1979–80 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illini Classic, Champion
Rainbow Classic, Champion[1]
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. Not ranked
APNo. Not ranked
Record22–13 (8–10 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPEddie Johnson
CaptainLevi Cobb
Home arenaAssembly Hall
1979–80 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 7 Indiana13–5 .72221–8  .724
No. 10 Ohio State12–6 .66721–8  .724
No. 20 Purdue11–7 .61123–10  .697
Iowa10–8 .55623–10  .697
Minnesota10–8 .55621–11  .656
Illinois8–10 .44422–13  .629
Michigan8–10 .44417–13  .567
Wisconsin7–11 .38915–14  .517
Michigan State6–12 .33312–15  .444
Northwestern5–13 .27810–17  .370
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979–80 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

For the 1979-80 season, head coach Lou Henson returned everyone from a team that finished with 19 wins. The team gave the head coach his first of 11, 20-win seasons at Illinois. That year, Illinois made its first postseason appearance since 1963, finishing third in the NIT. During the course of the season, the Illini would defeat eventual NCAA Tournament Champion, Louisville

Roster

1979–80 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 Reno Gray 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) RS SrHales Franciscan High School Chicago, Illinois
G 12 Kevin Westervelt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)165 lb (75 kg) SrRichwoods High School Peoria, Illinois
C 13 James Griffin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoDunbar High School Grandview, Texas
G 20 Kevin Bontemps 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrMorton High School Morton, Illinois
G 21 Quinn Richardson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrEisenhower High School Robbins, Illinois
G 22 Perry Range 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoSouth Beloit High School South Beloit, Illinois
G 30 Rob Judson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) SrZion-Benton High School Zion, Illinois
F 31 Neil Bresnahan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) SrFenwick High School Oak Park, Illinois
F 32 Levi Cobb (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) SrMorgan Park High School Chicago, Illinois
F 33 Eddie Johnson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrWestinghouse High School Chicago, Illinois
F 42 Mark Smith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrRichwoods High School Peoria, Illinois
F 43 Bryan Leonard 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoBelleville High School-East Belleville, Illinois
C 44 Derek Holcomb 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)230 lb (104 kg) JrRichwoods High School Peoria, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[2] [3]

Schedule

Source[4]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
11/30/1979*
no, no		 No. NR BYU (#15) W 86-76  1-0
 Marriott Center (23,042)
Provo, UT
12/4/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Missouri
Show-Me Classic		 L 66-67 OT 1-1
 Assembly Hall (14,004)
Champaign, IL
12/6/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Kent State W 74-65  2-1
 Assembly Hall (13,090)
Champaign, IL
12/8/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Long Beach State W 77-60  3-1
 Assembly Hall (14,075)
Champaign, IL
12/10/1979*
no, no		 No. NR TCU W 79-64  4-1
 Daniel–Meyer Coliseum (4,110)
Fort Worth, TX
12/11/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Missouri-St. Louis W 91-65  5-1
 Assembly Hall (13,021)
Champaign, IL
12/14/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Kentucky State
Illini Classic		 W 94-65  6-1
 Assembly Hall (14,363)
Champaign, IL
12/15/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Illinois State
Illini Classic		 W 47-40  7-1
 Assembly Hall (16,257)
Champaign, IL
12/22/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Marquette L 78-80  7-2
 Assembly Hall (12,618)
Champaign, IL
12/28/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Army
Rainbow Classic		 W 75-48  8-2
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center (-)
Honolulu, HI
12/29/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Louisville (#12)
Rainbow Classic		 W 77-64  9-2
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center (-)
Honolulu, HI
12/30/1979*
no, no		 No. NR Hawaii
Rainbow Classic		 W 94-82  10-2
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center (-)
Honolulu, HI
Big Ten regular season
1/3/1980
no, no		 No. 20 Iowa (#10)
Rivalry		 L 71-72  10-3 (0-1)
 Assembly Hall (10,839)
Champaign, IL
1/5/1980
no, no		 No. 20 Northwestern W 81-71  11-3 (1-1)
 Assembly Hall (9,174)
Champaign, IL
1/10/1980
no, no		 No. NR Purdue (#10) L 66-74  11-4 (1-2)
 Mackey Arena (12,982)
West Lafayette, IN
1/12/1980
no, no		 No. NR Minnesota L 75-79  11-5 (1-3)
 Williams Arena (15,381)
Minneapolis, MN
1/17/1980
no, no		 No. NR Michigan W 80-69  12-5 (2-3)
 Assembly Hall (14,746)
Champaign, IL
1/19/1980
no, no		 No. NR Wisconsin W 69-64  13-5 (3-3)
 Wisconsin Field House (10,386)
Madison, WI
1/24/1980
no, no		 No. NR Ohio State (#4) L 76-79  13-6 (3-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,383)
Champaign, IL
1/26/1980
no, no		 No. NR Michigan State W 74-65  14-6 (4-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,490)
Champaign, IL
1/31/1980
no, no		 No. NR Indiana (#18)
Rivalry		 L 54-60  14-7 (4-5)
 Assembly Hall (16,723)
Bloomington, IN
2/2/1980
no, no		 No. NR Michigan State L 59-68  14-8 (4-6)
 Jenison Fieldhouse (10,004)
East Lansing, MI
2/7/1980
no, no		 No. NR Wisconsin W 67-50  15-8 (5-6)
 Assembly Hall (13,873)
Champaign, IL
2/9/1980
no, no		 No. NR Indiana (#20)
Rivalry		 W 89-68  16-8 (6-6)
 Assembly Hall (16,614)
Champaign, IL
2/14/1980
no, no		 No. NR Michigan L 76-78  16-9 (6-7)
 Crisler Center (9,738)
Ann Arbor, MI
2/16/1980
no, no		 No. NR Ohio State (#9) L 57-71  16-10 (6-8)
 St. John Arena (13,591)
Columbus, OH
2/21/1980
no, no		 No. NR Minnesota W 60-58 OT 17-10 (7-8)
 Assembly Hall (14,592)
Champaign, IL
2/23/1980
no, no		 No. NR Purdue (#15) L 69-72  17-11 (7-9)
 Assembly Hall (16,647)
Champaign, IL
2/28/1980
no, no		 No. NR Northwestern W 90-66  18-11 (8-9)
 McGaw Memorial Hall (5,426)
Evanston, IL
3/1/1980
no, no		 No. NR Iowa
Rivalry		 L 71-75  18-12 (8-10)
 Iowa Field House (13,365)
Iowa City, IA
National Invitation Tournament
3/5/1980*
no, no		 No. NR Loyola Chicago
NIT First round		 W 105-87  19-12
 Assembly Hall (13,326)
Champaign, IL
3/10/1980*
no, no		 No. NR Illinois State
NIT Second round		 W 75-65  20-12
 Assembly Hall (16,193)
Champaign, IL
3/13/1980*
no, no		 No. NR Murray State
NIT Quarterfinals		 W 65-63  21-12
 Assembly Hall (15,070)
Champaign, IL
3/17/1980*
no, no		 No. NR Minnesota
NIT Semifinals		 L 63-65  21-13
 Madison Square Garden (11,223)
New York, NY
3/19/1980*
no, no		 No. NR UNLV
NIT Third-place game		 W 84-74  22-13
 Madison Square Garden (-)
New York, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats

Player Games Played Minutes Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points
Eddie Johnson[5]3512152667831071713610
Mark Smith[6]351026187161214951135535
Reno Gray[7]358581315747109239319
James Griffin[8]3567611936154253918274
Perry Range[9]3580990638564236243
Derek Holcomb[10]316367236164444615180
Neil Bresnahan[11]355996727121641114161
Rob Judson[12]3159559324447015150
Kevin Bontempts303631526286711656
Levi Cobb2514020736142947
Quinn Richardson16101879170423
Kevin Westervelt183464810116

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick
Neil BresnahanGolden State Warriors6117

[14]

Rankings

References

  1. ↑ "Rainbow Classic History". Archived from the original on March 18, 2005. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  2. ↑ Men's Basketball Roster
  3. ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2010-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1979-80 Archived 2013-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
  5. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 119" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 119" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 119" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 119" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 119" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 119" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 119" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 119" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  13. ↑ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  14. ↑ 1980 NBA Draft Archived 2010-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
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