1946–47 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

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

1946–47 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1946–47 record14–6 (8–4 Big Ten)
Head coachDouglas R. Mills
Assistant coaches
MVPJack Smiley
CaptainSelected each game
Home arenaHuff Hall
1946–47 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Wisconsin9–3 .750  16–6  .727
Illinois8–4 .667  14–6  .700
Indiana8–4 .667  12–8  .600
Minnesota7–5 .583  14–7  .667
Michigan6–6 .500  12–8  .600
Iowa5–7 .417  12–7  .632
Ohio State5–7 .417  7–13  .350
Purdue4–8 .333  9–11  .450
Northwestern2–10 .167  7–13  .350
Rankings from AP Poll

Regular season

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
1946–47 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
C 7 Robert Menke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoElgin High School Elgin, Illinois
F 8 Roy Gatewood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)182 lb (83 kg) FrSalem High School Salem, Illinois
G 9 Dick Foley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)155 lb (70 kg) SoParis High School Paris, Illinois
F 10 Bill Edwards 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoParis High School Paris, Illinois
G 11 Jack Burmaster 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)182 lb (83 kg) JrElgin High School Elgin, Illinois
G 13 Walt Kirk 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) SrMt. Vernon High School Mt. Vernon, Illinois
G 15 Arthur Smiley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrWaterman High School Waterman, Illinois
F 16 Robert Doster 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)165 lb (75 kg) SoDecatur High School Decatur, Illinois
C 19 Robert Rowe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoWarren High School Warren, Illinois
F 21 Ray DeMoulin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoMulberry Grove High School Mulberry Grove, Illinois
F 24 Burdette Thurlby 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrKirkland High School Kirkland, Illinois
G 25 Ellis Vance 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)196 lb (89 kg) SrClinton High School Clinton, Illinois
F 26 Chet Trost 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoChampaign Central High School Champaign, Illinois
F 27 Hal Craig 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)160 lb (73 kg) JrDecatur High School Decatur, Illinois
F 29 Dwight Humphrey 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)145 lb (66 kg) SoMoline High School Moline, Illinois
C 30 Walter Osterkorn 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrAmundsen High School Chicago, Illinois
G 31 Stanley Fronczak 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrBrooklyn High School Brooklyn, New York
F 33 Bill Erickson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)173 lb (78 kg) FrEast High School Rockford, Illinois
F 34 Benton Odum 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)172 lb (78 kg) FrMarion High School Marion, Illinois
F 36 Jim Marks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrEdwardsville High School Edwardsville, Illinois
F 38 Ken Menke 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)172 lb (78 kg) SrDundee High School Dundee, Illinois
C 39 Bob Lavoy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrWest Aurora High School Aurora, Illinois
F 40 Dwight Eddleman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoCentralia High School Centralia, Illinois
F 47 Andrew Phillip 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)184 lb (83 kg) SrGranite City High School Granite City, Illinois
C 48 Fred Green 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoUrbana High School Urbana, Illinois
Head coach
  • Douglas Mills (University of Illinois) (11th year)
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[2]

Schedule
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
Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
Andy Phillip208130192
Ken Menke207236180
Fred Green207225169
Jack Smiley205638150
Gene Vance204937135
Walt Kirk19312284
Bill Erickson2027761
Jack Burmaster1515434
Bob Doster1212731
Dick Foley1611426
Bob Lavoy1171125
Dwight Eddleman105212
Benton Odum24311
Dwight Humphrey11408
Wally Osterkorn8146
Ron Bontemps4022
Burdette Thurlby4011
Robert Rowe5000
Roy Gatewood2000

[4]

Awards and honors
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References
  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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