembly Hall in 1963 and during that same season the Illini won a fourth Big Ten Conference championship under Combes. However, the Illini lost to eventual national champion Loyola (Chicago) in the Elite Eight of the 1963 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Combes' tenure came to an end as a result of the University of Illinois slush fund scandal. As head coach of the basketball team, he was primarily responsible for the basketball fund, and thus held a key role in the scandal.

Schmidt and Henson: Rebuilding and Revival (1967-1996)

Former Illini player Harv Schmidt was hired to fill the head coaching vacancy ten days after Combes' forced resignation. During his tenure, the Illini compiled an 89-77 overall record but went 43-55 in conference play. In 1975, after having taken New Mexico State (and future Illinois assistant coach Jimmy Collins) to the 1970 Final Four, Lou Henson moved to the University of Illinois to replace Gene Bartow, after Bartow left Illinois to replace the legendary John Wooden at UCLA. Henson would lead the Fighting Illini back to their glory after having a number of difficult years following the Illinois slush fund scandal (where Illinois was hit with severe penalties for infractions that other Big 10 schools had in years prior been punished much more leniently (according to Sports Illustrated) at the time). In 21 years at Illinois, Henson garnered 423 wins and 224 losses (.654 winning percentage), and with a record of 214 wins and 164 losses (.567) in Big Ten Conference games. The 214 wins in Big Ten games were the third highest total ever at the time of his retirement.

In 1981, Illinois made strides in its return to the national spotlight with a 21-8 record, a third-place Big Ten finish and an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The team received a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament and beat Wyoming, 67-65, in Los Angeles to advance to the regionals in Salt Lake City, where Illinois lost to Kansas State, 57-52. During this season, the Fighting Illini led the Big Ten in scoring for the second consecutive season and were again led by Eddie Johnson and Mark Smith. The top-seeded and top-ranked 1989 Illini were upset 83-81 in the Final Four on a last second basket by Michigan's Sean Higgins, ending the school's deepest run in the tournament at that time. Illinois had beaten the Wolverines by 12 and 16 points in two previous meetings that season. The 1988-89 Illinois Fighting Illini team gained the moniker "Flyin' Illini" by Dick Vitale during an ESPN broadcast that season.

The early 1990s Illini were dominated by players such as guards Andy Kauffman, Richard Keene, and Kiwane Garris, as well as centers Shelly Clark and Deon Thomas. Thomas was at the center of a report of misconduct by Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball assistant coach Bruce Pearl, who alleged that Thomas had been offered cash to attend Illinois.

The Kruger, Self, and Weber Years: A New Era (1996-2012)

After longtime coach Lou Henson's departure, Illinois hired Lon Kruger to fill the vacancy for the 1996 season. Kruger was the 14th head basketball coach in program history. During his four-year tenure he compiled a 59-38 record. He immediately made an impact at Illinois leading them to a 22-10 record and a second round NCAA tournament appearance in his first year. This created excitement because of the ninth-place finish the Illini had taken just before his arrival. Kruger inherited players such as Victor Chukwudebe, Jerry Hester, Kevin Turner, Jerry Gee, Matt Heldman, Brian Johnson, Kiwane Garris and Cleotis Brown. During his four seasons at Illinois, three of which resulted in NCAA Tournament berths, (all three of which saw the Illini eliminated in the 2nd round) Kruger became the only Big Ten coach to successfully sign three consecutive Illinois Mr. Basketballs.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

Illinois picked Tulsa coach Bill Self from a list of numerous candidates, including popular assistant Jimmy Collins, to succeed Kruger, who moved on to the NBA to coach the Atlanta Hawks. Bill Self was hired to the Illini coaching staff as the 15th head coach in the history of the program. He spent his previous seven years as the head coach of Oral Roberts University and Tulsa University where he compiled an overall record of 129-71. In 2001, his first season at Illinois, Self coached his new Fighting Illini squad to a 27-8 record, a share of the Big Ten title, and a number 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That 27-game winning season in Self's first year was the second most winning season in school history at that time. McClain, Cook and preseason Big Ten player of the year Cory Bradford led the Illini to the Elite Eight, where they fell to eventual finalist Arizona in a much disputed contest. The Illini were accused of being overly physical most of the season, especially McClain and pesky guards Sean Harrington and Lucas Johnson (younger brother of former Illini forward Brian Johnson). The '01 Illini team also included Robert Archibald, Damir Krupalija and Marcus Griffin. With mostly the same core, Illinois followed up the season with impressive 2002 and 2003 campaigns, but fell in the Sweet 16 in 2002. He was the first head coach in the Big Ten, since 1912, to lead his team to conference championships in each of his first two seasons. It was also the first time Illinois won back-to-back titles in 50 years. Self, also, had an overall record of 78-24 in his three years as Illinois head coach.

After Bill Self left, Illinois AD Ron Guenther hired Weber to coach the Fighting Illini on April 30, 2003. Weber came from Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale and was touted as a loyal coach, which was valued by the Illinois AD after both Kruger and Self left Champaign with relatively short tenures. In his five seasons as head coach at SIU, Weber took the Saluki program to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference, winning league titles in 2002 and 2003. He posted records of 28-8 and 24-7 in his last two seasons, leading the Salukis to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2002 with wins over Texas Tech and Georgia at the United Center in Chicago. His .689 (62-28) winning percentage in MVC play ranked 12th in the long history of the league. Illinois totaled 210 victories under Weber from 2004 to 2012. He ranks third on the Illinois career coaching wins list. He won 67.5 percent of his games while in charge of the Fighting Illini (210-101). Illinois had five players selected in the NBA draft under Weber, as Deron Williams (No. 3, Utah Jazz) and Luther Head (No. 24, Houston Rockets) were taken in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft, and James Augustine (No. 41, Orlando Magic) and Dee Brown (No. 46, Utah Jazz) were chosen in the second round of the 2006 NBA draft. Meyers Leonard was chosen 11th by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA draft following Weber's final season. Utah's selection of Williams at No. It took just one season for Weber to etch his name in the Big Ten and Illinois record books after leading the Fighting Illini to its first outright Big Ten title in 52 years during the 2003-04 season. In leading his young team that featured just one senior on the roster, Weber became just the third coach in the history of the Big Ten to win an outright title in his first season. Illinois had to win 10 straight to end the regular season to claim the championship, including six-straight wins on the road. Illinois' 26 wins in 2003-04 tied the fourth-winningest season in school history.

Weber's second year at Illinois, the 2004-05 season, will be remembered as one of the greatest in Fighting Illini history, finishing 37-2 as the National Runner-Up in the NCAA tournament. In a remarkable year where Illinois celebrated its centennial season of basketball, the Illini reeled off 29 straight wins to start the year, tying the 12th-best start in NCAA Div. I history and the third-best start in Big Ten history. Illinois also secured its second-straight outright Big Ten championship with a 15-1 league record, as Weber became the first coach in Big Ten history to win consecutive outright titles in his first two seasons. Illinois then added a Big Ten tournament championship in addition to its regular season title. The Illini were ranked No. 1 in the nation for 15 straight weeks, including a first-ever No. They gained the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and prevailed in one of the most memorable games in NCAA history against Arizona. Down 15 points with around 4 minutes left, the Illini rallied with a run led by Luther Head and Deron Williams. The game was sent into overtime and the Illini pulled off a one-point win to advance to the 2005 Final Four in St. Louis. It was the Fighting Illini's first Final Four Appearance since the 1988-89 season. Against the Louisville Cardinals in the national semifinal game, the Illini posted their final victory of the season. All of the five Illini starters-Deron Williams, Luther Head, Dee Brown, James Augustine, and Roger Powell, Jr.-would eventually play in the NBA. Basketball Writers Association; and, the Adolph F. Rupp Cup.

Despite losing three starters and 63 percent of its scoring from the 2004-05 NCAA runner-up squad, Weber directed the 2005-06 Illini to a third-consecutive 29-win season, a runner-up finish in the Big Ten, the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and a ranking among the nation's top 17 teams throughout the entire season. The Illini spent the majority of 2005-06 ranked in the Top 10 and recorded 26 wins on the year to tie the fourth-winningest season in school history. The 2006-07 team finished with a record of 23-12 (9-7) and finished tied for fourth in the Big Ten. With a depleted roster that had six different players combine to miss a total of 58 games due to injury, the Illini still advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The 2007-08 season was one of the worst seasons in Illinois history, highlighted by a string of close losses. The lone bright spot came as Illinois came on strong to win four of its last five and five of its final seven games, which culminated with a runner-up finish at the Big Ten tournament. Weber's Illini became the first No. 10 seed in the tournament's history to advance to the title game, winning three games in three days with victories over Penn State, No. 17 Purdue, and Minnesota to reach the championship game vs. No. 8 Wisconsin. Weber's 2008-09 UI squad was one of the most improved teams in the country finishing with a record of 24-10 (11-7). With 10 more regular season victories than it achieved the year before, Illinois posted the third-biggest turnaround in NCAA Division I and the second-biggest turnaround among BCS program…

Recent Seasons and Future Outlook

The Fighting Illini basketball program is enjoying arguably its best season in almost 20 years. For the seventh consecutive season, the Illini have at least 20 wins. They currently sit second in the league at 22-6 overall and 13-4 in conference. They have ranked wins over national opponents Texas Tech, Tennessee, Purdue, and Nebraska. Now in the interest of full disclosure, two of Illinois’ losses are to unranked teams (Wisconsin and UCLA), but they are Quad 1 losses. While it is not a big hit to the resume, it is still a hit! What is a little more disconcerting is that three of the losses were in overtime, and two of those were to the unranked teams. Two weeks ago, hopes were high around Champaign, but now, after dropping 3 out of their last 5 games, concerns are growing. And with a HUGE game vs. Michigan coming up. While Illinois is still eyeing a two-seed in the tourney, fans are now worrying that the Illini can be a one-and-done.

Analysis of the Team

Let’s start with the numbers: (All updated through Saturday)

4th in KenPom (1st in Offense and 10th in strength of schedule.
4th in NET
10th in RPI, 7-5 in Quad 1 wins, which is better than 9 of the current 16 top 4-seeds, including Michigan State and Nebraska

But the question still remains: are they National Championship-caliber? According to Brent Stover from CBS, the Illini are his pick to win it all. He has a final four of Arizona, Iowa State, Nebraska, and Illinois, with Illinois beating Nebraska in the title game. It is not just him. Andy Katz, after the loss to Michigan State, moved the Illini UP in his power 37 from #5 to #4! Jay Bilas, even after the loss to Wisconsin, had the Illini at #6 and says they are every bit a Final Four contender and a National Title threat. After the loss to UCLA, he doubled down, saying the Illini have an unlimited ceiling. What makes these analysts and others so high on this team?

Key Attributes

Size and Length: Illinois is the tallest team in college basketball across the board. It’s not just the twins at 7-foot-1 and 7-foot-2, On the wings they are average with Ben Humrichous at 6-foot-9 and Jake Davis at 6-foot-6. But then you look at the perimeter: David Mirkovic, 6-foot-9, Andrej Stojakovic, 6-foot-7. Keaton Wagler, 6-foot-6, and to round out the rotation with Kylan Boswell at 6-foot-4.
Defense: Big Z is a big-time rim protector with 61 blocks on the season. The Illini’s perimeter defense with Wagler and Boswell is relentless. And then there is the size issue again with Stojakovic and Mirkovic. It forces teams to constantly adjust.
Rebounding: The Illini out-rebound opponents by an average of 10.4 boards per contest. It especially comes into play on the defensive end, where they have a 17.8 rebounding edge over opponents: 28 defensive rebounds vs. 10.2 offensive rebounds, limiting opponents’ second-chance points.
Shooting: Just about everyone on the team is a danger from three, Big guys, Tomi 34.8%, Big Z 32%. They can step out and are deadly with getting a three off the ball screen. Mirkovic is hitting at 39.4%, Humrichous 34.2%. Davis cashes in from the wing at 41.3%, and then Wagler has a step-back move that paralyzes opponents, giving him separation to knock down threes at a 42.0% clip.
Weaponizing Passing: The biggest strength the Illini have besides size is that they have turned passing into a weapon. Led by Wagler with 4.3 Assists per game; Boswell: 3.5 Assists per game. Just about everyone can handle the ball and pass to some degree. They average only 9.1 turnovers vs. 14.1 assists. All Illinois guards can penetrate and dish. They are one of the best teams at ball reversal and finding the open shot. Even the Bigs are accomplished at the high ball screen.

Weaknesses

At times, they do seem to get “3-point happy” and shoot too quickly and too often. Fast-break, at times, when they get 3-point happy, they tend to give up fast breaks.

The Test

This season has been a test for the Illini, with early-season illness and injuries. And just recently, when Boswell injured his arm. The players have bought into the next-man-up mantra. Someone almost always shows up and puts the team on their back. When Illinois remains disciplined and plays its game, with rebounding, shooting, and a pace of play, they are hard to beat. They can score in a variety of ways. They rebound, play defense, and one of the most important aspects is that they don’t panic, and they don’t give up!

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