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 (appr ...

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 absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

(BAA) and

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

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

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

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 ...

where he led the team as a member of the famed " Whiz Kids" of the 1940s. He and the other Whiz Kids,

Andy Phillip Andrew Michael "Handy Andy" Phillip (March 7, 1922 – April 29, 2001) was an American professional basketball player.

Art Mathisen Arthur Fremont Mathisen (February 27, 1920 – January 5, 2004) was an American college basketball standout for Illinois in the 1940s. A center, Mathison led the Fighting Illini in rebounding while scoring over 500 points in his three years of var ...

, 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 The 1948 BAA draft was the second annual draft of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 10, 1948, before the 1948–49 season. In this draft, eight BAA ...

, 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 and ...

of the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign 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 Un ...

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 cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Ly ...

in 1980. Vance later married Janann Duffy and had four children. 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 {{1920s-US-basketball-bio-stub