1944–45 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1944–45 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference Big Ten Conference
1944–45 record 13–7 (7–5 Big Ten)
Head coach Douglas R. Mills
Assistant coach Howie Braun
Assistant coach Wally Roettger
MVP Walton Kirk
Captain Selected each game
Home arena Huff Hall
1944–45 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Iowa 11 1   .917     17 1   .944
Ohio State 10 2   .833     15 5   .750
Illinois 7 5   .583     13 7   .650
Purdue 6 6   .500     9 11   .450
Michigan 5 7   .417     12 7   .632
Wisconsin 4 8   .333     10 11   .476
Minnesota 4 8   .333     8 13   .381
Northwestern 4 8   .333     7 12   .368
Indiana 3 9   .250     10 11   .476
Chicago 0 0       7 8   .467
Rankings from AP Poll
"1944-45 Fighting Illini men's basketball team"

The 1944–45 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular Season

After the second worst season in Doug Mills tenure as the head coach of the Fighting Illini, the ongoing war created even more havoc with the 1944-45 season. The Illini were required to play games close to home which meant they played certain teams multiple times. For example, the team played Great Lakes three times, Chanute Field, in nearby Rantoul, Illinois, two times and George Mikan and the DePaul Blue Demons two times as well. As the season progressed, Mills experimented with several lineups, including a 19 player barrage versus Nebraska. These varied lineups allowed Mills to play an impressive freshman, Johnny Orr, playing his only season for Illinois prior to rejoining his high school coach, Dolph Stanley, at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin.

The Big Ten Conference season was unusual as well. The Illini dropped their opening game to Michigan followed by a seven-game winning streak then concluding with four consecutive losses. The heaviest load fell on the hands of sophomores Walt Kirk and Howard Judson with freshman Walt Kersulis, Jack Burmaster, and Orr also being major contributors. Kirk would be named a Consensus All-American for his performance during the season.

The team completed their season with an overall record of 13 wins and 7 losses with a conference mark of 7 and 5 for a third-place finish. They finished with a 7 - 3 record at home and a road record of 5 - 4. The starting lineup consisted of Walton Kirk, Howard Judson, Johnny Orr, Jack Burmaster, Don Delaney and Walt Kersulis.

Roster

No Player Position Class Hometown
3 Carl Bontemps Guard Freshman Taylorville, Illinois
4 Vic Bubas Guard Freshman Gary, Indiana
5 Jack Burmaster Guard Freshman Elgin, Illinois
6 Don Delaney Center Junior Sacramento, California
7 Maurice Dolan Center Junior Champaign, Illinois
8 William Eddleman Forward Junior Anna, Illinois
9 Leo Gedvillas Guard Sophomore Spring Valley, Illinois
10 Gordon Hortin Guard Senior Evansville, Indiana
11 Howard Judson Forward Sophomore Hebron, Illinois
12 Walt Kersulis Center Freshman East St. Louis, Illinois
13 Walt Kirk Guard Junior Mt. Vernon, Illinois
14 John Larson Center Junior Sioux City, Iowa
15 Roger Little Guard Freshman Champaign, Illinois
16 Bob Morton Forward Sophomore Elgin, Illinois
17 Walter Mroz Forward Freshman Chicago, Illinois
18 Johnny Orr Forward Freshman Taylorville, Illinois
19 Paul Schnackenberg Forward Freshman
20 Jim Seyler Guard Junior Champaign, Illinois
21 Jake Staab Forward Junior Chillicothe, Illinois
22 Lee Stickler Guard Sophomore Alton, Illinois
23 Joe Sulenski Forward Freshman

Record

DateOpponent Score Result LocationAttendance
December 2, 1944Chanute Field64–25WinChampaign, IL3,500
December 8, 1944Great Lakes44–40WinChicago, IL9,845
December 9, 1944Great Lakes56–53WinGreat Lakes, IL2,400
December 16, 1944DePaul43–40WinChicago, IL -
December 20, 1944Great Lakes45–52LossChampaign, IL4,000
December 29, 1944Nebraska77–39WinChampaign, IL2,500
January 1, 1945DePaul56–63LossChampaign, IL4,158
January 6, 1945Michigan38–43LossChampaign, IL4,200
January 13, 1945Michigan55–37WinAnn Arbor, MI4,000
January 19, 1945Northwestern51–42WinChampaign, IL4,210
January 26, 1945Iowa43–42WinChampaign, IL6,000
February 6, 1945Chanute Field58–46WinRantoul, IL -
February 10, 1945Minnesota50–32WinMinneapolis, MN4,520
February 12, 1945Indiana71–48WinChampaign, IL4,620
February 16, 1945Ohio State56-41WinChampaign, IL7,100
February 19, 1945Minnesota49–48WinChampaign, IL4,657
February 23, 1945Ohio State44–60LossColumbus, OH -
February 24, 1945Northwestern45–47LossChicago, IL15,862
February 28, 1945Indiana55–65LossBloomington, IN3,500
March 3, 1945Iowa37–43LossIowa City, IA14,400

Bold Italic connotes conference game

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Points
Walt Kirk207856212
Howard Judson 207324170
Jack Burmaster 166424152
John Orr 205118120
Walt Kersulis19371690
Don Delaney 19302383
Jimmy Seyler20291674
Jake Staab 19142250
Robert Morton 1417741
Leo Gedvilas1211325
Paul Schnackenberg76315
Joe Sulenski3204
Carl Bontemps 2204
Vic Bubas 6102
Jack Larson 1102
Wallie Mroz 4000
Gordon Hortin5000
William Eddleman2000
Maurice Dolan1000

[2]


Awards and honors

References

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