1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illini Classic, Champion
Rainbow Classic, Champion [1]
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Final Four
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
1988–89 record31–5 (14–4 Big Ten)
Head coachLou Henson
Assistant coaches
MVPNick Anderson
CaptainKenny Battle
Lowell Hamilton
Home arenaAssembly Hall
1988–89 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 8 Indiana15–3 .833  27–8  .771
No. 3 Illinois14–4 .778  31–5  .861
No. 10 Michigan12–6 .667  30–7  .811
No. 14 Iowa10–8 .556  23–10  .697
Minnesota9–9 .500  19–12  .613
Wisconsin8–10 .444  18–12  .600
Purdue8–10 .444  15–16  .484
Ohio State6–12 .333  19–15  .559
Michigan State6–12 .333  18–15  .545
Northwestern2–16 .111  9–19  .321
Rankings from AP Poll

Regular season

The 1988-89 team may have been the most talented team ever assembled at the University of Illinois. The team was so athletic that they could "run and alley-oop" baskets using even the non-starting players, and a record number of 100+ game scores reflected this fact. The players known as the “Flying Illini,” included all the important pieces from the 1987-88 squad (Kenny Battle, Kendall Gill, Steve Bardo, Lowell Hamilton, Nick Anderson and Larry Smith) as well as junior college All-American P.J. Bowman and former high school All-American Marcus Liberty. The Fighting Illini won their first 16 games and were ranked No. 2 in the nation going into a nationally televised game against Georgia Tech, whom Illinois had already beaten, 80-75, at the Rainbow Classic in December. The Yellow Jackets led, 47-31, but Illinois managed to surge back to force overtime, eventually needing two extra periods to win the game. Along with the No. 1 ranking the next day came some bad news. Illinois’ catalyst, Gill, had broken a bone in his foot and would miss the next 12 games. Hurt by the loss of Gill, Illinois lost three of the next four games and its No. 1 ranking. The Illini rallied to finish second in the Big Ten with a 14-4 record and with Gill back in the lineup, the Illini were awarded a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. After rolling to victories over McNeese State and Ball State at the Hoosier Dome, a powerpacked regional in Minneapolis with Missouri, Louisville and Syracuse, stood in the way of Illinois’ trip to the Final Four. Louisville fell victim to Illinois, losing 83-69, which set up a regional final matchup with Syracuse. The Fighting Illini held off Syracuse to advance to the Final Four in Seattle where Illinois faced Michigan, a team it had beaten twice already in conference play, in the national semifinals. Michigan was inspired by the firing of their coach prior to the tournament, and won a game that contained 33 lead changes.[2] Despite Battle’s 29-point, 11-rebound effort, Illinois fell to eventual national-champion Michigan, 83-81.

Roster
1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 P.J. Bowman 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrCentennial High School Champaign, Illinois
G 13 Kendall Gill 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) JrRich Central High School Matteson, Illinois
G 15 Travis Smith 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoGallatin High School Ridgway, Illinois
F/C 21 Rodney Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrWest Philadelphia High School Philadelphia, PA
G 22 Eddie Manzke 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrMarist High School Orland Park, Illinois
G 23 Larry Smith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrAlton High School Alton, Illinois
F 24 Ervin Small 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrSimeon High School Chicago, Illinois
G/F 25 Nick Anderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrSimeon High School Chicago, Illinois
G 30 Marcus Liberty 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS SoKing High School Chicago, Illinois
G/F 32 Brian O'Connell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrSchaumburg High School Schaumburg, Illinois
F 33 Kenny Battle (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS SrWest Aurora High School Aurora, Illinois
F 34 Andy Kaufmann 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrJacksonville High School Jacksonville, Illinois
G/F 35 Stephen Bardo 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrCarbondale Community High School Carbondale, Illinois
F 50 Mike MacDonald 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrStreamwood High School Streamwood, Illinois
F/C 45 Lowell Hamilton (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrProvidence St. Mel 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[3] [4]

Schedule

Source[5]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
11/26/1988*
no, no		 No. 9 vs. Illinois-Chicago W 85-59  1-0
 Assembly Hall (13,800)
Champaign, IL
11/29/1988*
no, no		 No. 7 vs. Metro State W 86-55  2-0
 Assembly Hall (13,911)
Champaign, IL
12/3/1988*
no, no		 No. 7 vs. Mississippi W 91-79  3-0
 Assembly Hall (14,386)
Champaign, IL
12/6/1988*
no, no		 No. 7 vs. Florida (#19) W 97-67  4-0
 Assembly Hall (15,020)
Champaign, IL
12/9/1988*
no, no		 No. 7 vs. Duquesne
Illini Classic		 W 112-81  5-0
 Assembly Hall (14,532)
Champaign, IL
12/10/1988*
no, no		 No. 7 vs. Arkansas-Little Rock
Illini Classic		 W 107-88  6-0
 Assembly Hall (14,887)
Champaign, IL
12/17/1988*
no, no		 No. 6 @ Tennessee Tech W 105-77  7-0
 Assembly Hall (12,794)
Champaign, IL
12/19/1988*
no, no		 No. 6 vs. Missouri (#10)
Braggin' Rights		 W 87-84  8-0
 St. Louis Arena (18,561)
St. Louis, MO
12/22/1988*
no, no		 No. 5 @ Louisiana State W 127-100  9-0
 Pete Maravich Assembly Center (14,192)
Baton Rouge, LA
12/28/1988*
no, no		 No. 4 vs. Tulsa
Rainbow Classic		 L 54-56  10-0
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center (3,173)
Honolulu, HI
12/29/1988*
no, no		 No. 4 vs. Georgia Tech (#17)
Rainbow Classic		 W 80-75  11-0
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center (5,775)
Honolulu, HI
12/28/1988*
no, no		 No. 4 @ Hawaii
Rainbow Classic		 W 96-87  12-0
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center (6,379)
Honolulu, HI
Big Ten regular season
1/7/1989
no, no		 No. 3 vs. Michigan State W 71-54  13-0 (1-0)
 Assembly Hall (16,497)
Champaign, IL
1/12/1989
no, no		 No. 2 vs. Wisconsin W 103-80  14-0 (2-0)
 Assembly Hall (14,433)
Champaign, IL
1/14/1989
no, no		 No. 2 vs. Michigan (#6) W 96-84  15-0 (3-0)
 Assembly Hall (14,499)
Champaign, IL
1/19/1989
no, no		 No. 2 @ Northwestern W 75-70  16-0 (4-0)
 Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, IL
1/22/1989*
no, no		 No. 2 vs. Georgia Tech W 103-92 2OT 17-0
 Assembly Hall (16,561)
Champaign, IL
1/26/1989
no, no		 No. 1 @ Minnesota L 62-69  17-1 (4-1)
 Williams Arena (13,766)
Minneapolis, MN
1/28/1989
no, no		 No. 1 vs. Indiana (#16)
Rivalry		 W 75-65  18-1 (5-1)
 Assembly Hall (16,563)
Champaign, IL
2/2/1989
no, no		 No. 2 @ Purdue L 72-76  18-2 (5-2)
 Mackey Arena (14,123)
West Lafayette, IN
2/5/1989
no, no		 No. 2 @ Iowa (#9)
Rivalry		 L 82-86  18-3 (5-3)
 Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500)
Iowa City, IA
2/9/1980
no, no		 No. 7 vs. Ohio State (#16) W 62-60  19-3 (6-3)
 Assembly Hall (16,439)
Champaign, IL
2/11/1989
no, no		 No. 7 vs. Northwestern W 86-69  20-3 (7-3)
 Assembly Hall (16,471)
Champaign, IL
2/16/1989
no, no		 No. 5 @ Michigan State
East Lansing, MI		 W 75-56  21-3 (8-3)
 {{{site_stadium}}} (10,004)
Jenison Fieldhouse
2/18/1989
no, no		 No. 5 @ Wisconsin L 52-72  21-4 (8-4)
 Wisconsin Field House (11,886)
Madison, WI
2/20/1989
no, no		 No. 5 vs. Purdue W 102-75  22-4 (9-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,415)
Champaign, IL
2/26/1989
no, no		 No. 10 @ Ohio State W 94-71  23-4 (10-4)
 St. John Arena (13,276)
Columbus, OH
3/2/1989
no, no		 No. 8 vs. Minnesota W 63-58  24-4 (11-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,455)
Champaign, IL
3/5/1989
no, no		 No. 8 vs. Indiana (#3)
Rivalry		 W 70-67  25-4 (12-4)
 Assembly Hall (17,311)
Bloomington, IN
3/8/1989
no, no		 No. 4 vs. Iowa (#15)
Rivalry		 W 118-94  26-4 (13-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,552)
Champaign, IL
3/11/1989
no, no		 No. 4 @ Michigan (#8) W 89-73  27-4 (14-4)
 Crisler Center (13,609)
Ann Arbor, MI
NCAA Tournament[6]
3/16/1989*
no, no		 No. 3 vs. McNeese State
First Round		 W 77-71  28-4
 RCA Dome (37,242)
Indianapolis, IN
3/18/1989*
no, no		 No. 3 vs. Ball State (#18)
Second Round		 W 72-60  29-4
 RCA Dome (37,444)
Indianapolis, IN
3/24/1989*
no, no		 No. 3 vs. Louisville (#12)
Regional Semifinals		 W 83-69  30-4
 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (33,560)
Minneapolis, MN
3/26/1989*
no, no		 No. 3 vs. Syracuse (#7)
Regional Finals		 W 89-86  31-4
 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (33,469)
Minneapolis, MN
4/1/1989*
no, no		 No. 3 vs. Michigan (#10)
National Semifinals		 L 81-83  31-5
 Kingdome (39,187)
Seattle, WA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats
Player Games Played Minutes Played 2 pt. Field Goals 3 pt. Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points
Nick Anderson [7]3611252382499285723257647
Kenny Battle [8]3611052099151174641389596
Lowell Hamilton[9]36943219050204243121488
Kendall Gill[10]2468110538467091651370
Marcus Liberty[11]36748114657141421038303
Stephen Bardo [12]361000652976144148834293
Larry Smith[13]366956334073157528175
P.J. Bowman[14]29284622928261787
Ervin Small[15]363922602776501077
Andy Kaufmann[16]12136115142081551
Mike MacDonald[17]23607011010115
Brian O'Connell[18]4510230004
Eddie Manzke[19]182500120001

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA
Player NBA Club Round Pick
Nick AndersonOrlando Magic111
Kenny BattleDetroit Pistons227

[22]

Rankings
Main article: 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

References
  1. "Rainbow Classic History". Archived from the original on 2005-03-18. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  2. Cotton, Anthony (April 2, 1989). "Michigan Survives Dogfight With Illini". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  3. Men's Basketball Roster
  4. All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2010-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  5. University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1988-89 Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
  6. 1989 NCAA Tournament
  7. Season Stats Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Season Stats Archived 2007-11-30 at the Wayback Machine
  9. pg. 122 Season Stats
  10. Season Stats Archived 2007-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Season Stats Archived 2007-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Season Stats Archived 2007-11-30 at the Wayback Machine
  13. pg. 122 Season Stats
  14. pg. 122 Season Stats
  15. pg. 122 Season Stats
  16. pg. 122 Season Stats
  17. pg. 122 Season Stats
  18. pg. 122 Season Stats
  19. pg. 122 Season Stats
  20. All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2013-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
  21. List of MVPs
  22. 1989 NBA Draft Archived 2010-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
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