1919–20 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1919–20 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference Big Ten Conference
1919–20 record 9–4 (8–4 Big Ten)
Head coach Ralph Jones
Captain Kenneth Wilson
Home arena Kenney Gym
1919–20 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Chicago 10 2   .833     14 4   .778
Purdue 8 2   .800     16 4   .800
Illinois 8 4   .667     9 4   .692
Indiana 6 4   .600     13 8   .619
Wisconsin 7 5   .583     15 5   .750
Iowa 6 6   .500     9 10   .474
Ohio State 3 9   .250     17 10   .630
Minnesota 3 9   .250     7 9   .438
Michigan 3 9   .250     10 13   .435
Northwestern 2 6   .250     2 6   .250
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1919–20 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

The 1919–20 Fighting Illini men's basketball season was the final of eight seasons for head coach Ralph Jones. This group was slightly better than the previous as they bounced back from the first losing season of Jones' career and finished third in the Big Ten. The campaign began with a six-game home winning streak; however, over the next seven games, the team posted only three wins, while losing four. After Jones left Illinois, he went to Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois. He coached both basketball and football at the academy for 10 years. His football team won 76 games and lost six in his ten years. His basketball teams had a ten-year record of 94 wins and 9 losses.[1] The record the Illini had at the conclusion of the 1919–20 season was nine wins and four losses overall with an eight-win, four-loss conference mark. The starting lineup included captain K. L. Wilson, J. B. Felmley, Julian Mee and P. C. Taylor rotating at the forward positions, All-American Chuck Carney at center, and Charles Vail, Burt Ingwersen, and Lawrence Walquist as guards.[2]

Roster

Player Position Class Hometown
Chuck Carney Center Sophomore Evanston, Illinois
Burt Ingwersen Right Guard Senior Urbana, Illinois
Paul C. Taylor Right Guard Senior New Orleans, Louisiana
Kenneth L. Wilson Right Forward Senior Wilmette, Illinois
Julian Mee Right Forward, Left Forward Junior Chicago, Illinois
John B. Felmley Right Forward, Left Forward Senior Bloomington, Illinois
Charles Vail Left Guard Sophomore Chicago, Illinois
Walter Collins Right Guard Sophomore
Lawrence Walquist Guard Sophomore Chicago, Illinois
John B. Felmley Left Forward Senior Bloomington, Illinois

[3]

Schedule

DateOpponent Score Result LocationAttendance
January 5, 1920Northwestern College24–12WinUrbana, IL2,468
January 10, 1920Purdue33–31WinUrbana, IL-
January 12, 1920Ohio State40–22WinUrbana, IL4,405
January 17, 1920Minnesota31–19WinUrbana, IL4,357
January 24, 1920Wisconsin43–20WinUrbana, IL4,300
January 26, 1920Michigan41–14WinUrbana, IL4,300
February 7, 1920Purdue20–36LossWest Lafayette, IN-
February 9, 1920Ohio State35–27WinColumbus, OH-
February 14, 1920University of Chicago21–23LossUrbana, IL4,420
February 21, 1920Wisconsin29–33LossMadison, WI-
February 23, 1920Minnesota26–20WinMinneapolis, MN-
February 28, 1920University of Chicago20–27LossChicago, IL-
March 1, 1920Michigan28–21WinAnn Arbor, MI-

Bold Italic connotes conference game

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
Charles Carney[4] 136576206
John Felmley[5] 1034371
Paul Taylor[6] 1331062
Lawrence Walquist[7] 1214028
Julian Mee[8]45010
Bert Ingwersen[9] 74014
Charles Vail[10] 12204
Kenneth Wilson[11] 4102

Awards and honors

Chuck Carney was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004. Carney was also selected as an All-American for the 1919–20 season and became the Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year for his play during the 1921–22 season.

References