The 1946–47 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

Regular season

The 1946-47 season would be the last year that

Doug Mills Douglas Raymond "Gaga" Mills (April 9, 1907 – August 12, 1993), a native of Elgin, Illinois, was a high school and college basketball player and coach in the state of Illinois. During high school, Mills was the first player in the state to lead ...

would be the head coach of the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

, however; he would remain as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

until 1966. During his tenure at the helm, Mills' coached 217 games over 11 seasons. Overall his teams won 151 games and lost only 66, the 151 wins remains 4th all-time in Illini history. During the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Conference season, Mills' teams won 88 games while losing only 47. Included in the 88 wins would be back-to-back conference titles in 1942 and 1943 where his teams would go 35-6 overall and 25-2 in the conference. Amazingly, Mills' three championships ('37, '42, '43) in just 11 years, place him just one behind

Harry Combes Harry Combes (March 3, 1915 – November 13, 1977), a native of Monticello, Illinois, served as head men's basketball coach at University of Illinois between 1947 and 1967. Biography Combes played high school basketball for Monticello High Scho ...

, his replacement as head coach, for the most conference championships. An attempt to regroup ' The Whiz Kids' occurred during the 1946-47 season when

Ken Menke Kenneth Howard Menke (October 2, 1922 – September 2, 2002) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League for the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons in 1947–48 and the Waterloo Hawks in the National Baske ...

Gene Vance Ellis Eugene Vance (February 25, 1923 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Chicago Stags and Tri-Cities ...

, and Andy Phillip returned from their service in World War II. January also saw the return of All-American guard Walt Kirk from his time in military service. Additionally,

Dike Eddleman Thomas Dwight "Dike" Eddleman (December 27, 1922 – August 1, 2001) was an American athlete who was generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of athletics at the University of Illinois. Eddleman participated on the university ...

was not available to play until January based on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

playing in the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, the chemistry was not the same and the team finished in a tie for second in the conference with a record of 8 wins, 4 losses. Overall, the team finished with a 14-6 record. The starting lineup at the beginning of the season included 4 of the 5 Whiz Kids, guards Smiley and Vance, forwards Phillip and Ken Menke and Fred Green at center. However, as January unfolded, Mills would insert Kirk and freshman Bill Erickson into the starting lineup as well.

Roster

Source

Schedule

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Player stats

Awards and honors

Dwight Eddleman Thomas Dwight "Dike" Eddleman (December 27, 1922 – August 1, 2001) was an American athlete who was generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of athletics at the University of Illinois. Eddleman participated on the university ...

** Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) * Andy Phillip ** True Magazine 1st team All-American (1947) ** National Association of Basketball Coaches 1st team All-American (1947) ** Consensus 2nd team All-American (1947) ** Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1947) **

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

(1961) *

Jack Smiley Arthur John Smiley (December 22, 1922 – July 30, 2000) was an American professional basketball player. Smiley played basketball for Waterman High School, in Waterman, Illinois. With Gene Vance, Andy Phillip, Ken Menke, and Art Mathisen, Smiley w ...

** Helms 3rd Team All-American (1947) ** Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1947) **Team Most Valuable Player *

** Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1947)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1946-47 Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Team

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons 1946 in sports in Illinois 1947 in sports in Illinois