1951–52 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1951–52 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

1951–52 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Big Ten conference champions
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
1951–52 record22–4 (12–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPRod Fletcher
CaptainRod Fletcher
Home arenaHuff Hall
1951–52 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 2 Illinois122 .857  224  .846
No. 7 Iowa113 .786  193  .864
Minnesota104 .714  157  .682
Indiana95 .643  166  .727
Michigan State68 .429  139  .591
Ohio State68 .429  814  .364
Wisconsin59 .357  1012  .455
Michigan410 .286  715  .318
Northwestern410 .286  715  .318
Purdue311 .214  814  .364
Rankings from AP Poll
"1951-52 Fighting Illini men's basketball team"
"1951-52 Fighting Illini men's basketball team"

Regular season

The 1951-52 Fighting Illini men's basketball team had reached a level of national prominence that was only bettered by the 1914-15 national championship team. Head coach Harry Combes had guided his team to a Big Ten championship, a third place finish in the 1952 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and a final AP ranking of No. 2 in the nation. Combes was beginning to build a dynasty in Champaign with 3 Big Ten Championships and 3 third place finishes in the NCAA tournament in his first 5 years at the helm. The 1951-52 season not only brought Illinois another Big Ten title, it also introduced John Kerr, a center from Tilden Tech in Chicago. He began his three-year reign as Illinois’ top scorer with a sophomore-record 357 points. The Illini recorded a 22-4 overall mark and went 12-2 in the conference. Once again, Illinois advanced to the national semifinals and ran into underdog St. John’s. The Redmen fought their way to a 61-59 victory in the NCAA’s first Final Four, in Seattle. Illinois took another third-place award home after beating Santa Clara, 67-64, behind 26 points by Kerr. At the conclusion of the tournament, Kerr and James Bredar were named to the Final Four All-Tournament team. Subsequently, at the conclusion of the season, Rodney Fletcher was named a Consensus 1st team All-American.

The starting lineup for the season included captain Rodney Fletcher, James Bredar and Irving Bemoras at guard, Clive Follmer at the forward slot with Robert Peterson and, future hall of famer Johnny "Red" Kerr at the center position. The team also included former University of Minnesota head coach Jim Dutcher.[1]

Roster

1951–52 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 9 Elmer Plew 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrParis High School Paris, Illinois
F 11 Jim Dutcher 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrDowners Grove High School Downers Grove, Illinois
G 16 Jim Wright 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)160 lb (73 kg) SoLawrenceville High School Lawrenceville, Illinois
G 19 James Bredar 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)167 lb (76 kg) JrSalem High School Salem, Illinois
C 22 Johnny Kerr 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoTilden High School Chicago, Illinois
F 24 Ed Makovsky 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)194 lb (88 kg) SoMorton High School Cicero, Illinois
C 25 Robert Peterson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)235 lb (107 kg) JrElgin High School Wayne, Illinois
G 26 Irving Bemoras 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrMarshall High School Chicago, Illinois
C 27 Mack Follmer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) SrForrest High School Forrest, Illinois
F 29 Max Baumgardner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrSterling High School Sterling, Illinois
F 33 Clive Follmer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrForrest High School Forrest, Illinois
G 34 Seymour Gantman 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)165 lb (75 kg) SrMarshall High School Chicago, Illinois
G 35 Ren Alde 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) SrPana High School Pana, Illinois
G 37 Rod Fletcher (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)194 lb (88 kg) SrChampaign Central High School Champaign, Illinois
G 38 Herb Gerecke 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) SrPekin High School Pekin, Illinois
F 41 Max Hooper 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoMt. Vernon High School Mt. Vernon, Illinois
G 44 Walt Moore 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)165 lb (75 kg) FrMt. Vernon High School Mt. Vernon, Illinois
G 47 Dick Christiansen 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m)180 lb (82 kg) SrNew Trier High School Winnetka, Illinois
G 48 James Schuldt 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)193 lb (88 kg) JrDundee Community High School Dundee, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[2]

Schedule

Source[3]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state[4]
Non-Conference regular season
12/4/1951*
no, no
No. NR Butler W 68–57  1-0
Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,043)
Indianapolis, IN
12/12/1951*
no, no
No. 3 Loyola (Chicago) W 74–66  2-0
Huff Hall (-)
Champaign, IL
12/13/1951*
no, no
No. 3 Oklahoma W 69-51  3-0
Huff Hall (6,505)
Champaign, IL
12/20/1951*
no, no
No. 3 North Carolina W 86–66  4-0
Huff Hall (2,899)
Champaign, IL
12/22/1951*
no, no
No. 3 DePaul W 70–61  5-0
Huff Hall (-)
Champaign, IL
12/28/1951*
no, no
No. 2 UCLA (No. 16) W 73–67  6-0
Huff Hall (2,411)
Champaign, IL
12/31/1951*
no, no
No. 2 Marquette W 68–57  7-0
Huff Hall (-)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/5/1952
no, no
No. 2 Minnesota W 52–43  8-0 (1-0)
Williams Arena (17,862)
Minneapolis, MN
1/7/1952
no, no
No. 2 Wisconsin W 53–49  9-0 (2-0)
Huff Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL
1/12/1952
no, no
No. 2 Michigan W 67–51  10-0 (3-0)
Yost Field House (6,300)
Ann Arbor, MI
1/14/1952
no, no
No. 2 Indiana (No. 4)
Rivalry
W 78–66  11-0 (4-0)
Huff Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL
1/26/1952*
no, no
No. 1 DePaul L 65–69  11-1
Alumni Hall (-)
Chicago, IL
1/28/1952
no, no
No. 1 Purdue W 84–57  12-1 (5-0)
Lambert Fieldhouse (-)
West Lafayette, IN
2/2/1952
no, no
No. 3 Ohio State W 66–62  13-1 (6-0)
Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (8,265)
Columbus, OH
2/9/1952
no, no
No. 3 Iowa (No. 9)
Rivalry
L 68–73  13-2 (6-1)
Iowa Field House (-)
Iowa City, IA
2/11/1952
no, no
No. 3 Michigan State W 84–62  14-2 (7-1)
Huff Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL
2/16/1952
no, no
No. 6 Ohio State W 80–53  15-2 (8-1)
Huff Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL
2/18/1952
no, no
No. 6 Indiana (No. 20)
Rivalry
W 77–70  16-2 (9-1)
The Fieldhouse (10,556)
Bloomington, IN
2/23/1952
no, no
No. 5 Iowa (No. 4)
Rivalry
W 78–62  17-2 (10-1)
Huff Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL
3/1/1952
no, no
No. 2 Purdue W 82–71  18-2 (11-1)
Huff Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL
3/5/1952
no, no
No. 2 Northwestern W 95–74  19-2 (12-1)
Huff Hall (6,912)
Champaign, IL
3/8/1952
no, no
No. 2 Wisconsin L 48–58  19-3 (12-2)
Wisconsin Field House (13,000)
Madison, WI
NCAA Tournament
3/21/1952*
no, no
No. 2 Dayton (No. 11)
NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional First Round
W 80–61  20-3
Chicago Stadium (-)
Chicago, IL
3/22/1952*
no, no
No. 2 Duquesne (No. 4)
NCAA Tournament First Round Mideast Regional Final
W 74–68  21-3
Chicago Stadium (-)
Chicago, IL
3/25/1952*
no, no
No. 2 St. Johns (No. 10)
NCAA Tournament National Semifinals
L 59–61  21-4
Hec Edmundson Pavilion (-)
Seattle, WA
3/26/1952*
no, no
No. 2 Santa Clara
NCAA Tournament National Third Place Game
W 67–64  22-4
Hec Edmundson Pavilion (-)
Seattle, WA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Bold Italic connotes conference game

Rankings

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
John Kerr2614371357
Rod Fletcher2610580290
Irv Bemoras2610869285
Jim Bredar2610452260
Bob Peterson268777251
Clive Follmer207391237
Max Hooper20291169
Herb Gerecke20211759
Jim Wright125212
Dick Christiansen105111
Ed Makovsky9157
Jim Schuldt7146
Max Baumgardner7306
Jim Dutcher5226
Walt Moore4215
Mack Follmer9044

[6]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club
Rod FletcherMinneapolis Lakers

[8]

Rankings

References

  1. Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 1-58261-356-7
  2. Men's Basketball Roster
  3. University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1951-52 Archived 2014-03-31 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
  4. Schedule
  5. http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1952
  6. "Season Stats". Archived from the original on 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  7. List of MVPs
  8. 1952 NBA Draft Archived 2010-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
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