1958–59 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. Not Ranked
APNo. Not Ranked
Record12–10 (7-7 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPRoger Taylor
CaptainRoger Taylor
Home arenaHuff Hall
1958–59 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 7 Michigan State12–2 .85719–4  .826
Northwestern8–6 .57115–7  .682
Michigan8–6 .57115–7  .682
Purdue8–6 .57115–7  .682
Illinois7–7 .50012–10  .545
Indiana7–7 .50011–11  .500
Ohio State7–7 .50011–11  .500
Iowa7–7 .50010–12  .455
Minnesota5–9 .3578–14  .364
Wisconsin1–13 .0713–19  .136
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1958–59 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

University of Illinois' head coach, Harry Combes and his Fighting Illini basketball team once again led the Big Ten in wins for a decade with a 165-64 record in the 1950s. The Illini’s winning percentage, .721, ranked 11th nationally. Additionally, the Associated Press began its basketball poll in 1949 with United Press International adding its poll in 1951 and from 1951-56 the Illini finished the season ranked in the Top 20 nationally every year. Illinois’ highest final ranking in the 1950s was second in both polls in 1952.

The 1958-59 team utilized several returning lettermen including the leading scorer, team "captain" and team "MVP" Roger Taylor. It also saw the return of Mannie Jackson, Govoner Vaughn, Bruce Bunkenberg, Al Gosnell, Lou Landt and Ed Perry. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 7 wins and 7 losses, finishing tied for 5th place in the Big Ten. They would finish with an overall record of 12 wins and 10 losses. During the season, the Illini would play Kentucky, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, at a Freedom Hall in Louisville. The outcome of this game would be a 75-76 loss. The starting lineup included John Wessels at the center position, Roger Taylor and Mannie Jackson at guard and Govoner Vaughn, Ed Perry and Al Gosnell at the forward slots.[1]

Roster

1958–59 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
C 10 John Wessels 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoRockford West High School Rockford, Illinois
G 11 Roger Taylor (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrRich High School Park Forest, Illinois
G 12 Lee Frandsen 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)155 lb (70 kg) JrDavenport Central High School Davenport, Iowa
G 14 Jim Dorris 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrCentralia High School Centralia, Illinois
F 15 Bob Schmidt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg) JrKankakee High School Kankakee, Illinois
F 20 Bruce Bunkenburg 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrRoosevelt High School Chicago, Illinois
F 22 Ed Perry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrSalem High School Salem, Illinois
F 24 Ken Charlcraft 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)192 lb (87 kg) SoMaroa-Forsyth High School Maroa, Illinois
C 25 John Homeier 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrFeitshans High School Springfield, Illinois
G 30 Mannie Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrEdwardsville High School Edwardsville, Illinois
G 32 Lou Landt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg) JrRoosevelt High School Berwyn, Illinois
F 33 Al Gosnell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrLawrenceville High School Lawrenceville, Illinois
F 34 Roger DeVries 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoForreston High School Forreston, Illinois
F 35 Govoner Vaughn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrEdwardsville High School Edwardsville, Illinois
F 40 Tom Adams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrWashington Community High School Washington, Illinois
G 41 John Easterbrook 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)150 lb (68 kg) SoChampaign Central High School Champaign, Illinois
G 42 Phil Flanigan 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)140 lb (64 kg) SrTuscola High School Tuscola, Illinois
G 44 Bill Larson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrRochelle Township High School Rochelle, Illinois
G 51 Bill Mohlenbrock 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)178 lb (81 kg) SoMurphysboro High School Murphysboro, Illinois
C 52 Vern Altemeyer 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoScottsburg Senior High School Scottsburg, Indiana
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
12/1/1958*
no, no		 No. NR Butler W 103–79  1-0
 Huff Hall (6,057)
Champaign, IL
12/6/1958*
no, no		 No. NR Marquette L 53–69  1-1
 Marquette Gymnasium (9,280)
Milwaukee, WI
12/13/1958*
no, no		 No. NR College of Pacific W 85–67  2-1
 Huff Hall (6,257)
Champaign, IL
12/15/1958*
no, no		 No. NR Iowa State W 68–46  3-1
 Huff Hall (6,328)
Champaign, IL
12/20/1958*
no, no		 No. NR New York University W 83–78  4-1
 Huff Hall (3,401)
Champaign, IL
12/23/1958*
no, no		 No. NR Stanford W 71–62  5-1
 Huff Hall (3,203)
Champaign, IL
12/30/1958*
no, no		 No. NR Kentucky (No. 1) L 75–76  5-2
 Freedom Hall (18,274)
Louisville, KY
Big Ten regular season
1/3/1959
no, no		 No. NR Ohio State W 81–80  6-2 (1-0)
 Huff Hall (3,454)
Champaign, IL
1/5/1959
no, no		 No. NR Wisconsin W 77–51  7-2 (2-0)
 Wisconsin Field House (3,618)
Madison, WI
1/10/1959
no, no		 No. 20 Michigan State (No. 5) L 96–97  7-3 (2-1)
 Huff Hall (6,649)
Champaign, IL
1/12/1959
no, no		 No. 20 Iowa
Rivalry		 W 103–97  8-3 (3-1)
 Huff Hall (6,887)
Champaign, IL
1/24/1959*
no, no		 No. NR Notre Dame L 75–85  8-4
 Chicago Stadium (-)
Chicago, IL
1/26/1959
no, no		 No. NR Minnesota L 70–81  8-5 (3-2)
 Williams Arena (7,965)
Minneapolis, MN
1/31/1959
no, no		 No. 18 Purdue L 81–102  8-6 (3-3)
 Lambert Fieldhouse (10,000)
West Lafayette, IN
2/2/1959
no, no		 No. 18 Michigan L 85–87  8-7 (3-4)
 Huff Hall (6,901)
Champaign, IL
2/7/1959
no, no		 No. NR Northwestern L 79–88  8-8 (3-5)
 McGaw Memorial Hall (9,045)
Evanston, IL
2/9/1959
no, no		 No. NR Indiana
Rivalry		 W 89–83  9-8 (4-5)
 The Fieldhouse (9,500)
Bloomington, IN
2/16/1959
no, no		 No. NR Wisconsin W 93–54  10-8 (5-5)
 Huff Hall (6,067)
Champaign, IL
2/21/1959
no, no		 No. NR Indiana (No. 19)
Rivalry		 W 100–98  11-8 (6-5)
 Huff Hall (6,712)
Champaign, IL
2/28/1959
no, no		 No. NR Iowa
Rivalry		 W 72–70  12-8 (7-5)
 Iowa Field House (15,125)
Iowa City, IA
3/2/1959
no, no		 No. NR Michigan L 95-101  12-9 (6-7)
 Yost Field House (4,500)
Ann Arbor, MI
3/7/1959
no, no		 No. NR Northwestern L 81–84  12-10 (7-7)
 Huff Hall (6,376)
Champaign, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Bold Italic connotes conference game

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Points
Roger Taylor211586068376
John Wessels2212675205327
Mannie Jackson221372589299
Govoner Vaughn2111043170263
Al Gosnell225949108167
Ed Perry22462293114
Vern Altemeyer2134258093
Lou Landt1936113483
Bruce Bunkenburg1317124146
Lee Frandsen151221426
John Easterbrook1245313
Tom Adams62024
Jim Dorris51264
Bob Schmidt30020
Bill Mohlenbrock40000
John Homeier20010

[5]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick
Roger TaylorSyracuse Nationals 5 5

[7]

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 1958-59, FightingIllini.com
  4. ↑ Schedule
  5. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ 1959 NBA Draft Archived 2010-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
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