The 1942–43 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the

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

Regular season

The 1942–43 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois. The Illinois Fighting Illini finished the season with a record of 17 wins and 1 loss. The season was cut short as three of the five starters headed off to active duty in the armed forces. Illinois won the Big Ten Conference Title and had finished the regular season as the nations' top ranked team. Paced by a group of players known as the Whiz Kids, the team consisted of 20-year-old

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

forward

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

and teenagers Ken Menke, Gene Vance, Jack Smiley and team captain Art Mathisen. These players were so dominant in the Big Ten, that only Northwestern's

Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League ...

could crack the all-conference team. The Army drafted Mathisen, Menke and Smiley. That left only Vance and Phillip, both good enough to be selected to Illinois' All-Century team. Head coach Doug Mills made a decision in February 1943 that all five always supported: the club did not participate in either the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

or NIT tournament.

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

's NCAA championship that season may not have happened had Illinois’ season not coincided with

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The team was retroactively named the national champion by the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

. Four of the five, minus Mathisen, returned to Illinois and tried to recapture the glory for one more season in 1946–47 after the war ended, but the chemistry had changed as well as their talent. Illinois went 14–6. The final living Whiz Kid, Gene Vance, died in 2012.

Roster

Schedule

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Player stats

Awards and honors

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

National Player of the Year 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, c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1942-43 Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Team

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 ...

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons 1942 in sports in Illinois 1943 in sports in Illinois