Harry Combes (March 3, 1915 – November 13, 1977), a native of

Monticello, Illinois Monticello ( ) is a city in Piatt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,941 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Piatt County. Geography Monticello is located at (40.028092, −88.573003). According to the 2010 censu ...

, served as head men's basketball coach at

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 ...

between 1947 and 1967.

Biography

Combes played high school basketball for Monticello High School, where he led his teams to an overall combined record of 72–9. A three-year letterwinner, Combes was also a star player for the Illini from 1935 to 1937 and helped lead Illinois to both its Big Ten titles in the 1930s. Combes began coaching basketball at Champaign High School, where he posted an astounding 254–46 record, including winning the state title in 1946. Beyond the single championship, Combes led Champaign Central to seven state tournament appearances in nine years from 1939 to 1947. During that time the ''Maroons'' captured fourth place in 1940 and 1944 before starting three years of amazing runs to the championship game where they finished second in 1945, first in 1946, and second in 1947. In 2007, the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fed ...

named Combes one of the

100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) celebrated 100 years of the IHSA State Tournament in the 2006-07 season. A list of "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament" was assembled on December 14, 2005. Throughout the state, 281 ind ...

. Combes also served as boys baseball coach at Champaign High School, where he compiled an impressive 70–26–2 (.724) record over a five-year period (1937–1942). Once at

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

he won three Big Ten titles in his first five seasons (1949, 1951, and 1952). Combes led Illinois to three third-place finishes in the NCAA tournament in the four-year period from 1949 to 1952. The squad won 79 of the 100 games during those four years. Illinois' 1952 Final Four appearance was the first officially recognized Final Four, and the three third-place finishes would be the Illini's deepest runs in the tournament until the 1989 team made the Final Four. Until

Lou Henson Louis Ray Henson (January 10, 1932 – July 25, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. He retired as the all-time leader in victories at the University of Illinois with 423 victories and New Mexico State with 289 victories. Overall, Henso ...

broke the record in 1990, Combes' 316 wins were the most wins ever by an Illinois head basketball coach. Combes, along with his assistant coach Howie Braun and head

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach

Pete Elliott Peter R. Elliott (September 29, 1926 – January 4, 2013) was an American football player and coach. Elliott served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (1956), the University of California, Berkeley (1957–1959), ...

, were pressured into resigning on March 19, 1967 by the university which was threatened with expulsion by the

Big Ten Conference 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 ...

over a slush fund scandal. He was succeeded by Harv Schmidt ten days later on March 29. He died in Champaign on November 13, 1977.

Head coaching record

High school

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Combes, Harry 1915 births 1977 deaths All-American college men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois High school basketball coaches in Illinois Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coaches Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players People from Monticello, Illinois American men's basketball players

Biography

Head coaching record

High school

College

See also

References