2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

2013-14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball

NIT Second round vs. Clemson, L 49–50
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2013-14 record	20–15 (7–11 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Groce
Assistant coach	Dustin Ford
Assistant coach	Paris Parham
Assistant coach	Jamall Walker
Assistant coach	Ryan Pedon
Home arena	State Farm Center

	Conf				Overall
2013–14 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
#7 Michigan	15	–	3	.833	28	–	9	.757
#12 Wisconsin	12	–	6	.667	30	–	8	.789
#11 Michigan State †	12	–	6	.667	29	–	9	.763
Nebraska	11	–	7	.611	19	–	13	.594
#22 Ohio State	10	–	8	.556	25	–	10	.714
Iowa	9	–	9	.500	20	–	13	.606
Minnesota	8	–	10	.444	25	–	13	.658
Illinois	7	–	11	.389	20	–	15	.571
Indiana	7	–	11	.389	17	–	15	.531
Penn State	6	–	12	.333	16	–	18	.471
Northwestern	6	–	12	.333	14	–	19	.424
Purdue	5	–	13	.278	15	–	17	.469

† 2014 Big Ten Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by second year head coach John Groce, the Illini played their home games at State Farm Center and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 20–15, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament where they lost to Michigan. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Boston University in the first round before losing in the second round to Clemson.

Pre-season

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Sam McLaurin	0	F	6'8"	230	GS Senior	Havana, FL	Graduated/Pro for Korihait (Finland)
D. J. Richardson	1	G	6'3"	195	Senior	Peoria, IL	Graduated/Pro for Güssing Knights (Austria)
Brandon Paul	3	G	6'4"	200	Senior	Gurnee, IL	Graduated/Pro for BC Nizhny Novgorod (Russia)
Mike Shaw	15	F	6'8"	230	Sophomore	Chicago, IL	Transfer to Bradley
Myke Henry	20	G/F	6'6"	230	Sophomore	Chicago, IL	Transfer to DePaul
Devin Langford	21	G/F	6'7"	200	RS Freshman	Huntsville, AL	Transfer to Kentucky Wesleyan
Ibby Djimde	23	F/C	6'8"	250	Sophomore	Bamako, Mali	Transfer to Southern Illinois
Kevin Berardini	32	G	6'0"	175	RS Junior	Lake Forest, IL	Graduated/Transfer to Pace University
Tyler Griffey	42	F	6'8"	235	Senior	Wildwood, MO	Graduated/Pro for Swans Gmunden (Austria)

2013 additions

Incoming freshman

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Austin Colbert PF	Gladstone, NJ	Gill St. Bernard's School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 12, 2012
Austin Colbert PF	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Malcolm Hill SG	Belleville, IL	Belleville East High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sep 12, 2011
Malcolm Hill SG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86
Maverick Morgan C	Springboro, OH	Springboro High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jun 13, 2012
Maverick Morgan C	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78
Kendrick Nunn SG	Chicago, IL	Simeon Career Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sep 15, 2012
Kendrick Nunn SG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86
Jaylon Tate SG	Chicago, IL	Simeon Career Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Oct 4, 2012
Jaylon Tate SG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 20 Rivals: 18 247Sports: 20 ESPN: 15
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Illinois 2013 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2014-11-13. "2013 Illinois Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2014-11-13. "ESPN Recruiting Nation Basketball". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2014-11-13. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2014-11-13. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2014-11-13. "Illinois 2013 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved 2014-11-13.

Incoming transfer students

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aaron Cosby^[1] PG	Louisville, KY	Northfield-Mt. Hermon / Seton Hall	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 13, 2013
Aaron Cosby^[1] PG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 90
Jon Ekey^[2] SF	Independence, MO	William Chrisman HS / Illinois State	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Apr 16, 2013
Jon Ekey^[2] SF	Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82
Darius Paul^[3] PF	Gurnee, IL	Warren Township HS / Western Michigan	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	May 4, 2013
Darius Paul^[3] PF	Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Ahmad Starks^[4] PG	Chicago, IL	Whitney Young HS / Oregon State	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	May 28, 2013
Ahmad Starks^[4] PG	Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Jon Ekey was immediately eligible to play during the 13-14 season due to the graduate student transfer exception rules of the NCAA.

Roster

2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Home town
1.5 !G	1	Tate, JaylonJaylon Tate	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 160 lb (73 kg)	1.0 !Fr	Chicago, IL
1.5 !G	2	Bertrand, JosephJoseph Bertrand (C)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 200 lb (91 kg)	4.5 !RS Sr	Sterling, IL
1.5 !G	3	Starks, AhmadAhmad Starks	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 69 !5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 170 lb (77 kg)	4.0 !Sr	Chicago, IL
1.5 !G	10	LaTulip, MikeMike LaTulip (W)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 165 lb (75 kg)	2.0 !So	Arlington Heights, IL
1.5 !G	11	Cosby, AaronAaron Cosby	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 195 lb (88 kg)	3.0 !Jr	Louisville, KY
1.5 !G	13	Abrams, TracyTracy Abrams (C)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 190 lb (86 kg)	3.0 !Jr	Chicago, IL
1.5 !G	21	Hill, MalcolmMalcolm Hill	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 210 lb (95 kg)	1.0 !Fr	Belleville, IL
5.0 !C	22	Morgan, MaverickMaverick Morgan	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 250 lb (113 kg)	1.0 !Fr	Springboro, OH
1.5 !G	24	Rice, RayvonteRayvonte Rice	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 235 lb (107 kg)	3.5 !RS Jr	Champaign, IL
1.5 !G	25	Nunn, KendrickKendrick Nunn	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 180 lb (82 kg)	1.0 !Fr	Chicago, IL
3.5 !F	31	Colbert, AustinAustin Colbert	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 210 lb (95 kg)	1.0 !Fr	Chesapeake, VA
4.5 !F/C	32	Egwu, NnannaNnanna Egwu (C)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 250 lb (113 kg)	3.0 !Jr	Chicago, IL
3.5 !F	33	Ekey, JonJon Ekey (C)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 225 lb (102 kg)	5.0 !GS	Independence, MO
3.5 !F	35	Paul, DariusDarius Paul	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 220 lb (100 kg)	2.0 !So	Gurnee, IL

Head coach

John Groce (Taylor)

Assistant coach(es)

Dustin Ford (Ohio)
Paris Parham (Minnesota State)
Jamall Walker (Saint Louis)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule

Date	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (Attendance)
Exhibition
Oct 24*		McKendree	W 101–66	–	16 - Abrams	8 - Bertrand	3 - Abrams, Tate	State Farm Center (13,006)
Nov 3*		Northwood	W 83–67	–	14 - LaTulip	9 - Ekey	4 - Rice	State Farm Center (12,988)
Non-conference season
Nov 8*		Alabama State	W 80–63	1–0	22 - Rice	10 - Egwu	3 - Abrams	State Farm Center (15,271)
Nov 10*		Jacksonville State	W 86–62	2–0	20 - Bertrand	10 - Bertrand	8 - Tate	State Farm Center (13,506)
Nov 13*		Valparaiso	W 64–52	3–0	18 - Rice	15 - Ekey	4 - Abrams	State Farm Center (13,504)
Nov 17*		Bradley	W 81–55	4–0	19 - Ekey	8 - Abrams	6 - Tate	State Farm Center (15,849)
Nov 22*		Chicago State	W 77–53	5–0	19 - Ekey	9 - Egwu	5 - Abrams	State Farm Center (15,488)
Nov 26*		at UNLV	W 61–59	6–0	25 - Rice	10 - Rice	5 - Tate	Thomas & Mack Center (13,747)
Nov 29*		IPFW	W 57–55	7–0	17 - Rice	6 - Rice	3 - Tate	State Farm Center (15,638)
Dec 3*		at Georgia Tech (ACC–Big Ten Challenge)	L 64–67	7–1	24 - Rice	9 - Ekey	5 - Tate	McCamish Pavilion (6,516)
Dec 8*		vs. Auburn	W 81–62	8–1	22 - Rice	7 - Abrams	5 - Abrams	Philips Arena (2,259)
Dec 10*		Dartmouth	W 72–65	9–1	13 - Rice	5 - Rice	4 - Abrams	State Farm Center (14,651)
Dec 14*		vs. #15 Oregon	L 64–71	9–2	16 - Abrams, Rice	8 - Ekey	5 - Abrams	Moda Center (10,043)
Dec 21*		vs. #23 Missouri (Braggin' Rights)	W 65–64	10–2	22 - Abrams	6 - Abrams, Bertrand	2 - Bertrand	Scottrade Center (21,987)
Dec 28*		vs. UIC	W 74–60	11–2	28 - Rice	7 - Egwu, Rice	4 - Abrams	United Center (13,017)
Big Ten Conference season
Dec 31		Indiana	W 83–80 ^OT	12–2 (1–0)	29 - Rice	8 - Rice	3 - Abrams	State Farm Center (16,618)
Jan 4		Penn State	W 75–55	13–2 (2–0)	15 - Rice	8 - Ekey, Rice	5 - Abrams	State Farm Center (15,390)
Jan 8	#23	at #4 Wisconsin	L 70–95	13–3 (2–1)	19 - Rice	10 - Egwu	2 - Tate	Kohl Center (17,003)
Jan 12	#23	at Northwestern	L 43–49	13–4 (2–2)	13 - Abrams	9 - Ekey	5 - Abrams	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Jan 15		Purdue	L 58–66	13–5 (2–3)	13 - Abrams	7 - Rice	5 - Abrams	State Farm Center (15,007)
Jan 18		#4 Michigan State	L 62–78	13–6 (2–4)	15 - Abrams	5 - Rice	3 - Abrams	State Farm Center (16,618)
Jan 23		at #17 Ohio State	L 55–62	13–7 (2–5)	19 - Bertrand	9 - Egwu	4 - Tate	Value City Arena (16,774)
Jan 26		at Indiana	L 46–56	13–8 (2–6)	20 - Rice	5 - Bertrand, Egwu	5 - Tate	Assembly Hall (17,472)
Feb 1		#15 Iowa	L 74–81	13–9 (2–7)	20 - Bertrand	9 - Rice	4 - Nunn	State Farm Center (16,618)
Feb 4		Wisconsin	L 63–75	13–10 (2–8)	24 - Rice	9 - Rice	2 - Abrams, Rice	State Farm Center (16,618)
Feb 9		at Penn State	W 60–55	14–10 (3–8)	19 - Nunn	7 - Rice	5 - Abrams	Bryce Jordan Center (7,573)
Feb 12		at Nebraska	L 58–67	14–11 (3–9)	23 - Rice	12 - Egwu	3 - Abrams	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,404)
Feb 15		#22 Ohio State	L 39–48	14–12 (3–10)	13 - Abrams	14 - Egwu	3 - Nunn	State Farm Center (16,618)
Feb 19		at Minnesota	W 62–49	15–12 (4–10)	19 - Nunn	11 - Egwu	6 - Abrams	Williams Arena (12,221)
Feb 26		Nebraska	W 60-49	16–12 (5–10)	13 - Nunn	9 - Rice	5 - Abrams	State Farm Center (13,206)
Mar 1		at #18 Michigan State	W 53-46	17–12 (6–10)	12 - Abrams	6 - Nunn	4 - Abrams, Nunn	Breslin Center (14,797)
Mar 4		#12 Michigan	L 53-84	17–13 (6–11)	16 - Rice	9 - Rice	3 - Rice	State Farm Center (16,618)
Mar 8		at #24 Iowa	W 66-63	18–13 (7–11)	15 - Rice	6 - Egwu, Ekey	4 - Nunn	Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400)
Big Ten Tournament
Mar 13		vs. Indiana (First round)	W 64–54	19–13	25 - Abrams	7 - Abrams, Egwu	2 - Abrams, Bertrand, Nunn, Rice	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,596)
Mar 14		vs. #8 Michigan (Quarterfinals)	L 63–64	19–14	11 - Abrams, Rice	9 - Egwu	5 - Abrams	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,596)
NIT
March 19*	#(2)	at (7) Boston University (First round)	W 66–62	20–14	28 - Rice	8 - Hill, Rice	3 - Abrams	Agganis Arena (1,327)
March 23*	#(2)	at (3) Clemson (Second round)	L 49–50	20–15	15 - Rice	6 - Egwu	3 - Abrams	Littlejohn Coliseum (10,000)
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll, (#) during NIT is seed within region. ( ) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Receiving votes
Poll	Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Wk 20	Final
AP^[5]	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	NR	NR	RV	RV	23	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	N/A
Coaches^[6]	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

References

↑ Powers, Scott (April 13, 2013). "Aaron Cosby to transfer to Illinois". ESPNChicago.com. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
↑ Powers, Scott (April 16, 2013). "Jon Ekey transferring to Illinois". ESPNChicago.com. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
↑ Powers, Scott (May 4, 2013). "Darius Paul headed to Illinois". ESPNChicago.com. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
↑ Powers, Scott (May 28, 2013). "Ahmad Starks heads to Illini". ESPNChicago.com. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
↑ "AP Top 25". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
↑ "USA Today/ESPN". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2013-11-11.

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball

Venues	Kenney Gym (1906–1925) Huff Hall (1926–1963) State Farm Center (1963–present)

Rivalries	Missouri

Culture & lore	Whiz Kids Flyin' Illini Orange Krush Fighting Illini Sports Network Oskee Wow-Wow Illinois Loyalty Chief Illiniwek

People	Head coaches NBA draftees Consensus All-Americans

Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

Helms and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

2013–14 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

Pre-season

Departures

2013 additions

Incoming freshman

Incoming transfer students

Roster

Schedule

Rankings

See also

References