1968–69 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1968–69 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Hurricane Classic, Champion
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. Not Ranked
AP No. 20
1968–69 record 19–5 (9–5 Big Ten)
Head coach Harv Schmidt
Assistant coach Dick Campbell
Assistant coach Jim Wright
MVP Dave Scholz
Captain Dave Scholz
Home arena Assembly Hall
1968–69 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 6 Purdue13–1 .929  23–5  .821
No. 20 Illinois9–5 .643  19–5  .792
Ohio State9–5 .643  17–7  .708
Michigan7–7 .500  13–11  .542
Northwestern6–8 .429  14–10  .583
Minnesota6–8 .429  12–12  .500
Michigan State6–8 .429  11–12  .478
Iowa5–9 .357  12–12  .500
Wisconsin5–9 .357  11–13  .458
Indiana4–10 .286  9–15  .375
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968–69 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

In only his second season as the Head coach of the Fighting Illini, Harv Schmidt guided his basketball team to a high-point of an Associated Press ranking of number 4 by the beginning of January, 1969. Schmidt and his Illini won their first ten games of the season with the single biggest win occurring December 21, 1968, as they stopped the Houston Cougars' 60 game home winning streak, 97-84. After the win, the Illini, just two days short of two years after the original "Slush Fund" announcement, appeared to be back in their prime. During the season the Illini defeated a total of 4 top 20 teams, including a tenth ranked Ohio State in February. Like so many years before, the Illini's only losses came at the hands of the competition provided by the other teams within the Big Ten Conference. The team completed the season with only 5 losses, all coming within the league. The final totals were 19 wins overall with 9 of those wins coming within the conference. The team was led in scoring for the season by Dave Scholz, Greg Jackson, Mike Price and Jodie Harrison. Scholz would finish his senior season by being named 1st team All-American by the Helms Foundation, 3rd team All-American by the Associated Press and to the Converse honorable mention All-American team. The Fighting Illini would go on to finish the season with a 19-5 overall record and tied for 2nd place in the conference with a 9-5 record.

The 1968-69 team's starting lineup included Scholz and Fred Miller at the forward spots, Price and Harrison as guards and Jackson at center.

Roster

1968–69 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 Rick Howat 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)160 lb (73 kg) SoDowners Grove North High School Downers Grove, Illinois
G 11 Bob Windmiller 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoOssian High School Ossian, Indiana
F 14 Fred Miller 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoPekin High School Pekin, Illinois
G/F 15 Mike Price 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrArsenal Technical High School Indianapolis, Indiana
F 20 Brad Richardson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoEast Richland High School Olney, Illinois
F 30 Randy Crews 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)220 lb (100 kg) JrBradley-Bourbonnais Community High School Kankakee, Illinois
C 31 Greg Jackson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)255 lb (116 kg) SoSt. Philip High School Chicago, Illinois
G 32 Les Busboom 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrSt. Joseph-Ogden High School Royal, Illinois
G 33 Jodie Harrison 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrStreator High School Streator, Illinois
G/F 34 Denny Pace 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) SrCollinsville High School Collinsville, Illinois
F/C 40 Dave Scholz (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) SrStephen Decatur High School Decatur, Illinois
G 43 Bob Shapland 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoCentral High School Champaign, Illinois
G 44 Ron Armbrust 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) JrLincoln High School Lincoln, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Dick Campbell (2nd year)
  • Jim Wright (University of Illinois) (10th year)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[1] [2]

Schedule

Source[3]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/2/1968*
no, no		 No. NR vs.Butler W 105-66  1-0
 Assembly Hall (11,833)
Champaign, IL
12/6/1968*
no, no		 No. NR @ Creighton W 69-66  2-0
 Omaha Civic Auditorium (9,240)
Omaha, NE
12/9/1968*
no, no		 No. NR vs. North Dakota W 83-51  3-0
 Assembly Hall (11,795)
Champaign, IL
12/14/1968*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Iowa State W 75-48  4-0
 Assembly Hall (10,051)
Champaign, IL
12/17/1968*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Ohio W 95-82  5-0
 Assembly Hall (10,031)
Champaign, IL
12/19/1968*
no, no		 No. NR vs. Tulane W 105-71  6-0
 Assembly Hall (10,252)
Champaign, IL
12/21/1968*
no, no		 No. NR @ #20 Houston W 97-84  7-0
 Hofheinz Pavilion (5,200)
Houston, TX
12/27/1968*
no, no		 No. 12 vs. Creighton
Hurricane Classic		 W 90-77  8-0
 Miami Beach Convention Center (2,093)
Miami, FL
12/28/1968*
no, no		 No. 12 vs. Miami (FL)
Hurricane Classic		 W 86-76  9-0
 Miami Beach Convention Center (2,486)
Miami, FL
Big Ten regular season
1/4/1969
no, no		 No. 8 vs. Minnesota W 80-58  10-0 (1-0)
 Assembly Hall (16,128)
Champaign, IL
1/7/1969
no, no		 No. 4 @ Purdue L 84-98  10-1 (1-1)
 Mackey Arena (14,123)
West Lafayette, IN
1/11/1969
no, no		 No. 4 @ #12 Northwestern W 82-77 OT 11-1 (2-1)
 McGaw Memorial Hall (8,388)
Evanston, IL
1/25/1969*
no, no		 No. 8 vs. #15 Notre Dame W 83-86  12-1
 Chicago Stadium (18,000)
Chicago, IL
1/28/1969
no, no		 No. 7 @ #12 Ohio State L 67-76  12-2 (2-2)
 St. John Arena (13,374)
Columbus, OH
2/1/1969
no, no		 No. 7 vs. Wisconsin W 86-73  13-2 (3-2)
 Assembly Hall (15,740)
Champaign, IL
2/8/1969
no, no		 No. 10 vs. Iowa W 98-69  14-2 (4-2)
 Assembly Hall (16,128)
Champaign, IL
2/11/1969
no, no		 No. 10 @ Michigan L 87-92  14-3 (4-3)
 Crisler Arena (8,113)
Ann Arbor, MI
2/15/1969
no, no		 No. 10 @ Michigan State L 70-75  14-4 (4-4)
 Jenison Fieldhouse (7,020)
East Lansing, MI
2/18/1969
no, no		 No. 19 vs. #10 Ohio State W 73-57  15-4 (5-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,128)
Champaign, IL
2/23/1969
no, no		 No. 19 vs. Michigan W 100-92  16-4 (6-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,128)
Champaign, IL
2/25/1969
no, no		 No. 15 @ Iowa L 53-74  16-5 (6-5)
 Iowa Field House (13,700)
Iowa City, IA
3/1/1969
no, no		 No. 15 @ Indiana
Rivalry		 W 77-64  17-5 (7-5)
 New Fieldhouse (5,425)
Bloomington, IN
3/4/1969
no, no		 No. 20 vs. Michigan State W 71-57  18-5 (8-5)
 Assembly Hall (14,912)
Champaign, IL
3/8/1969
no, no		 No. 20 vs. Northwestern W 78-68  19-5 (9-5)
 Assembly Hall (16,128)
Champaign, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Points
Dave Scholz[4]2418197209459
Greg Jackson[5]2416368200394
Mike Price[6]2412058163298
Jodie Harrison[7]24878096254
Fred Miller[8]22445564254
Denny Pace[9]24562786139
Randy Crews[10]24434682132
Rick Howat[11]2234101478
Bob Windmiller[12]1523101456
Les Busboom10561116
Bob Shapland83036
Brad Richardson813105

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick
Steve Kuberski*Boston Celtics49
Dave ScholzPhiladelphia 76ers413
Rich Jones*Phoenix Suns51
Jodie HarrisonBaltimore Bullets156

[14]

*Kuberski transferred to Bradley to finish his eligibility due to the "Slush-Fund" scandal of 1966.
*Jones transferred to Memphis State to finish his eligibility due to the "Slush-Fund" scandal of 1966.

References

  1. ↑ Men's Basketball Roster
  2. ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2010-04-22 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1968-69 Archived 2013-12-30 at the Wayback Machine., FightingIllini.com
  4. ↑ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  5. ↑ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  6. ↑ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  7. ↑ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  8. ↑ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  9. ↑ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  10. ↑ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  11. ↑ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  12. ↑ "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  13. ↑ List of MVPs
  14. ↑ 1969 NBA Draft Archived 2010-03-18 at the Wayback Machine.
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