Ellis Eugene Vance (February 25, 1923 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played in the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...

(BAA) and

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for the Chicago Stags and Tri-Cities Blackhawks / Milwaukee Hawks. Vance played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

where he led the team as a member of the famed " Whiz Kids" of the 1940s. He and the other Whiz Kids, Andy Phillip, Art Mathisen, Ken Menke, and Jack Smiley, are regarded as some of Illinois' all-time greats, but only he and Phillip are on the team's all-century team. Vance and his Whiz Kids teammates left basketball to serve in World War II in 1943. Vance was selected by the Stags in the 1948 NBA draft, and played professionally for five seasons. He served 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 a ...

of the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

from 1967 to 1972. Vance was married to Grace Hoberg from 1943 until her death from

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

in 1980. They had four children and seven grandchildren together. Vance later married Janann Duffy. He died on February 16, 2012, at age 88.

Honors

* 1973, Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player. * 2004, Elected to the " Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team". * December 18, 2006, The post office in his hometown of Clinton was named the ''"Gene Vance Post Office"'' in his honor. * September 13, 2008 Awarded as one of the thirty-three honored jerseys which hang in the

State Farm Center The State Farm Center is a large dome-shaped 15,544-seat indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The arena hosts games for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, ...

to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history.

College and professional statistics

University of Illinois

BAA/NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

* * 1923 births 2012 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Illinois Chicago Stags draft picks Chicago Stags players Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) Illinois Fighting Illini athletic directors Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players Milwaukee Hawks players People from Clinton, Illinois Tri-Cities Blackhawks players 20th-century American sportsmen {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub