1946–47 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

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1946–47 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illinois Fighting Illini primary logo 1947 - 1956.jpg
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1946–47 record14–6 (8–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPJack Smiley
CaptainSelected each game
Home arenaHuff Hall
Seasons
1946–47 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wisconsin 9 – 3   .750 16 – 6   .727
Illinois 8 – 4   .667 14 – 6   .700
Indiana 8 – 4   .667 12 – 8   .600
Minnesota 7 – 5   .583 14 – 7   .667
Michigan 6 – 6   .500 12 – 8   .600
Iowa 5 – 7   .417 12 – 7   .632
Ohio State 5 – 7   .417 7 – 13   .350
Purdue 4 – 8   .333 9 – 11   .450
Northwestern 2 – 10   .167 7 – 13   .350
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946–47 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season[edit]

The 1946-47 season would be the last year that Doug Mills would be the head coach of the Fighting Illini, however; he would remain as the University of Illinois athletic director until 1966. During his tenure at the helm, Mills' coached 217 games over 11 seasons. Overall his teams won 151 games and lost only 66, the 151 wins remains 4th all-time in Illini history. During the Big Ten Conference season, Mills' teams won 88 games while losing only 47. Included in the 88 wins would be back-to-back conference titles in 1942 and 1943 where his teams would go 35-6 overall and 25-2 in the conference. Amazingly, Mills' three championships ('37, '42, '43) in just 11 years, place him just one behind Harry Combes, his replacement as head coach, for the most conference championships.

An attempt to regroup 'The Whiz Kids' occurred during the 1946-47 season when Ken Menke, Gene Vance, and Andy Phillip returned from their service in World War II. January also saw the return of All-American guard Walt Kirk from his time in military service. Additionally, Dike Eddleman was not available to play until January based on the football team playing in the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, the chemistry was not the same and the team finished in a tie for second in the conference with a record of 8 wins, 4 losses. Overall, the team finished with a 14-6 record. The starting lineup at the beginning of the season included 4 of the 5 Whiz Kids, guards Smiley and Vance, forwards Phillip and Ken Menke and Fred Green at center. However, as January unfolded, Mills would insert Kirk and freshman Bill Erickson into the starting lineup as well.[1]

Roster[edit]

1946-47 Illinois Starting Five.
1946–47 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 7 Robert Menke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Elgin High School Elgin, Illinois
F 8 Roy Gatewood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Fr Salem High School Salem, Illinois
G 9 Dick Foley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Paris High School Paris, Illinois
F 10 Bill Edwards 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Paris High School Paris, Illinois
G 11 Jack Burmaster 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Jr Elgin High School Elgin, Illinois
G 13 Walt Kirk 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Mt. Vernon High School Mt. Vernon, Illinois
G 15 Arthur Smiley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Waterman High School Waterman, Illinois
F 16 Robert Doster 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Decatur High School Decatur, Illinois
C 19 Robert Rowe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Warren High School Warren, Illinois
F 21 Ray DeMoulin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Mulberry Grove High School Mulberry Grove, Illinois
F 24 Burdette Thurlby 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Kirkland High School Kirkland, Illinois
G 25 Ellis Vance 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Sr Clinton High School Clinton, Illinois
F 26 Chet Trost 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Champaign Central High School Champaign, Illinois
F 27 Hal Craig 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Decatur High School Decatur, Illinois
F 29 Dwight Humphrey 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 145 lb (66 kg) So Moline High School Moline, Illinois
C 30 Walter Osterkorn 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Amundsen High School Chicago, Illinois
G 31 Stanley Fronczak 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Brooklyn High School Brooklyn, New York
F 33 Bill Erickson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 173 lb (78 kg) Fr East High School Rockford, Illinois
F 34 Benton Odum 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Fr Marion High School Marion, Illinois
F 36 Jim Marks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Edwardsville High School Edwardsville, Illinois
F 38 Ken Menke 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Sr Dundee High School Dundee, Illinois
C 39 Bob Lavoy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr West Aurora High School Aurora, Illinois
F 40 Dwight Eddleman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Centralia High School Centralia, Illinois
F 47 Andrew Phillip 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Sr Granite City High School Granite City, Illinois
C 48 Fred Green 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Urbana High School Urbana, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[2]

Schedule[edit]

Date
time, TV 		Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/6/1946*
no, no 		Cornell W 87–39  1–0 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (7,892)
Champaign, IL
12/11/1946*
no, no 		Marquette W 73–40  2–0 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (7,697)
Champaign, IL
12/14/1946*
no, no 		Pittsburgh W 58–31  3–0 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (7,855)
Champaign, IL
12/16/1946*
no, no 		Missouri
Rivalry 		L 50–55  3–1 (0–0)
 Brewer Fieldhouse (4,470)
Columbia, MO
12/20/1946*
no, no 		California W 58–41  4–1 (0–0)
 Haas Pavilion (7,000)
Berkeley, CA
12/21/1946*
no, no 		California L 35–53  4–2 (0–0)
 Haas Pavilion (7,000)
Berkeley, CA
12/28/1946*
no, no 		Nebraska W 72–37  5–2 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (-)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/1/1947
no, no 		Wisconsin L 47–53  5–3 (0–1)
 Wisconsin Field House (7,900)
Madison, WI
1/4/1947*
no, no 		University of Mexico W 94–36  6–3 (0–1)
 Huff Hall (7,851)
Champaign, IL
1/6/1947
no, no 		Minnesota L 31–34  6–4 (0–2)
 Huff Hall (7,875)
Champaign, IL
1/11/1947
no, no 		Northwestern W 55–40  7–4 (1–2)
 Huff Hall (6,600)
Champaign, IL
1/13/1947
no, no 		Ohio State W 61-42  8–4 (2–2)
 Huff Hall (7,600)
Champaign, IL
1/25/1947
no, no 		Wisconsin W 63–37  9-4 (3–2)
 Huff Hall (7,685)
Champaign, IL
2/1/1947
no, no 		Ohio State W 59–58  10–4 (4–2)
 Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (-)
Columbus, OH
2/5/1947
no, no 		Purdue L 42–51  10–5 (4–3)
 Lambert Fieldhouse (11,000)
West Lafayette, IN
2/8/1947*
no, no 		Iowa
Rivalry 		W 45–36  11–5 (5–3)
 Huff Hall (7,879)
Champaign, IL
2/15/1947
no, no 		Indiana
Rivalry 		W 59–50  12–5 (6–3)
 Huff Hall (7,874)
Champaign, IL
2/22/1947
no, no 		Northwestern W 52–51  13–5 (7–3)
 Chicago Stadium (24,000)
Chicago, IL
2/24/1947
no, no 		Michigan W 45–36  14–5 (8–3)
 Yost Field House (-)
Ann Arbor, MI
3/1/1947
no, no 		Indiana
Rivalry 		L 41–48  14–6 (8–4)
 The Field House (-)
Bloomington, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Bold Italic connotes conference game Source[3]

Player stats[edit]

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
Andy Phillip 20 81 30 192
Ken Menke 20 72 36 180
Fred Green 20 72 25 169
Jack Smiley 20 56 38 150
Gene Vance 20 49 37 135
Walt Kirk 19 31 22 84
Bill Erickson 20 27 7 61
Jack Burmaster 15 15 4 34
Bob Doster 12 12 7 31
Dick Foley 16 11 4 26
Bob Lavoy 11 7 11 25
Dwight Eddleman 10 5 2 12
Benton Odum 2 4 3 11
Dwight Humphrey 11 4 0 8
Wally Osterkorn 8 1 4 6
Ron Bontemps 4 0 2 2
Burdette Thurlby 4 0 1 1
Robert Rowe 5 0 0 0
Roy Gatewood 2 0 0 0

[4]

Awards and honors[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ A Century of Orange and Blue: Celebrating 100 Years of Fighting Illini Basketball By Loren Tate, Jared Gelfond pgs.36-38 ISBN 1-58261-793-7
  2. ^ Men's Basketball Roster
  3. ^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1943–44 pg.81, FightingIllini.com
  4. ^ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  5. ^ List of MVPs
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