The 1972–73 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

Head coach Harv Schmidt entered his sixth season with 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 ...

with high expectations. The 1971-72 team returned one of the top senior athletes in the country,

Nick Weatherspoon Nick Levoter Weatherspoon (July 20, 1950 – October 17, 2008) was an American professional basketball player. Career Weatherspoon, nicknamed "Spoon", scored 1,431 points at Canton McKinley High School, holding the Bulldog scoring record for 37 y ...

. As a sophomore, Weatherspoon scored 381 points, averaging 16.5 points per game, while collecting 246 rebounds. His junior year was even better, scoring 500 total points, averaging 20.8 points and pulling down 262 rebounds. Nothing, however, would be better than Weatherspoon's senior year. During this season he would score 600 points, averaging 25.0 points per game, while amassing 295 total rebounds. Weatherspoon remains as number 11 on the all-time leading scores list at 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 ...

, only surpassed by players that completed four years of varsity basketball. His three year average of 20.9 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game still remain number one for the Fighting Illini. The 1972-73 team's starting lineup included Weatherspoon and

Rick Schmidt Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

at the forward spots, Jeff Dawson and Otho Tucker as guards and Nick Conner at center. The roster included the teams first 7 foot tall player, Bill Rucks a freshman from

Waukegan High School Waukegan High School, or WHS, is a public four-year high school located in Waukegan, Illinois, USA, a city to the north of Chicago, Illinois. It is part of Waukegan Community Unit School District 60. Students attend classes at the Washington Cam ...

Roster

Source

Schedule

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Player stats

Awards and honors

**1st Team All-American (

Helms Helms is an English surname, English and Danish language, Danish Patronymic surname, Patronymic Surname and means son of Helm (given name), Helm, which derives from the Old Norse name ''Hjelm'' or ''Hjälm'' meaning 'helmet'. The name may als ...

), Honorable Mention (

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

) **Team Most Valuable Player

Team players drafted into the NBA

1973 NBA Draft

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1972-73 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 1972 in sports in Illinois 1973 in sports in Illinois