1959–60 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1959–60 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

1959–60 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. Not Ranked
APNo. Not Ranked
1959–60 record16–7 (8-6 Big Ten)
Head coachHarry Combes
Assistant coaches
MVPGovoner Vaughn
CaptainMannie Jackson
Home arenaHuff Hall
1959–60 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 3 Ohio State13–1 .929  25–3  .893
No. 7 Indiana11–3 .786  20–4  .833
Illinois8–6 .571  16–7  .696
Minnesota8–6 .571  12–12  .500
Northwestern8–6 .571  11–12  .478
Iowa6–8 .429  14–10  .583
Purdue6–8 .429  11–12  .478
Michigan State5–9 .357  10–11  .476
Wisconsin4–10 .286  8–16  .333
Michigan1–13 .071  4–20  .167
Rankings from https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-ten/1960.html

Regular season

Entering his 13th year as University of Illinois' head coach, Harry Combes and his Fighting Illini basketball team. Started gaining on the national scene once again by beginning the Big Ten season as a top 10 ranked team. The Associated Press would eventually rank the Illini as high as number eight during the course of the season; however, the team would falter late in the season, dropping three straight games and fall out of the rankings. The final AP and UPI rankings would include only two Big Ten teams, Ohio State (ranked 3) and Indiana (ranked 7/10). Ohio State would go on and win the NCAA Tournament. For the second time in the history of the Illini, they would play in a mid-season tournament. The tournament they would compete in would be the inaugural Los Angeles Basketball Classic held at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena December 28–30.

The 1959-60 team utilized several returning lettermen including the leading scorer and team "MVP" Govoner Vaughn. It also saw the return of team "captain" Mannie Jackson as well as Ed Perry, Lou Landt, John Wessels, Lee Frandsen, Vern Altemeyer, Al Gosnell and Bruce Bunkenberg. Jerry Colangelo, a future sports mogul, also played a significant role as a sophomore. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 8 wins and 6 losses, finishing tied for 3rd place in the Big Ten. They would finish with an overall record of 16 wins and 7 losses. The starting lineup included John Wessels at the center position, Vern Altemeyer, Lou Landt and Mannie Jackson at guard and Govoner Vaughn and Ed Perry at the forward slots.[1]

Roster
1959–60 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
C 10 John Wessels 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrRockford West High School Rockford, Illinois
G 12 Lee Frandsen 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)155 lb (70 kg) JrDavenport Central High School Davenport, Iowa
F 13 Ed Perry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrSalem High School Salem, Illinois
F 14 Bruce Bunkenburg 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) SrRoosevelt High School Chicago, Illinois
F 15 Bob Schmidt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg) SrKankakee High School Kankakee, Illinois
F 20 Jerry Renner 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoEast High School Aurora, Illinois
G 21 Sam Leeper 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) SoUnity High School Tolono, Illinois
G 22 Jay Lovelace 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)165 lb (75 kg) FrCarbondale Community High School Carbondale, Illinois
G 23 Jerry Colangelo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoBloom High School Chicago Heights, Illinois
C 25 Bill Burwell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)243 lb (110 kg) FrBoys High School Brooklyn, New York
G 30 Mannie Jackson (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) SrEdwardsville High School Edwardsville, Illinois
G 31 Doug Mills 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) SoGalesburg High School Galesburg, Illinois
G 32 Lou Landt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg) SrRoosevelt High School Berwyn, Illinois
F 33 Al Gosnell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) SrLawrenceville High School Lawrenceville, Illinois
F 34 Gary McClung 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoMaroa-Forsyth High School Maroa, Illinois
F 35 Govoner Vaughn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrEdwardsville High School Edwardsville, Illinois
F 40 Dave Downey 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoCanton High School Canton, Illinois
G 41 Jerry Curless 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)160 lb (73 kg) SoVIT High School Table Grove, Illinois
F 42 Ed Searcy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoAttucks High School Indianapolis, Indiana
F 44 Bob Starnes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrGage Park High School Chicago, Illinois
G 51 Bill Mohlenbrock 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)178 lb (81 kg) JrMurphysboro High School Murphysboro, Illinois
C 52 Vern Altemeyer 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoScottsburg Senior High School Scottsburg, Indiana
G 53 Bill Small 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrWest Aurora High School Aurora, Illinois
F 55 James Knoefel 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoValparaiso High School Valparaiso, Indiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (23rd year)
  • Jim Wright (University of Illinois) (2nd year)
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
12/3/1959*
no, no		 No. NR Butler W 83–75  1-0
 Huff Hall (6,417)
Champaign, IL
12/12/1959*
no, no		 No. NR Western Kentucky W 93–80  2-0
 Huff Hall (6,553)
Champaign, IL
12/14/1959*
no, no		 No. NR Marquette W 89–77  3-0
 Huff Hall (6,512)
Champaign, IL
12/19/1959*
no, no		 No. NR Ohio W 85–79  4-0
 Huff Hall (4,356)
Champaign, IL
12/21/1959*
no, no		 No. NR Oklahoma W 60–57  5-0
 Huff Hall (5,034)
Champaign, IL
12/28/1959*
no, no		 No. 10 California (No. 3)
Los Angeles Basketball Classic		 L 48–62  5-1
 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (10,838)
Los Angeles, CA
12/29/1959*
no, no		 No. 8 Northwestern
Los Angeles Basketball Classic		 W 92–79  6-1
 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (10,295)
Los Angeles, CA
12/30/1959*
no, no		 No. 8 Stanford
Los Angeles Basketball Classic		 W 74–62  7-1
 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (923)
Los Angeles, CA
Big Ten regular season
1/4/1960
no, no		 No. 8 Ohio State (No. 5) L 73–97  7-2 (0-1)
 St. John Arena (13,263)
Columbus, OH
1/9/1960
no, no		 No. 9 Minnesota W 90–82  8-2 (1-1)
 Huff Hall (6,649)
Champaign, IL
1/11/1960
no, no		 No. 9 Purdue W 81–75  9-2 (2-1)
 Lambert Fieldhouse (10,000)
West Lafayette, IN
1/16/1960
no, no		 No. 14 Michigan State W 96–88  10-2 (3-1)
 Huff Hall (6,815)
Champaign, IL
1/18/1960
no, no		 No. 14 Minnesota L 70–77  10-3 (3-2)
 Williams Arena (12,729)
Minneapolis, MN
1/30/1960*
no, no		 No. NR Notre Dame W 71–67  11-3
 Chicago Stadium (-)
Chicago, IL
2/6/1960
no, no		 No. 19 Michigan W 75-61  12-3 (4-2)
 Yost Field House (2,000)
Ann Arbor, MI
2/8/1960
no, no		 No. 19 Michigan State L 77–78  12-4 (4-3)
 Jenison Fieldhouse (6,325)
East Lansing, MI
2/13/1960
no, no		 No. 20 Purdue W 93–89 2OT 13-4 (5-3)
 Huff Hall (6,631)
Champaign, IL
2/15/1960
no, no		 No. 20 Ohio State (No. 4) L 81–109  13-5 (5-4)
 Huff Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL
2/20/1960
no, no		 No. 20 Wisconsin L 63–75  13-6 (5-5)
 Wisconsin Field House (7,885)
Madison, WI
2/22/1960
no, no		 No. 20 Indiana
Rivalry		 L 78–92  13-7 (5-6)
 Huff Hall (6,864)
Champaign, IL
2/27/1960
no, no		 No. 20 Iowa
Rivalry		 W 85–70  14-7 (6-6)
 Huff Hall (6,691)
Champaign, IL
2/29/1960
no, no		 No. NR Michigan W 90–61  15-7 (7-6)
 Yost Field House (5,277)
Ann Arbor, MI
3/5/1960
no, no		 No. NR Northwestern W 84–77  16-7 (8-6)
 McGaw Memorial Hall (5,800)
Evanston, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Bold Italic connotes conference game

Player stats
Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Points
Govoner Vaughn2316483189411
Mannie Jackson231625494378
Ed Perry237464141212
Lou Landt23703664176
John Wessels14564398155
Lee Frandsen20413237114
Vern Altemeyer23442594113
Al Gosnell2336249596
Bruce Bunkenburg1822204264
Jerry Colangelo1925101660
Ed Searcy172065746
Bob Starnes20212
Bob Schmidt11012
Doug Mills41012
Tom Adams10000
Jerry Curless10000
Bill Mohlenbrock10000

[5]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA
Player NBA Club Round Pick
No Players Selected

[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 1959-60, FightingIllini.com
  4. Schedule
  5. Season Stats Archived 2013-06-25 at the Wayback Machine
  6. List of MVPs
  7. 1960 NBA Draft Archived 2012-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
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