1996–97 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illini Classic, Champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 19
Record22–10 (11–7 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
MVPKiwane Garris
CaptainHerb Caldwell
Kiwane Garris
Chris Gandy
Home arenaAssembly Hall
1996–97 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Iowa12–6 .66722–10  .688
Purdue12–6 .66718–12  .600
No. 19 Illinois11–7 .61122–10  .688
Wisconsin11–7 .61118–10  .643
Indiana9–9 .50022–11  .667
Michigan State9–9 .50017–12  .586
Ohio State5–13 .27810–17  .370
Penn State3–15 .16710–17  .370
Northwestern2–16 .1117–22  .241
No. 3 Minnesota*0–2 .0000–4  .000
Michigan*0–9 .0000–11  .000
Rankings from AP Poll
*Michigan: 24 games vacated; including NIT champ. vacated due to sanctions against the program
*Minnesota: 31 games including 5 NCAA Tournament games vacated due to sanctions against the program
Disputed records: Michigan-(24–11)(9–9); Minnesota-(31–4)(16–2)
"1996-97 Fighting Illini men's basketball team"

The 1996–97 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

On March 21, 1996, a new era in Illinois basketball began when Director of Athletics Ron Guenther introduced Lon Kruger as the University’s 14th men’s basketball coach. Kruger came to Illinois from the University of Florida and carried a list of impressive credentials, including guiding Florida to the Final Four in 1994. In his first year at Illinois, Kruger guided Illinois to a 22-10 record and the second round of the NCAA tournament. Over the course of the season, Illinois defeated five ranked opponents, including No. 7 Minnesota, 96-90, at the Assembly Hall. Illinois also traveled to Bloomington and handed Indiana a 78-74 loss, the first win for Illinois at Assembly Hall in Bloomington since 1990. During the course of the year, Kiwane Garris etched his name in the Illinois record book with one of the best season performances by any Illini player in history. He finished his career second on the all-time scoring list with 1,948 points and set the single-season record for free throws made and attempted. Garris averaged 19.4 points and missed being the Big Ten’s leading scorer by three one-hundredths of a point.

Roster

1996–97 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 00 Victor Chukwudebe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrLanphier High School Springfield, Illinois
C 4 Fess Hawkins Current redshirt 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)277 lb (126 kg) RS FrDollarway High School/Northwestern University Pine Bluff, Arkansas
G 5 Halim Abdullah 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)155 lb (70 kg) JrSt. Anthony High School Jersey City, New Jersey
G 10 Jelani Boline 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrWhitney Young High School Chicago, Illinois
G 12 Jeff Reichardt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoSchaumburg High School Schaumburg, Illinois
G 21 Matt Heldman 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)165 lb (75 kg) JrLibertyville High School Libertyville, Illinois
G 22 Kiwane Garris (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrWestinghouse High School Chicago, Illinois
G 25 Bryant Notree 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrSimeon High School Chicago, Illinois
G 31 David Freeman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrChampaign Central High School Champaign, Illinois
F 32 Jarrod Gee 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)240 lb (109 kg) JrSt. Martin de Porres High School Chicago, Illinois
G 33 Kevin Turner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrSimeon High School Chicago, Illinois
F 34 Brian Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS JrMaine West High School Des Plaines, Illinois
F 40 Jerry Hester Injured Current redshirt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS SrManual High School Peoria, Illinois
F 42 Herb Caldwell (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) SrJacksonville High School Jacksonville, Illinois
F 45 Chris Gandy (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS SrBradley-Bourbonnais High School Kankakee, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Rosters Roster

Source[1]

Schedule

Source[2]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
11/22/1996*
no, no		 @ Illinois-Chicago W 68-63  1-0
 UIC Pavilion (8,715)
Chicago, IL
11/25/1996*
no, no		 vs. Delaware State W 92-51  2-0
 Assembly Hall (10,993)
Champaign, IL
11/29/1996*
no, no		 vs. TCU
Big Island Invitational		 W 73-67  3-0
 Afook-Chinen Auditorium (1,000)
Hilo, HI
11/30/1996*
no, no		 vs. Louisville
Big Island Invitational		 L 60-70  3-1
 Afook-Chinen Auditorium (1,000)
Hilo, HI
12/1/1996*
no, no		 vs. Virginia Tech
Big Island Invitational		 W 92-68  4-1
 Afook-Chinen Auditorium (1,000)
Hilo, HI
12/3/1996*
no, no		 @ California L 88-89 2ot 4-2
 Harmon Gym (6,578)
Berkeley, CA
12/6/1996*
no, no		 vs. Columbia
Illini Classic		 W 84-59  5-2
 Assembly Hall (11,847)
Champaign, IL
12/7/1996*
no, no		 vs. Tennessee State
Illini Classic		 W 86-73  6-2
 Assembly Hall (12,160)
Champaign, IL
12/11/1996*
no, no		 No. 12 vs. Chicago State W 94-57  7-2
 Assembly Hall (8,757)
Champaign, IL
12/14/1996*
no, no		 vs. Coppin State W 91-55  8-2
 Assembly Hall (14,269)
Champaign, IL
12/21/1996*
no, no		 vs. #24 UCLA W 79-63  9-2
 United Center (15,331)
Chicago, IL
12/28/1996*
no, no		 vs. Missouri
Braggin' Rights		 W 85-69  10-2
 Scottrade Center (22,371)
St. Louis, MO
Big Ten regular season
1/2/1997
no, no		 No. 24 vs. Purdue L 69-75  10-3 (0-1)
 Assembly Hall (15,364)
Champaign, IL
1/4/1997
no, no		 No. 24 @ Ohio State W 72-64  11-3 (1-1)
 St. John Arena (10,503)
Columbus, OH
1/9/1996
no, no		 No. 25 @ #16 Michigan L 74-88  11-4 (1-2)
 Crisler Arena (13,265)
Ann Arbor, MI
1/11/1997
no, no		 No. 25 vs. Penn State W 85-70  12-4 (2-2)
 Assembly Hall (14,251)
Champaign, IL
1/14/1997
no, no		 vs. #7 Minnesota W 96-90  13-4 (3-2)
 Assembly Hall (12,326)
Champaign, IL
1/22/1997
no, no		 @ Michigan State W 66-63  14-4 (4-2)
 Breslin Student Events Center (12,975)
East Lansing, MI
1/25/1997
no, no		 vs. Wisconsin L 56-73  14-5 (4-3)
 Assembly Hall (15,448)
Champaign, IL
1/29/1997
no, no		 @ Iowa
Rivalry		 L 65-82  14-6 (4-4)
 Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500)
Iowa City, IA
2/2/1997
no, no		 @ #17 Indiana
Rivalry		 W 78-74  15-6 (5-4)
 Assembly Hall (17,341)
Bloomington, IN
2/5/1997
no, no		 vs. Northwestern W 70-58  16-6 (6-4)
 Assembly Hall (12,430)
Champaign, IL
2/9/1997
no, no		 vs. #25 Iowa
Rivalry		 W 66-51  17-6 (7-4)
 Assembly Hall (16,450)
Champaign, IL
2/12/1997
no, no		 No. 20 @ Wisconsin L 45-62  17-7 (7-5)
 Wisconsin Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
2/15/1997
no, no		 No. 20 vs. Michigan State W 79-68  18-7 (8-5)
 Assembly Hall (16,450)
Champaign, IL
2/22/1997
no, no		 No. 23 @ #2 Minnesota L 66-67  18-8 (8-6)
 Williams Arena (14,554)
Minneapolis, MN
2/25/1997
no, no		 No. 21 @ Penn State W 87-65  19-8 (9-6)
 Bryce Jordan Center (12,697)
University Park, PA
3/2/1997
no, no		 No. 21 vs. #24 Michigan W 70-51  20-8 (10-6)
 Assembly Hall (16,450)
Champaign, IL
3/5/1997
no, no		 No. 15 vs. Ohio State W 90-83  21-8 (11-6)
 St. John Arena (13,702)
Columbus, OH
3/8/1997
no, no		 No. 15 @ Purdue L 69-77  21-9 (11-7)
 Mackey Arena (14,123)
West Lafayette, IN
NCAA tournament[3]
3/14/1997*
no, no		 No. 19 vs. Southern California
first round		 W 90-77  22-9
 Charlotte Coliseum (11,206)
Charlotte, NC
3/16/1997*
no, no		 No. 19 vs. UT Chattanooga
Second Round		 L 63-75  22-10
 Charlotte Coliseum (14,864)
Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats

Player Games Played 2 pt. Field Goals 3 pt. Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points
Kiwane Garris[4]329576204113180252622
Chris Gandy[5]321201469181182128352
Kevin Turner[6]325862217566132323
Matt Heldman[7]3242644711066141322
Bryant Notree[8]3282105811842122252
Jarrod Gee[9]3286023123211014195
Brian Johnson[10]3258153121641420172
Victor Chukwudebe[11]3237012695121286
Jerry Hester52061328130471
Halim Abdullah2655862501633
Herb Caldwell1720591009
David Freeman1740075148
Jelani Boline1500179041
Jeff Reichardt200020000

NCAA basketball tournament

  • Southeast regional
    • Illinois 90, Southern Cal 77
    • Tennessee-Chattanooga 75, Illinois 63

[12]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player NBA Club Round Pick

[14]

Rankings

References

  1. ↑ FightingIllini.com
  2. ↑ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1996-97, FightingIllini.com
  3. ↑ 1997 NCAA Tournament
  4. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 124" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 124" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 124" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 124" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 124" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 124" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 124" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Season Stats pg. 124" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  12. ↑ 1997 NCAA Tournament
  13. ↑ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  14. ↑ 1997 NBA draft Archived 2008-03-31 at the Wayback Machine
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