1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
Regular season
The 1961-62 Fighting Illini basketball team bounced back from a miserable season the year prior. Head coach Harry Combes non-conference season was nearly perfect with an 8-1 record. The only blemish for the University of Illinois was a home loss to Cornell . The most unusual thing about this season was the fact that the Illini played three neutral court games in Chicago. This would also be the final full season that the Fighting Illini would play their home games at Huff Hall .
The 1961-62 team utilized several returning lettermen including the leading scorer and team "MVP" Dave Downey . It also saw the return of team captain Jerry Colangelo , juniors Bill Burwell, Bill Small, Bob Starnes as well as senior Doug Mills. The Illini also added sophomore John Love to their lineup. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 7 wins and 7 losses, finishing in a 4th place tie in the Big Ten . They would finish with an overall record of 15 wins and 8 losses. The starting lineup included Bill Burwell at the center position, Bill Small and Jerry Colangelo at guard and Dave Downey and Bob Starnes at the forward slots.[ 2]
Roster
1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
F 14
John Love 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg)
So Ottawa Township High School
Ottawa, Illinois
F 20
Jerry Renner 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
Sr East High School
Aurora, Illinois
G 21
Sam Leeper 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg)
Sr Unity High School
Tolono, Illinois
G 22
Jay Lovelace 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg)
Jr Carbondale Community High School
Carbondale, Illinois
G 23
Jerry Colangelo (C)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg)
Sr Bloom High School
Chicago Heights, Illinois
C 25
Bill Burwell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 243 lb (110 kg)
Jr Boys High School
Brooklyn, New York
G 30
Jeff Ferguson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
So Benton Consolidated High School
Benton, Illinois
G 31
Doug Mills 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg)
Sr Galesburg High School
Galesburg, Illinois
G 32
Bill Edwards 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg)
So Windsor High School
Windsor, Illinois
F 35
Clyde Kramer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg)
So Erie High School
Erie, Illinois
F 40
Dave Downey 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg)
Jr Canton High School
Canton, Illinois
G 41
Jerry Curless 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg)
Sr VIT High School
Table Grove, Illinois
F 44
Bob Starnes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
Jr Gage Park High School
Chicago, Illinois
G 53
Bill Small 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg)
Jr West Aurora High School
Aurora, Illinois
C 54
Phil LaRussa 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
So Walnut High School
Walnut, Illinois
Head coach Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible(W) Walk-on Roster
Schedule
Source[ 3]
Date
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) [ 4]
Non-Conference regular season
12/1/1961 *no, no
Butler W 82-72 1-0
Huff Hall Champaign, IL
12/9/1961 *no, no
at Oklahoma
W 72–60 2-0
McCasland Field House Norman, OK
12/12/1961 *no, no
Creighton W 70-61 3-0
Huff Hall (6,017)Champaign, IL
12/16/1961 *1:30 pm, no
Iowa State W 82-73 4-0
Huff Hall (6,437)Champaign, IL
12/18/1961 *no, no
Xavier W 81-69 5-0
Huff Hall (6,717)Champaign, IL
12/23/1961 *no, no
Cornell L 60-72 5-1
Huff Hall (5,258)Champaign, IL
12/28/1961 *no, no
vs. Manhattan
W 61-56 6-1
Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL
12/30/1961 *no, no
vs. Colgate
W 88-50 7-1
Chicago Stadium (6,000)Chicago, IL
Big Ten regular season
1/6/1962 no, no
Michigan W 91-71 8-1
Huff Hall (6,509)Champaign, IL
1/8/1962 no, no
at Purdue
L 89-96 8-2
Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN
1/13/1962 no, no
at Michigan State
W 66-65 9-2
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI
1/27/1962 *no, no
vs. Notre Dame
W 85-77 10-2
Chicago Stadium (12,224)Chicago, IL
1/29/1962 no, no
Wisconsin L 81-85 10-3
Huff Hall (6,740)Champaign, IL
2/3/1962 no, no
Indiana Rivalry W 96-85 11-3
Huff Hall (6,557)Champaign, IL
2/5/1962 no, no
Minnesota W 89-80 12-3
Huff Hall (5,927)Champaign, IL
2/10/1962 no, no
at Iowa Rivalry W 91-81 13-3
Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA
2/12/1962 no, no
Northwestern Rivalry W 88-70 14-3
Huff Hall (6,673)Champaign, IL
2/17/1962 no, no
Purdue L 88-100 14-4
Huff Hall (6,912)Champaign, IL
2/19/1962 no, no
at Wisconsin
L 101-103 14-5
Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI
2/24/1962 no, no
at No. 1 Ohio State
L 79-102 14-6
St. John Arena Columbus, OH
3/3/1962 no, no
Iowa Rivalry L 78-88 14-7
Huff Hall (6,669)Champaign, IL
3/5/1962 no, no
at Indiana Rivalry L 92-104 14-8
New Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN
3/10/1962 no, no
at Northwestern Rivalry W 73–68 15-8
McGaw Memorial Hall 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
Dave Downey
22
174
97
269
445
Bill Burwell
23
151
124
266
426
Bill Small
23
133
70
90
336
Jerry Colangelo
23
111
73
95
295
Bob Starnes
23
81
58
147
220
Doug Mills
15
25
9
18
59
John Love
22
18
15
86
51
Jay Lovelace
13
4
6
10
14
Jerry Curless
10
6
2
8
14
Bill Edwards
14
5
1
9
11
Jerry Renner
5
4
2
6
10
Sam Leeper
5
0
2
3
2
Jeff Ferguson
3
0
0
2
0
[ 5]
Awards and honors
Team players drafted into the NBA
Player
NBA Club
Round
Pick
No Player Selected
[ 7]
Rankings
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics
