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 | #Not Ranked |
| AP | #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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #6 Purdue | 13 | – | 1 | .929 | 23 | – | 5 | .821 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #20 Illinois | 9 | – | 5 | .643 | 19 | – | 5 | .792 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 9 | – | 5 | .643 | 17 | – | 7 | .708 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 13 | – | 11 | .542 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 14 | – | 10 | .583 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 12 | – | 12 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 11 | – | 12 | .478 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 12 | – | 12 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 11 | – | 13 | .458 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 4 | – | 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 lead 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.
Team
| No. | Player | Hometown | High School | Class | Position |
| 10 | Rick Howat | Downers Grove, Illinois | Downers Grove North High School | So. | Guard |
| 11 | Bob Windmiller | Ossian, Indiana | Ossian High School | So. | Guard |
| 14 | Fred Miller | Pekin, Illinois | Pekin High School | So. | Forward |
| 15 | Mike Price | Indianapolis, Indiana | Arsenal Technical High School | Jr. | Forward |
| 20 | Brad Richardson | Olney, Illinois | East Richland High School | So. | Forward |
| 30 | Randy Crews | Kankakee, Illinois | Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School | Jr. | Forward |
| 31 | Greg Jackson | Chicago, Illinois | St. Philip High School | So. | Center |
| 32 | Les Busboom | Royal, Illinois | St. Joseph-Ogden High School | Sr. | Guard |
| 33 | Jodie Harrison | Streator, Illinois | Streator High School | Sr. | Guard |
| 34 | Denny Pace | Collinsville, Illinois | Collinsville High School | Sr. | Forward/Guard |
| 40 | Dave Scholz | Decatur, Illinois | Decatur High School | Sr. | Forward/Center |
| 43 | Bob Shapland | Champaign, Illinois | Central High School | So. | Guard |
| 44 | Ron Armbrust | Lincoln, Illinois | Lincoln High School | Jr. | Guard |
- Head Coach Harv Schmidt (2nd year at Illinois) [1]
Schedule
Source[2]
| Date | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/2/1968* | #NR | vs.Butler | W 105-66 | 1-0 | Assembly Hall (11,833) | ||||||
| 12/6/1968* | #NR | @ Creighton | W 69-66 | 2-0 | Omaha Civic Auditorium (9,240) | ||||||
| 12/9/1968* | #NR | vs. North Dakota | W 83-51 | 3-0 | Assembly Hall (11,795) | ||||||
| 12/14/1968* | #NR | vs. Iowa State | W 75-48 | 4-0 | Assembly Hall (10,051) | ||||||
| 12/17/1968* | #NR | vs. Ohio | W 95-82 | 5-0 | Assembly Hall (10,031) | ||||||
| 12/19/1968* | #NR | vs. Tulane | W 105-71 | 6-0 | Assembly Hall (10,252) | ||||||
| 12/21/1968* | #NR | @ #20 Houston | W 97-84 | 7-0 | Hofheinz Pavilion (5,200) | ||||||
| 12/27/1968* | #12 | vs. Creighton (Hurricane Classic) |
W 90-77 | 8-0 | Miami Beach Convention Center (2,093) | ||||||
| 12/28/1968* | #12 | vs. Miami (FL) (Hurricane Classic) |
W 86-76 | 9-0 | Miami Beach Convention Center (2,486) | ||||||
| 1/4/1969 | #8 | vs. Minnesota | W 80-58 | 10-0 (1-0) | Assembly Hall (16,128) | ||||||
| 1/7/1969 | #4 | @ Purdue | L 84-98 | 10-1 (1-1) | Mackey Arena (14,123) | ||||||
| 1/11/1969 | #4 | @ #12 Northwestern | W 82-77 OT | 11-1 (2-1) | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,388) | ||||||
| 1/25/1969* | #8 | vs. #15 Notre Dame | W 83-86 | 12-1 | Chicago Stadium (18,000) | ||||||
| 1/28/1969 | #7 | @ #12 Ohio State | L 67-76 | 12-2 (2-2) | St. John Arena (13,374) | ||||||
| 2/1/1969 | #7 | vs. Wisconsin | W 86-73 | 13-2 (3-2) | Assembly Hall (15,740) | ||||||
| 2/8/1969 | #10 | vs. Iowa | W 98-69 | 14-2 (4-2) | Assembly Hall (16,128) | ||||||
| 2/11/1969 | #10 | @ Michigan | L 87-92 | 14-3 (4-3) | Crisler Arena (8,113) | ||||||
| 2/15/1969 | #10 | @ Michigan State | L 70-75 | 14-4 (4-4) | Jenison Fieldhouse (7,020) | ||||||
| 2/18/1969 | #19 | vs. #10 Ohio State | W 73-57 | 15-4 (5-4) | Assembly Hall (16,128) | ||||||
| 2/23/1969 | #19 | vs. Michigan | W 100-92 | 16-4 (6-4) | Assembly Hall (16,128) | ||||||
| 2/25/1969 | #15 | @ Iowa | L 53-74 | 16-5 (6-5) | Iowa Field House (13,700) | ||||||
| 3/1/1969 | #15 | @ Indiana | W 77-64 | 17-5 (7-5) | Assembly Hall (5,425) | ||||||
| 3/4/1969 | #20 | vs. Michigan State | W 71-57 | 18-5 (8-5) | Assembly Hall (14,912) | ||||||
| 3/8/1969 | #20 | vs. Northwestern | W 78-68 | 19-5 (9-5) | Assembly Hall (16,128) | ||||||
| *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[3] | 24 | 181 | 97 | 209 | 459 |
| Greg Jackson[4] | 24 | 163 | 68 | 200 | 394 |
| Mike Price[5] | 24 | 120 | 58 | 163 | 298 |
| Jodie Harrison[6] | 24 | 87 | 80 | 96 | 254 |
| Fred Miller[7] | 22 | 44 | 55 | 64 | 254 |
| Denny Pace[8] | 24 | 56 | 27 | 86 | 139 |
| Randy Crews[9] | 24 | 43 | 46 | 82 | 132 |
| Rick Howat[10] | 22 | 34 | 10 | 14 | 78 |
| Bob Windmiller[11] | 15 | 23 | 10 | 14 | 56 |
Awards and honors
Team players drafted into the NBA
| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 4 | 9 | Steve Kuberski* | Boston Celtics |
| 4 | 13 | Dave Scholz | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 5 | 1 | Rich Jones* | Phoenix Suns |
| 15 | 6 | Jodie Harrison | Baltimore Bullets |
*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.