1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illini Classic, Champion
Rainbow Classic, Champion [1]
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
Record31–5 (14–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPNick Anderson
CaptainKenny Battle
Lowell Hamilton
Home arenaAssembly Hall
1988–89 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 8 Indiana15–3 .83327–8  .771
No. 3 Illinois14–4 .77831–5  .861
No. 10 Michigan12–6 .66730–7  .811
No. 14 Iowa10–8 .55623–10  .697
Minnesota9–9 .50019–12  .613
Wisconsin8–10 .44418–12  .600
Purdue8–10 .44415–16  .484
Ohio State6–12 .33319–15  .559
Michigan State6–12 .33318–15  .545
Northwestern2–16 .1119–19  .321
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

The 1988-89 team may have been the most talented team ever assembled at the University of Illinois. The team was so athletic that they could "run and alley-oop" baskets using even the non-starting players, and a record number of 100+ game scores reflected this fact. The players known as the “Flying Illini,” included all the important pieces from the 1987-88 squad (Kenny Battle, Kendall Gill, Steve Bardo, Lowell Hamilton, Nick Anderson and Larry Smith) as well as junior college All-American P.J. Bowman and former high school All-American Marcus Liberty. The Fighting Illini won their first 16 games and were ranked No. 2 in the nation going into a nationally televised game against Georgia Tech, whom Illinois had already beaten, 80-75, at the Rainbow Classic in December. The Yellow Jackets led, 47-31, but Illinois managed to surge back to force overtime, eventually needing two extra periods to win the game. Along with the No. 1 ranking the next day came some bad news. Illinois’ catalyst, Gill, had broken a bone in his foot and would miss the next 12 games. Hurt by the loss of Gill, Illinois lost three of the next four games and its No. 1 ranking. The Illini rallied to finish second in the Big Ten with a 14-4 record and with Gill back in the lineup, the Illini were awarded a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament. After rolling to victories over McNeese State and Ball State at the Hoosier Dome, a powerpacked regional in Minneapolis with Missouri, Louisville and Syracuse, stood in the way of Illinois’ trip to the Final Four. Louisville fell victim to Illinois, losing 83-69, which set up a regional final matchup with Syracuse. The Fighting Illini held off Syracuse to advance to the Final Four in Seattle where Illinois faced Michigan, a team it had beaten twice already in conference play, in the national semifinals. Michigan was inspired by the firing of their coach prior to the tournament, and won a game that contained 33 lead changes.[2] Despite Battle’s 29-point, 11-rebound effort, Illinois fell to eventual national-champion Michigan, 83-81.

Roster

1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 P.J. Bowman 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrCentennial High School Champaign, Illinois
G 13 Kendall Gill 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) JrRich Central High School Matteson, Illinois
G 15 Travis Smith 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoGallatin High School Ridgway, Illinois
G 22 Eddie Manzke 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrMarist High School Orland Park, Illinois
G 23 Larry Smith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrAlton High School Alton, Illinois
F 24 Ervin Small 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrSimeon High School Chicago, Illinois
G/F 25 Nick Anderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrSimeon High School Chicago, Illinois
G 30 Marcus Liberty 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS SoKing High School Chicago, Illinois
G/F 32 Brian O'Connell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrSchaumburg High School Schaumburg, Illinois
F 33 Kenny Battle (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS SrWest Aurora High School Aurora, Illinois
F 34 Andy Kaufmann 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrJacksonville High School Jacksonville, Illinois
G/F 35 Stephen Bardo 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrCarbondale Community High School Carbondale, Illinois
F 50 Mike MacDonald 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrStreamwood High School Streamwood, Illinois
F/C 45 Lowell Hamilton (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrProvidence St. Mel High School Chicago, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[3] [4]

Schedule

Source[5]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
11/26/1988*
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 9 Illinois-Chicago W 85-59  1-0
 Assembly Hall (13,800)
Champaign, IL
11/29/1988*
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 7 Metro State W 86-55  2-0
 Assembly Hall (13,911)
Champaign, IL
12/3/1988*
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 7 Ole Miss W 91-79  3-0
 Assembly Hall (14,386)
Champaign, IL
12/6/1988*
8:30 p.m., ESPN		 No. 7 Florida (#19) W 97-67  4-0
 Assembly Hall (15,020)
Champaign, IL
12/9/1988*
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 7 Duquesne
Illini Classic		 W 112-81  5-0
 Assembly Hall (14,532)
Champaign, IL
12/10/1988*
8 p.m., WCIA		 No. 7 Arkansas-Little Rock
Illini Classic		 W 107-88  6-0
 Assembly Hall (14,887)
Champaign, IL
12/17/1988*
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 6 Tennessee Tech W 105-77  7-0
 Assembly Hall (12,794)
Champaign, IL
12/19/1988*
8 p.m., WCIA		 No. 6 vs. Missouri (#10)
Braggin' Rights		 W 87-84  8-0
 St. Louis Arena (18,561)
St. Louis, MO
12/22/1988*
7:30 p.m., WCIA		 No. 5 at Louisiana State W 127-100  9-0
 Pete Maravich Assembly Center (14,192)
Baton Rouge, LA
12/28/1988*
10 p.m., none		 No. 4 vs. Tulsa
Rainbow Classic		 W 85-58  10-0
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center (3,173)
Honolulu, HI
12/29/1988*
6 p.m., none		 No. 4 vs. Georgia Tech (#17)
Rainbow Classic		 W 80-75  11-0
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center (5,775)
Honolulu, HI
12/31/1988*
12:15 a.m., none		 No. 4 at Hawaii
Rainbow Classic		 W 96-87  12-0
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center (6,379)
Honolulu, HI
Big Ten regular season
1/7/1989
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 3 Michigan State W 71-54  13-0 (1-0)
 Assembly Hall (16,497)
Champaign, IL
1/12/1989
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 2 Wisconsin W 103-80  14-0 (2-0)
 Assembly Hall (14,433)
Champaign, IL
1/14/1989
12 p.m., WCIA		 No. 2 vs. Michigan (#6) W 96-84  15-0 (3-0)
 Assembly Hall (14,499)
Champaign, IL
1/19/1989
9 p.m., ESPN		 No. 2 at Northwestern W 75-70  16-0 (4-0)
 McGaw Hall (8,117)
Evanston, IL
1/22/1989*
12 p.m., ABC		 No. 2 Georgia Tech W 103-92 2OT 17-0
 Assembly Hall (16,561)
Champaign, IL
1/26/1989
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 1 at Minnesota L 62-69  17-1 (4-1)
 Williams Arena (13,766)
Minneapolis, MN
1/28/1989
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 1 Indiana (#16)
Rivalry		 W 75-65  18-1 (5-1)
 Assembly Hall (16,563)
Champaign, IL
2/2/1989
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 2 at Purdue L 72-76  18-2 (5-2)
 Mackey Arena (14,123)
West Lafayette, IN
2/5/1989
3 p.m., ABC		 No. 2 at Iowa (#9)
Rivalry		 L 82-86  18-3 (5-3)
 Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500)
Iowa City, IA
2/9/1980
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 7 Ohio State (#16) W 62-60  19-3 (6-3)
 Assembly Hall (16,439)
Champaign, IL
2/11/1989
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 7 Northwestern W 86-69  20-3 (7-3)
 Assembly Hall (16,471)
Champaign, IL
2/16/1989
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 5 at Michigan State W 75-56  21-3 (8-3)
 Jenison Fieldhouse (10,004)
East Lansing, MI
2/18/1989
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 5 at Wisconsin L 52-72  21-4 (8-4)
 Wisconsin Field House (11,886)
Madison, WI
2/20/1989
8:30 p.m., ESPN		 No. 5 Purdue W 102-75  22-4 (9-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,415)
Champaign, IL
2/26/1989
3 p.m., ABC		 No. 10 at Ohio State W 94-71  23-4 (10-4)
 St. John Arena (13,276)
Columbus, OH
3/2/1989
7 p.m., WCIA		 No. 8 Minnesota W 63-58  24-4 (11-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,455)
Champaign, IL
3/5/1989
3 p.m., ABC		 No. 8 at Indiana (#3)
Rivalry		 W 70-67  25-4 (12-4)
 Assembly Hall (17,311)
Bloomington, IN
3/8/1989
9 p.m., ESPN		 No. 4 Iowa (#15)
Rivalry		 W 118-94  26-4 (13-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,552)
Champaign, IL
3/11/1989
3 p.m., ABC		 No. 4 at Michigan (#8) W 89-73  27-4 (14-4)
 Crisler Arena (13,609)
Ann Arbor, MI
NCAA tournament[6]
3/16/1989*
6 p.m., CBS		 No. 3 vs. McNeese State
first round		 W 77-71  28-4
 Hoosier Dome (37,242)
Indianapolis, IN
3/18/1989*
1:20 p.m., CBS		 No. 3 vs. Ball State (#18)
second round		 W 72-60  29-4
 Hoosier Dome (37,444)
Indianapolis, IN
3/24/1989*
7 p.m., CBS		 No. 3 vs. Louisville (#12)
Regional semifinals		 W 83-69  30-4
 Metrodome (33,560)
Minneapolis, MN
3/26/1989*
1 p.m., CBS		 No. 3 vs. Syracuse (#7)
Regional Finals		 W 89-86  31-4
 Metrodome (33,469)
Minneapolis, MN
4/1/1989*
7 p.m., CBS		 No. 3 vs. Michigan (#10)
National semifinals		 L 81-83  31-5
 Kingdome (39,187)
Seattle, WA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats

Player Games Played Minutes Played 2 pt. Field Goals 3 pt. Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points
Nick Anderson[7]3611252382499285723257647
Kenny Battle[8]3611052099151174641389596
Lowell Hamilton[9]36943219050204243121488
Kendall Gill[10]2468110538467091651370
Marcus Liberty[11]36748114657141421038303
Stephen Bardo[12]361000652976144148834293
Larry Smith[13]366956334073157528175
P.J. Bowman[14]29284622928261787
Ervin Small[15]363922602776501077
Andy Kaufmann[16]12136115142081551
Mike MacDonald[17]23607011010115
Brian O'Connell[18]4510230004
Eddie Manzke[19]182500120001

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick
Kendall GillCharlotte Hornets15
Nick AndersonOrlando Magic111
Kenny BattleDetroit Pistons227

[22]

Rankings

References

  1. ↑ "Rainbow Classic History". Archived from the original on March 18, 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  2. ↑ Cotton, Anthony (April 2, 1989). "Michigan Survives Dogfight With Illini". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  3. ↑ Men's Basketball Roster
  4. ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2010-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1988-89 Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
  6. ↑ 1989 NCAA Tournament
  7. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2007-11-30 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "pg. 122 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  10. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2007-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2007-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Season Stats Archived 2007-11-30 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ "pg. 122 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  14. ↑ "pg. 122 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  15. ↑ "pg. 122 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  16. ↑ "pg. 122 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  17. ↑ "pg. 122 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  18. ↑ "pg. 122 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  19. ↑ "pg. 122 Season Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  20. ↑ All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2013-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  22. ↑ 1989 NBA draft Archived 2010-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
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