1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. Not Ranked
APNo. Not Ranked
Record12–12 (8–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPDon Freeman
CaptainDon Freeman
Home arenaAssembly Hall
1965–66 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 9 Michigan11–3 .78618–8  .692
Michigan State10–4 .71415–7  .682
Iowa8–6 .57117–7  .708
Illinois8–6 .57112–12  .500
Minnesota7–7 .50014–10  .583
Northwestern7–7 .50012–12  .500
Wisconsin6–8 .42911–13  .458
Ohio State5–9 .35711–13  .458
Indiana4–10 .2868–16  .333
Purdue4–10 .2868–16  .333
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

Harry Combes entered his 19th season as the head coach of the Fighting Illini. The program was heading in a positive direction with six up-and-coming sophomores joining a varsity team that already included five juniors and five seniors. This balance was demonstrated within the starting lineup which included a rotation of two sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. The starters included, Don Freeman and Rich Jones as forwards, Preston Pearson and Bob Brown as guards, and Ron Dunlap at center.

It was during this season that Freeman would mark his place in Illini history by setting a record for most points in a season (668), while averaging 27.8 points per game. When he finished at Illinois, he had totaled 1449 points and averaged 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game over his three varsity seasons. This offensive output led to Freeman being named a 1st-team All-American by the Helms Foundation, a 2nd-team All-American by Converse and Basketball News, and honorable mention with UPI,

Roster

1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 10 John Prescott 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoLake Forest High School Lake Forest, Illinois
G 11 Benny Louis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoPinckneyville Community High School Pinckneyville, Illinois
G 12 Greg Wright 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoHomewood-Flossmoor High School Glenwood, Illinois
G/F 14 Jerry Mettille 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) JrMorris Community High School Morris, Illinois
G 15 Donnie Freeman (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg) SrMadison High School Madison, Illinois
F 20 Rich Crusius 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoBloomington High School Bloomington, Illinois
F 21 Bob Johansen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrGeneva High School Geneva, Illinois
G 24 Jim Dawson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrYork High School Elmhurst, Illinois
G 25 Preston Pearson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrFreeport High School Freeport, Illinois
F 30 Deon Flessner 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrFithian High School Fithian, Illinois
G 22 Jim Vopicka 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrMorton West High School Brookfield, Illinois
F/C 33 Rich Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoLester High School Memphis, Tennessee
C 35 Ron Dunlap 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)215 lb (98 kg) SoFarragut Academy Chicago, Illinois
G/F 40 Bob Brown 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) SrP. S. Dupont High School Wilmington, DE
F 43 Larry Hinton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) SrShelbyville High School Shelbyville, Illinois
F 44 Mike Graville 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrMadison High School Madison, Illinois
F 54 Dan Lee 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrAttica High School Attica, Indiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (29th year)
  • Jim Wright (University of Illinois) (8th year)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[1]

Schedule

Source[2]

Date
time, TV		 Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/1/1965*
no, no 		vs.Butler W 88-74  1-0
 Assembly Hall (9,167)
Champaign, IL
12/3/1965*
no, no 		@ BYU L 98-109  1-1
 Marriott Center (11,488)
Provo, Utah
12/4/1965*
no, no 		@ #1 UCLA L 79-97  1-2
 Pauley Pavilion (12,365)
Los Angeles, CA
12/8/1965*
no, no 		vs. Kentucky L 68-86  1-3
 Assembly Hall (7,966)
Champaign, IL
12/11/1965*
no, no 		vs. West Virginia W 96-86  2-3
 Assembly Hall (6,251)
Champaign, IL
12/14/1965
no, no 		@ Wisconsin W 90-70  3-3 (1-0)
 Wisconsin Field House (8,206)
Madison, WI
12/18/1965*
no, no 		vs. Princeton L 81-84  3-4
 Chicago Stadium (6,038)
Chicago, IL
12/27/1965*
no, no 		vs. Georgetown
ECAC Holiday Festival		 W 96-94  4-4
 Madison Square Garden (8,757)
New York, NY
12/28/1965*
no, no 		vs. #10 Providence
ECAC Holiday Festival		 L 79-81  4-5
 Madison Square Garden (12,239)
New York, NY
12/30/1965*
no, no 		vs. Army
ECAC Holiday Festival		 L 69-78  4-6
 Madison Square Garden (18,499)
New York, NY
Big Ten regular season
1/8/1966
no, no 		@ Indiana
Rivalry		 W 98-84  5-6 (2-0)
 New Fieldhouse (7,502)
Bloomington, IN
1/11/1966
no, no 		vs. Wisconsin W 80-64  6-6 (3-0)
 Assembly Hall (6,127)
Champaign, IL
1/15/1966
no, no 		@ Purdue L 87-93  6-7 (3-1)
 Mackey Arena (8,936)
West Lafayette, IN
1/28/1966*
no, no 		vs. Notre Dame W 120-92  7-7
 Chicago Stadium (18,183)
Chicago, IL
2/1/1966
no, no 		@ #4 Michigan W 99-93  8-7 (4-1)
 Crisler Arena (9,544)
Ann Arbor, MI
2/5/1966
no, no 		vs. Ohio State W 78-77  9-7 (5-1)
 Assembly Hall (9,838)
Champaign, IL
2/7/1966
no, no 		vs. Northwestern L 77-80  9-8 (5-2)
 Assembly Hall (7,695)
Champaign, IL
2/12/1966
no, no 		vs. Indiana
Rivalry		 L 77-81  9-9 (5-3)
 Assembly Hall (8,175)
Champaign, IL
2/19/1966
no, no 		vs. Minnesota W 100-89  10-9 (6-3)
 Assembly Hall (8,643)
Champaign, IL
2/22/1966
no, no 		@ Michigan State L 66-68  10-10 (6-4)
 Jenison Fieldhouse (10,484)
East Lansing, MI
2/26/1966
no, no 		@ Minnesota L 92-94  10-11 (6-5)
 Williams Arena (7,340)
Minneapolis, MN
2/28/1966
no, no 		vs. Purdue W 98-81  11-11 (7-5)
 Assembly Hall (6,207)
Champaign, IL
3/5/1966
no, no 		vs. Iowa
Rivalry		 W 106-90  12-11 (8-5)
 Assembly Hall (9,592)
Champaign, IL
3/7/1966
no, no 		@ Northwestern L 76-84  12-12 (8-6)
 McGaw Memorial Hall (4,800)
Evanston, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Points
Don Freeman[3]24258152285668
Rich Jones[4]2420696265508
Jim Dawson[5]2416342100368
Deon Flessner[6]244838127134
Bob Brown[7]15442442112
Preston Pearson[8]22383068106
Ron Dunlap[9]23283210988
Bob Johansen[10]2027113765
Larry Hinton[11]201271331
Benny Louis[12]15441212
Jerry Mettile[13]62226
Mike Graville10000

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick
Don FreemanPhiladelphia 76ers39

[15]

Rankings

References

  1. ↑ Men's Basketball Roster
  2. ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1965-66 Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
  3. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  15. ↑ 1966 NBA Draft Archived 2014-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
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