1945–46 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1945–46 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

1945–46 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1945–46 record14–7 (7–5 Big Ten)
Head coachDouglas R. Mills
Assistant coaches
MVPBob Doster
CaptainWalton Kirk
Home arenaHuff Hall
1945–46 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Ohio State10–2 .833  16–5  .762
Indiana9–3 .750  18–3  .857
Iowa8–4 .667  14–4  .778
Northwestern8–4 .667  15–5  .750
Illinois7–5 .583  14–7  .667
Minnesota7–5 .583  14–7  .667
Michigan6–6 .500  12–7  .632
Purdue4–8 .333  10–11  .476
Wisconsin1–11 .083  4–17  .190
Chicago0–12 .000  6–14  .300
Rankings from AP Poll

Regular season

The modern era of college basketball unofficially began with the 1945-46 season and the University of Illinois was quick to offer a team that was rebuilding its post-war image to that of a contender. Future hall of fame coaches Johnny Orr and Vic Bubas left the team to join in with the war effort as did Walt Kersulis, a top 5 scorer from the previous season and Consensus First-Team All-American and team captain Walt Kirk. The addition of freshman Bob Doster and Dwight Humphrey to a lineup that included team Jack Burmaster, Robert Rowe and Walter Mroz became formidable opponents to every team they played including a no. 1 ranked DePaul. On December 29, 1945, the Fighting Illini took on George Mikan's Blue Demons, who had lost just eight games in three years, and defeated them by a score of 56-37. In the game Burmaster and Doster each scored 14 points with Mroz adding 11 in the second half. The victory proved that, even without team captain Kirk, who had gone to serve in the armed services, the young team was ready to take on all comers. The 1945 Blue Demons went on to win the 1945 National Invitation Tournament. Additionally, the 1945-46 season would be the finale for the University of Chicago as part of the Big Ten. Illinois would defeat the Maroons two times during the year, 70-28 and 85-24. Due to the departure of Chicago, the Big Ten would become the Big Nine until Michigan State joined the conference in 1950.

Mills used 31 players during the course of the season and had an overall record of 14 wins and 7 losses with a conference mark of 7 and 5, finishing in a fifth place tie in the Big Ten. The team finished with an 11 - 2 record at home and a road record of 3 - 5. Future All-American Dwight "Dike" Eddleman would appear in two games during the course of the season, as well as future North Carolina A&T Aggies, hall-of-fame men's basketball coach, Cal Irvin, would appear in one game.

David "Matt" Bullock

1946 saw the end of a 34-year career for Illini athletic trainer Matt Bullock. From 1913-47 David “Matt” Bullock saw to it that football and basketball stars like Red Grange, George Halas, Buddy Young, Ray Woods, Chuck Carney, Lou Boudreau, Andy Phillip and other Fighting Illini stayed healthy. During his long career at the University of Illinois, Bullock cared for more than 40,000 athletes.

Roster
1945–46 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 7 Hal Craig 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)160 lb (73 kg) FrDecatur High School Decatur, Illinois
G 9 Jimmy Seyler 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrCentralia High School Centralia, Illinois
F 10 Jake Staab 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrChillicothe High School Chillicothe, Illinois
F 11 Leo Swinford 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)160 lb (73 kg) FrParis High School Paris, Illinois
G 12 Leo Gedvilas 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoHall High School Spring Valley, Illinois
G 13 Walt Kirk (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrMt. Vernon High School Mt. Vernon, Illinois
G 14 Arthur Smiley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrWaterman High School Waterman, Illinois
C 15 Robert Menke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrElgin High School Elgin, Illinois
F 16 Robert Doster 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) FrDecatur High School Decatur, Illinois
G 17 Joseph Rodriguez 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)165 lb (75 kg) SoNiagara Falls High School Niagara Falls, New York
G 18 Paul Eckert 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrHerrin High School Herrin, Illinois
C 19 Robert Rowe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrWarren High School Warren, Illinois
F 20 Walter Mroz 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)145 lb (66 kg) SoChicago Public Schools Chicago, Illinois
F 22 Dean Meador 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)140 lb (64 kg) FrPatoka Senior High School Patoka, Illinois
G 23 William Eddleman 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrAnna-Jonesboro Community High School Anna, Illinois
F 24 Van Anderson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrSullivan Community High School Sullivan, Illinois
G 26 George Leddy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) FrChicago Public Schools Chicago, Illinois
F 27 Ray McClure 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)156 lb (71 kg) FrGalesburg High School Galesburg, Illinois
F 29 Dwight Humphrey 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)138 lb (63 kg) FrMoline High School Moline, Illinois
C 30 Robert Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrFrankfort Community High School West Frankfort, Illinois
C 31 William Edwards 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)176 lb (80 kg) FrStaunton High School Staunton, Illinois
G 33 Robert Olson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrSt. Elmo Junior-Senior High School St. Elmo, Illinois
G 38 Jack Burmaster 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoElgin High School Elgin, Illinois
F 40 Dwight Eddleman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoCentralia High School Centralia, Illinois
G 41 Jack Pierce 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoPontiac Township High School Pontiac, Illinois
C 48 Fred Green 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrUrbana High School Urbana, Illinois
Bob Dannehl
—
—
 FrOnarga High School Onarga, Illinois
Cal Irvin
—
—
 FrOrange High School East Orange, New Jersey
Tony Esposito
—
—
 FrChicago Public Schools Chicago, Illinois
Russell "Harold" Strange
—
—
 GSMount Pleasant High School Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Al Leavitt
—
—
 FrChicago Public Schools Chicago, Illinois
Head coach
  • Douglas Mills (University of Illinois) (10th 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
12/1/1945*
no, no		 Wright Field L 52–56  0–1 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (4,291)
Champaign, IL
12/2/1945*
no, no		 St. Louis W 54–46  1–1 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (3,766)
Champaign, IL
12/8/1945*
no, no		 Naval Training Station Great Lakes W 58–41  2–1 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (4,995)
Champaign, IL
12/8/1945*
no, no		 Great Lakes Hospital W 51–23  3–1 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (4,995)
Champaign, IL
12/11/1945*
no, no		 Detroit W 51–34  4–1 (0–0)
 Huff Hall (4,475)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten regular season
12/15/1945
no, no		 Ohio State L 46-50  4–2 (0–1)
 Huff Hall (5,640)
Champaign, IL
12/18/1945*
no, no		 Drake W 64-42  5–2 (0–1)
 Huff Hall (5,640)
Champaign, IL
12/20/1945*
no, no		 Nebraska W 62–51  6–2 (0–1)
 Nebraska Coliseum (3,000)
Lincoln, NE
12/22/1945
no, no		 Iowa
Rivalry		 L 39–41  6–3 (0–2)
 Iowa Field House (14,300)
Iowa City, IA
12/29/1945*
no, no		 DePaul W 56–37  7–3 (0–2)
 Huff Hall (5,079)
Champaign, IL
1/1/1946
no, no		 Wisconsin W 38–31  8–3 (1–2)
 Wisconsin Field House (8,000)
Madison, WI
1/5/1946
no, no		 Michigan L 48–49  8–4 (1–3)
 Yost Field House (7,000)
Ann Arbor, MI
1/12/1946
no, no		 Ohio State L 35–41  8-5 (1–4)
 Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (2,800)
Columbus, OH
1/14/1946
no, no		 Northwestern W 45–38  9–5 (2–4)
 Huff Hall (6,310)
Champaign, IL
1/19/1946
no, no		 University of Chicago W 70–28  10–5 (3–4)
 Henry Crown Field House (1,500)
Chicago, IL
1/26/1946*
no, no		 Great Lakes L 42–67  10–6 (3–4)
 Great Lakes Gymnasium (2,500)
Great Lakes, IL
2/4/1946
no, no		 University of Chicago W 85–24  11–6 (4–4)
 Huff Hall (3,616)
Champaign, IL
2/9/1946
no, no		 Michigan W 49–44  12–6 (5–4)
 Huff Hall (7,005)
Champaign, IL
2/16/1946
no, no		 Northwestern L 43–48  12–7 (5–5)
 Chicago Stadium (20,442)
Chicago, IL
2/18/1946
no, no		 Wisconsin W 72–53  13–7 (6–5)
 Huff Hall (5,992)
Champaign, IL
2/23/1946
no, no		 Iowa
Rivalry		 W 57–51  14–7 (7–5)
 Huff Hall (7,214)
Champaign, IL
*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
Bob Doster2010759273
Jack Burmaster20154173
Wallie Mroz175320126
Robert Rowe20261668
Bob Menke17251767
Dwight Humphrey20261620
Jimmy Seyler16231763
Fred Green416941
Ray McClure1617438
Jack Smiley413834
Hal Craig1214634
George Leddy1951626
Leo Gedvilas179119
Van Anderson79119
Robert Olson75717
William Edwards84412
Dean Meador6306
Dwight Eddleman2306
Bob Dannehl2215
Cal Irvin1204
William Eddleman3204
Jack Pierce1204
Tony Esposito1204
Jake Staab3022
Harold Strange1102
Al Leavitt3102
Paul Eckert1011
Robert Jones3011
Joe Rodriguez5011

[4]

Awards and honors

References
  1. National Athletic Trainer Association
  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 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
  5. List of MVPs
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