The 2015–16 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the
2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 13. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and ended with the Final Four in Houston April 2–4. Practices officially began on October 2.
Rule changes
The followin ...
. Led by fourth year head coach
John Groce, the Illini played their home games at
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, ...
and were members of the
Big Ten Conference. In November 2015, the
Prairie Capital Convention Center in
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
hosted
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at the State Farm Center, located on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's campu ...
for five games while renovations to 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, ...
were completed. They finished the season 15–19, 5–13 in
Big Ten play to finish in 12th place. The Illini defeated
Minnesota and
Iowa to advance to the quarterfinals of the
Big Ten tournament, where they lost to
Purdue
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
.
Previous season
The
Fighting Illini finished the
2014-15 Season with an overall record of 19–14, 9–9 in
Big Ten play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the second round of the
Big Ten tournament to
Michigan. They were invited to the
NIT where they lost in the first round to
Alabama.
Offseason
Departures
2015 recruiting class
On March 5, 2015 Illinois signee Jalen Coleman-Lands was named one of 26 high school seniors who participated in the
Jordan Brand Classic on April 17, 2015, at the
Barclays Center
Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...
in
Brooklyn,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. Coleman-Lands is the second Illini to be selected to play in the Jordan Classic, joining
Dee Brown who played for the Red team in 2002.
Incoming transfer students
Darius Paul
Darius Paul (born April 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Albany Patroons of North American Premier Basketball
Collegiately, he played for Robert Morris University in the NAIA, for Western Michigan University in t ...
was immediately eligible to play during the 15-16 season due to the junior college student transfer exception rules of the
NCAA. While overseas on Illinois' preseason European trip, Paul was arrested in
Deauville,
France on August 14, 2015 and charged with vandalism, public intoxication and resisting arrest. Head coach John Groce later dismissed Paul from the Illinois basketball team on August 21, 2015.
Khalid Lewis and Mike Thorne Jr. are immediately eligible to play during the 15-16 season due to the graduate student transfer exception rules of the NCAA. Kipper Nichols was granted release of his scholarship from Tulane on September 22, 2015. He will join Illinois before the spring 2016 semester, and will be ineligible to play as a
redshirt transfer until the spring of 2017.
2016 Recruiting class
On September 16, 2015,
Te'Jon Lucas of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin verbally committed to attend Illinois in the fall of 2016 and signed his
National Letter of Intent
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
to finalize his recruitment on November 11, 2015. Lucas attended the NBA Top 100 camp in June 2015, had scholarship offers from
California,
Memphis,
Purdue
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
, and
Wisconsin, and he strongly considered both
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
and
Old Dominion before committing to Illinois. Lucas is only the third player from the State of Wisconsin to commit to Illinois, and is the first since 1926.
2017 Recruiting class
On January 16, 2016, Javon Pickett of
Belleville, Illinois
Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...
verbally committed to attend Illinois in the fall of 2017.
Pickett committed after having scholarship offers from
Drake,
Illinois State,
Southern Illinois Edwardsville,
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...
and
Tennessee State.
During Illinois' final home game against Minnesota on February 28, 2016, Da'Monte Williams verbally committed to attend Illinois in the fall of 2017. Williams is the son of former Illinois
guard Frank Williams, who led the Fighting Illini to three straight
NCAA men's basketball tournament appearances, including an
Elite Eight appearance in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
.
Roster
Depth chart
Updated 2015-12-10
Regular season
Injuries
Coach Groce announced on July 3 that incoming freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands had suffered a
stress fracture and would be held out from basketball activities indefinitely. The injury forced Coleman-Lands to miss the team's European exhibition trip at the beginning of August. However, Coleman-Lands was cleared for basketball activities at the end of September and played in the team's exhibition game against the
University of Illinois at Springfield on November 8.
On July 28, Coach Groce announced that redshirt graduate student
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
Tracy Abrams
Tracy Maurice Abrams Jr (born February 6, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for KK Sloboda Užice of the Basketball League of Serbia. Abrams is from Chicago, Illinois and played college basketball for the Illin ...
had suffered an
Achilles tendon rupture during summer workouts which would cause him to miss the entire 2015-16 season. The injury forced Abrams to use his second
medical redshirt so he can return for the 2016-17 season for a sixth year of eligibility.
On October 8, it was announced that sophomore
Leron Black
Leron "Boogie" Black (born January 31, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Soles de Mexicali of the LNBP. He played college basketball for the University of Illinois. He also played for Argentino de Junín from LNB before mo ...
would miss 4–6 weeks after having surgery to repair a
meniscus tear in his knee. Black returned to the lineup during the win against
North Dakota State on November 15, 2015.
However, in the game against North Dakota State, Black suffered a
contusion on his repaired knee. After sitting out games against Yale and University of Illinois at Chicago, Coach Groce announced on December 17, 2015 that Black would be out indefinitely due to persistent swelling and soreness in his knee.
On October 20, Coach Groce announced that junior
Kendrick Nunn
Kendrick Melvin Nunn (born August 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Oakland Golden ...
would miss about 8 weeks after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb.
During the first half of the season opener loss to
North Florida, junior point guard Jaylon Tate suffered a
dislocated finger that required surgery later that evening.
Both Nunn and Tate returned from injuries during a win against
UAB in Niceville, Florida.
During the first half of a loss to
Iowa State
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
, graduate transfer Mike Thorne, Jr. suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee. He will be out indefinitely.
Schedule and results
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!colspan=12 style="background:#; color:#;", European trip
, -
!colspan=12 style="background:#; color:#;", Exhibition
, -
!colspan=12 style="background:#; color:#;", Non-conference regular season
, -
!colspan=12 style="background:#; color:#;",
Big Ten regular season
, -
!colspan=12 style="background:#; color:#;",
Big Ten tournament
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Illinois
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons
Illinois Fighting Illini men's b
Illinois Fighting Illini men's b