1953–54 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1953–54 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illiniois.

1953–54 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 19
1953–54 record17–5 (10-4 Big Ten)
Head coachHarry Combes
Assistant coachHowie Braun
MVPJohn Kerr
CaptainJohn Kerr
Home arenaHuff Hall
1953–54 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 4 Indiana12–2 .857  20–4  .833
No. 13 Iowa11–3 .786  17–5  .773
No. 19 Illinois10–4 .714  17–5  .773
Minnesota10–4 .714  17–5  .773
Wisconsin6–8 .429  12–10  .545
Northwestern6–8 .429  9–13  .409
Ohio State5–9 .357  11–11  .500
Michigan State4–10 .286  9–13  .409
Michigan3–11 .214  9–13  .409
Purdue3–11 .214  9–13  .409
Rankings from AP Poll

Regular season

In his seventh year at Illinois, Harry Combes continued to offer the fans of the Fighting Illini a successful team that they could be follow across the country to record crowds. The 1953-54 team returned one of the most dominate players in the NCAA, Johnny "Red" Kerr. During the season, Kerr shattered Illinois’ single-season scoring record by tallying 556 points in his senior year. Kerr’s 1,299 career points in three seasons currently ranks 20th on the all-time Illinois scoring list. After his Illinois career came to an end, Kerr started a 12-year professional career followed by becoming the first head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1966.

The 1954 team added twin brothers, Paul and Phil Judson from Hebron, Illinois, Bruce Brothers and Bill Ridley as sophomores. A youth movement that helped the Illini finish in a 3rd place tie in the Big Ten. Unfortunately the Illini would lose 5 total games with three of the five losses coming at the hands of ranked opponents. The starting lineup included captain John Kerr at the center position, Jim Wright and Paul Judson at guard and Bruce Brothers and Max Hooper at the forward slots.[1]

Roster
1953–54 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 7 Morris Sterneck 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrSalem High School Salem, Illinois
G 9 Elmer Plew 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) JrParis High School Paris, Illinois
G 11 Bill Ridley 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)152 lb (69 kg) SoTaylorville High School Taylorville, Illinois
G 12 Warren Wilkinson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)160 lb (73 kg) SoFrankfort Community High School West Frankfort, Illinois
G 14 Robert Leigh 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoEast Lynn High School East Lynn, Illinois
G 15 Glass Peterson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoPekin High School Pekin, Illinois
G 16 Jim Wright 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) SrLawrenceville High School Lawrenceville, Illinois
C 22 Johnny Kerr (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) SrTilden High School Chicago, Illinois
G 24 Ed Makovsky 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrMorton High School Cicero, Illinois
F 25 Robert Reitsch 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)188 lb (85 kg) SoRockford West High School Rockford, Illinois
F 27 Jim Dutcher 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)188 lb (85 kg) JrDowners Grove High School Downers Grove, Illinois
G 30 Phil Judson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoAlden-Hebron High School Hebron, Illinois
F 32 Bruce Brothers 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoQuincy Senior High School Quincy, Illinois
G 34 Paul Judson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoAlden-Hebron High School Hebron, Illinois
F 47 Max Hooper 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrMt. Vernon High School Mt. Vernon, Illinois
F 48 Earl Newman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)220 lb (100 kg) JrMarshall High School Chicago, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[2]

Schedule

Source[3]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state[4]
Non-Conference regular season
12/1/1953*
no, no		 No. NR Ohio W 88–54  1-0
 Huff Hall (6,913)
Champaign, IL
12/5/1953*
no, no		 No. NR Oklahoma W 86–61  2-0
 McCasland Field House (5,000)
Norman, OK
12/9/1953*
no, no		 No. 9 Butler W 80–48  3-0
 Huff Hall (6,913)
Champaign, IL
12/12/1953*
no, no		 No. 9 Alabama W 77–54  4-0
 Huff Hall (6,410)
Champaign, IL
12/19/1953*
no, no		 No. 4 DePaul W 79–65  5-0
 Huff Hall (2,719)
Champaign, IL
12/21/1953*
no, no		 No. 4 Oklahoma A&M (No. 7) L 60–65 OT 5-1
 Huff Hall (4,234)
Champaign, IL
12/29/1953*
no, no		 No. 8 Utah State W 88–61  6-1
 Huff Hall (2,649)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/1/1954
no, no		 No. 8 Minnesota (No. 6) L 72–84  6-2 (0-1)
 Huff Hall (6,193)
Champaign, IL
1/4/1954
no, no		 No. 8 Northwestern W 66–65  7-2 (1-1)
 McGaw Memorial Hall (9,253)
Evanston, IL
1/9/1954
no, no		 No. 15 Michigan State L 59–60  7-3 (1-2)
 Jenison Fieldhouse (9,002)
East Lansing, MI
1/11/1954
no, no		 No. 15 Ohio State W 90–76  8-3 (2-2)
 Huff Hall (8,683)
Champaign, IL
1/16/1954
no, no		 No. 19 Ohio State W 82–78  9-3 (3-2)
 Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (8,683)
Columbus, OH
1/18/1954
no, no		 No. 19 Iowa
Rivalry		 L 70–79  9-4 (2-3)
 Huff Hall (6,913)
Champaign, IL
2/1/1954*
no, no		 No. NR DePaul W 71–61  10-4
 Alumni Hall (9,678)
Chicago, IL
2/6/1954
no, no		 No. NR Michigan W 87–68  11-4 (3-3)
 Huff Hall (6,913)
Champaign, IL
2/8/1954
no, no		 No. NR Purdue W 89–55  12-4 (4-3)
 Huff Hall (6,913)
Champaign, IL
2/13/1954
no, no		 No. NR Wisconsin W 70–64 OT 13-4 (5-3)
 Wisconsin Field House (13,000)
Madison, WI
2/20/1954
no, no		 No. NR Iowa (No. 10)
Rivalry		 W 74–51  14-4 (6-3)
 Iowa Field House (15,700)
Iowa City, IA
2/22/1954
no, no		 No. NR Wisconsin W 66–64  15-4 (7-3)
 Huff Hall (6,913)
Champaign, IL
2/27/1954
no, no		 No. 20 Michigan W 79–61  16-4 (8-3)
 Yost Field House (4,500)
Ann Arbor, MI
3/1/1954
no, no		 No. 20 Northwestern W 84–82  17-4 (9-3)
 Huff Hall (6,782)
Champaign, IL
3/6/1954
no, no		 No. NR Indiana (No. 2)
Rivalry		 L 64–67  17-5 (9-4)
 The Fieldhouse (11,000)
Bloomington, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Bold Italic connotes conference game

Rankings
Main article: 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball rankings

Player stats
Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
John Kerr22210136556
Paul Judson229262246
Bruce Brothers226459187
Max Hooper226734168
Jim Wright225945163
Bill Ridley193054114
Jim Dutcher19303292
Ed Makovsky22222165
Morris Sterneck1617943
Elmer Plew137620
Phil Judson94513
Warren Wilkinson5215
Robert Reitsch9124
Earl Newman4022

[5]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA
Player NBA Club Round Pick
Johnny KerrSyracuse Nationals 1 6

[7]

Rankings
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References
  1. Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 1-58261-356-7
  2. Men's Basketball Roster
  3. University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1953-54, FightingIllini.com
  4. Schedule
  5. Season Stats Archived 2014-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
  6. List of MVPs
  7. 1954 NBA Draft Archived 2013-01-05 at the Wayback Machine
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