1974–75 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1974–75 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. Not ranked
AP No. Not ranked
1974–75 record 8–18 (4–14 Big Ten)
Head coach Gene Bartow
Assistant coach Tony Yates
Assistant coach LeRoy Hunt
MVP Rick Schmidt
Captain Rick Schmidt
Home arena Assembly Hall
1974–75 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 3 Indiana18–0 1.000  31–1  .969
No. 19 Michigan12–6 .667  19–8  .704
Minnesota11–7 .611  18–8  .692
Purdue11–7 .611  17–11  .607
Michigan State10–8 .556  17–9  .654
Ohio State8–10 .444  14–14  .500
Iowa7–11 .389  10–16  .385
Wisconsin5–13 .278  8–18  .308
Illinois4–14 .222  8–18  .308
Northwestern4–14 .222  6–20  .231
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1974–75 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

Illinois finished ninth in the Big Ten going went 8-18 overall. Gene Bartow took over the team as head coach. Brought to Illinois to continue the magical rebuilding jobs he had undertaken at Valparaiso and Memphis State, Gene Bartow was counted on by Athletic Director Cecil Coleman to restore the successful level of play fans had become accustomed to in the past few decades. However, Bartow’s stay in Champaign was short-lived, lasting only one year. The lure away from Illinois was a strong one for Bartow; he was hired away by UCLA to replace legendary Bruin coach John Wooden.

This marked the first time that a Big Ten school would finish with a record of 30 or more wins.

Roster

1974–75 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 Nate Williams 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrCrane High School Chicago, Illinois
G 11 Dave Roberts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) SrProviso East High School Maywood, Illinois
F/C 15 Tom Carmichael 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) SrRochelle Township High School Rochelle, Illinois
G 20 Dennis Graff 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrGibson City High School Gibson City, Illinois
G 22 Howie Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)165 lb (75 kg) SoMarshall High School Marshall, Illinois
F 24 Tom Gerhardt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrDe La Salle High School Chicago, Illinois
F 32 Rick Schmidt (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) SrSt. Joseph-Ogden High School Royal, Illinois
G 33 Otho Tucker   6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS JrParis High School Paris, Illinois
G/F 34 Rick Leighty 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrLawrenceville High School Lawrenceville, Illinois
F 40 Rich Adams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrColerain High School Cincinnati, Ohio
F/C 41 Dave Smith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrHinsdale Central High School Clarendon Hills, Illinois
G/F 42 Tim Bushell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoLincoln Community High School Lincoln, Illinois
F 43 Brad Farnham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoParis High School Paris, Illinois
G/F 44 Audie Matthews 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrBloom High School Chicago Heights, Illinois
C 53 Bill Rucks 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)250 lb (113 kg) JrWaukegan High School Waukegan, Illinois
C 54 Mike Washington 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrMorgan Park 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[1] [2]

Schedule

Source[3]

Date
time, TV		 Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/3/1974*
no, no		 vs. Valparaiso W 69-58  1 - 0
 Assembly Hall (5,990)
Champaign, IL
12/7/1974*
no, no		 vs. DePauw W 96-53  2 - 0
 Assembly Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL
12/9/1974*
no, no		 @ Iowa State W 77-71  3 - 0
 Hilton Coliseum (7,500)
Ames, IA
12/13/1974*
no, no		 vs. #17 Arizona
Fiesta Bowl Classic		 L 66-78  3 - 1
 McKale Center (11,574)
Tucson, AZ
12/14/1974*
no, no		 vs. Arizona State
Fiesta Bowl Classic		 L 69-91  3 - 2
 Wells Fargo Arena (8,136)
Tempe, AZ
12/27/1974*
no, no		 vs. Stanford
Lobo Invitational Tournament		 L 76-89  3 - 3
 The Pit (14,163)
Albuquerque, NM
12/28/1974*
no, no		 vs. Army
Lobo Invitational Tournament		 W 79-70  4 - 3
 The Pit (14,831)
Albuquerque, NM
Big Ten regular season
1/2/1975
no, no		 vs. #17 Michigan L 84-86 2OT 4 - 4 ( 0 - 1 )
 Assembly Hall (6,608)
Champaign, IL
1/4/1975
no, no		 @ Iowa L 70-95  4 - 5 ( 0 - 2 )
 Iowa Field House (9,800)
Iowa City, IA
1/6/1975
no, no		 @ Minnesota L 47-75  4 - 6 ( 0 - 3 )
 Williams Arena (17,573)
Minneapolis, MN
1/11/1975
no, no		 vs. Northwestern W 64-60  5 - 6 ( 1 - 3 )
 Assembly Hall (6,009)
Champaign, IL
1/13/1975
no, no		 vs. Wisconsin W 72-56  6 - 6 ( 2 - 3 )
 Assembly Hall (6,117)
Champaign, IL
1/18/1975
no, no		 vs. Purdue L 67-86  6 - 7 ( 2 - 4 )
 Assembly Hall (9,493)
Champaign, IL
1/23/1975*
no, no		 vs. Tulane L 69-81  6 - 8
 Assembly Hall (7,107)
Champaign, IL
1/25/1975
no, no		 @ Ohio State W 66-62  7 - 8 ( 3 - 4 )
 St. John Arena (8,778)
Columbus, OH
1/27/1975
no, no		 @ #1 Indiana
Rivalry		 L 57-73  7 - 9 ( 3 - 5 )
 Assembly Hall (17,581)
Bloomington, IN
2/1/1975
no, no		 vs. Michigan State L 60-75  7 - 10 ( 3 - 6 )
 Assembly Hall (8,327)
Champaign, IL
2/3/1975
no, no		 vs. Minnesota L 50-56  7 - 11 ( 3 - 7 )
 Assembly Hall (7,720)
Champaign, IL
2/8/1975
no, no		 @ Northwestern L 47-51  7 - 12 ( 3 - 8 )
 McGaw Memorial Hall (4,007)
Evanston, IL
2/10/1975
no, no		 @ Wisconsin L 70-76  7 - 13 ( 3 - 9 )
 Wisconsin Field House (4,492)
Madison, WI
2/15/1975
no, no		 @ Purdue L 91-114  7 - 14 ( 3 - 10 )
 Mackey Arena (13,936)
West Lafayette, IN
2/22/1975
no, no		 vs. Ohio State W 83-78 OT 8 - 14 ( 4 - 10 )
 Assembly Hall (9,192)
Champaign, IL
2/24/1975
no, no		 vs. #1 Indiana
Rivalry		 L 89-112  8 - 15 ( 4 - 11 )
 Assembly Hall (14,127)
Champaign, IL
3/1/1975
no, no		 @ Michigan State L 82-96  8 - 16 ( 4 - 12 )
 Jenison Fieldhouse (4,851)
East Lansing, MI
3/3/1975
no, no		 @ Michigan L 75-77  8 - 17 ( 4 - 13 )
 Crisler Center (6,309)
Ann Arbor, MI
3/8/1975
no, no		 vs. Iowa L 70-73  8 - 18 ( 4 - 14 )
 Assembly Hall (9,171)
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 Assists Points
Rick Schmidt[4]2619014413973524
Otho Tucker[5]24114547872282
Nate Williams[6]24107425571256
Mike Washington[7]26843812627206
Rich Adams[8]26503310719133
Tom Carmichael[9]26542312731131
Audi Matthews[10]2641188719100
Brad Farnham 211922521360
Howie Johnson 20255193955
Dave Roberts 112011171241
Bill Rucks 1610819228
Tim Bushell112011171251
Tom Gerhardt 520414
Rick Leighty 9121084
Dave Smith 400610

Awards and honors

  • Rick Schmidt
    • Converse Honorable Mention All-American
    • Team Most Valuable Player [11]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick
Rick SchmidtNew Orleans Jazz691

[12]

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 1974-75 Archived 2013-12-16 at the Wayback Machine., FightingIllini.com
  4. ↑ Season Stats pg. 118
  5. ↑ Season Stats pg. 118
  6. ↑ Season Stats pg. 118
  7. ↑ Season Stats pg. 118
  8. ↑ Season Stats pg. 118
  9. ↑ Season Stats pg. 118
  10. ↑ Season Stats pg. 118
  11. ↑ List of MVPs
  12. ↑ 1975 NBA Draft Archived 2013-05-23 at the Wayback Machine.
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