1959–60 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1959–60 Illinois Fighting Illini 1959–60_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 16–7 8-6 Harry Combes Howie Braun Jim Wright 13th 23rd 2nd Mannie Jackson Govoner Vaughn Huff Hall The 1959–60 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season Entering his 13th year as University of Illinois' head coach, Harry Combes and his Fighting Illini basketball team. Started gaining on the national scene once again by beginning the Big Ten season as a top 10 ranked team. The Associated Press would eventually rank the Illini as high as number eight during the course of the season; however, the team would falter late in the season, dropping three straight games and fall out of the rankings. The final AP and UPI rankings would include only two Big Ten teams, Ohio State (ranked 3) and Indiana (ranked 7/10). Ohio State would go on and win the NCAA Tournament. For the second time in the history of the Illini, they would play in a mid-season tournament. The tournament they would compete in would be the inaugural Los Angeles Basketball Classic held at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena December 28–30. The 1959-60 team utilized several returning lettermen including the leading scorer and team "MVP" Govoner Vaughn. It also saw the return of team "captain" Mannie Jackson as well as Ed Perry, Lou Landt, John Wessels, Lee Frandsen, Vern Altemeyer, Al Gosnell and Bruce Bunkenberg. Jerry Colangelo, a future sports mogul, also played a significant role as a sophomore. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 8 wins and 6 losses, finishing tied for 3rd place in the Big Ten. They would finish with an overall record of 16 wins and 7 losses. The starting lineup included John Wessels at the center position, Vern Altemeyer, Lou Landt and Mannie Jackson at guard and Govoner Vaughn and Ed Perry at the forward slots.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster 1959 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes John Wessels 10 C 6 7 210 JR Rockford, Illinois Rockford West High School y John Wessels (basketball) Lee Frandsen 12 G 6 3 155 JR Davenport, Iowa Davenport Central High School n Ed Perry 13 F 6 5 195 SR Salem, Illinois Salem High School n Bruce Bunkenburg 14 F 6 4 190 SR Chicago, Illinois Roosevelt High School n Bob Schmidt 15 F 6 5 180 SR Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee High School n Jerry Renner 20 F 6 1 180 SO Aurora, Illinois East High School n Sam Leeper 21 G 6 0 165 SO Tolono, Illinois Unity High School n Jay Lovelace 22 G 6 2 165 FR Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale Community High School n Jerry Colangelo 23 G 6 2 175 SO Chicago Heights, Illinois Bloom High School y Bill Burwell 25 C 6 8 243 FR Brooklyn, New York Boys High School n Mannie Jackson 30 G 6 3 175 SR Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville High School y C Doug Mills 31 G 6 0 165 SO Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg High School n Lou Landt 32 G 6 3 180 SR Berwyn, Illinois Roosevelt High School n Al Gosnell 33 F 6 3 190 SR Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville High School n Gary McClung 34 F 6 4 185 SO Maroa, Illinois Maroa-Forsyth High School n Govoner Vaughn 35 F 6 3 185 SR Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville High School y Dave Downey 40 F 6 4 200 SO Canton, Illinois Canton High School n Jerry Curless 41 G 6 0 160 SO Table Grove, Illinois VIT High School n Ed Searcy 42 F 6 5 185 SO Indianapolis, Indiana Attucks High School n Bob Starnes 44 F 6 4 180 FR Chicago, Illinois Gage Park High School n Bill Mohlenbrock 51 G 6 3 178 JR Murphysboro, Illinois Murphysboro High School n Vern Altemeyer 52 C 6 8 210 SO Scottsburg, Indiana Scottsburg Senior High School n Bill Small 53 G 6 2 185 FR Aurora, Illinois West Aurora High School n James Knoefel 55 F 6 4 180 SO Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso High School n Harry Combes (University of Illinois) (13th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (23rd year) Jim Wright (University of Illinois) (2nd year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1959-60 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1959-60, FightingIllini.com yes yesSchedule |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/3/1959 yes 1959 Butler Bulldogs Butler Huff Hall Champaign, IL 83–75 6,417 1-0 12/12/1959 yes Western Kentucky Huff Hall Champaign, IL 93–80 6,553 2-0 12/14/1959 yes 1959 Marquette Golden Eagles Marquette Huff Hall Champaign, IL 89–77 6,512 3-0 12/19/1959 yes Ohio Huff Hall Champaign, IL 85–79 4,356 4-0 12/21/1959 yes Oklahoma Huff Hall Champaign, IL 60–57 5,034 5-0 12/28/1959 10 yes yes California 3 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles Basketball Classic 48–62 10,838 5-1 12/29/1959 8 yes yes 1959 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles Basketball Classic / Rivalry 92–79 10,295 6-1 12/30/1959 8 yes yes 1959 Stanford Cardinal Stanford Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles Basketball Classic 74–62 923 7-1 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/4/1960 8 yes Ohio State 5 St. John Arena Columbus, OH 73–97 13,263 7-2 0-1 1/9/1960 9 1959 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Huff Hall Champaign, IL 90–82 6,649 8-2 1-1 1/11/1960 9 yes 1959 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN 81–75 10,000 9-2 2-1 1/16/1960 14 1959 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 96–88 6,815 10-2 3-1 1/18/1960 14 yes Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 70–77 12,729 10-3 3-2 1/30/1960 yes yes 1959 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 71–67 - 11-3 2/6/1960 19 yes Michigan Yost Field House Ann Arbor, MI 75-61 2,000 12-3 4-2 2/8/1960 yes 19 Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 77–78 6,325 12-4 4-3 2/13/1960 20 Purdue Huff Hall Champaign, IL 93–89 2OT 6,631 13-4 5-3 2/15/1960 20 Ohio State 4 Huff Hall Champaign, IL 81–109 6,912 13-5 5-4 2/20/1960 20 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 63–75 7,885 13-6 5-5 2/22/1960 20 Indiana Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 78–92 6,864 13-7 5-6 2/27/1960 20 1959 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 85–70 6,691 14-7 6-6 2/29/1960 yes Michigan Yost Field House Ann Arbor, MI 90–61 5,277 15-7 7-6 3/5/1960 yes Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall Evanston, IL Rivalry 84–77 5,800 16-7 8-6 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws Rebounds PointsGovoner Vaughn 2316483189411Mannie Jackson 231625494378Ed Perry 237464141212Lou Landt 23703664176John Wessels14564398155Lee Frandsen 20413237114Vern Altemeyer23442594113Al Gosnell2336249596Bruce Bunkenburg 1822204264Jerry Colangelo 1925101660Ed Searcy 172065746Bob Starnes20212Bob Schmidt 11012Doug Mills 41012Tom Adams 10000Jerry Curless 10000Bill Mohlenbrock 10000 Season Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20130625105451/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1959.html 2013-06-25 Awards and honors Govoner Vaughn Converse Honorable Mention All-American Team Most Valuable Player http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/05_mbb_guide_06.pdf List of MVPs 2013-01-30 2014-10-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20141030004049/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/05_mbb_guide_06.pdf dead Mannie Jackson Converse Honorable Mention All-American Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round PickNo Players Selected1960 NBA Draft Rankings 1959–60 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1959 in sports in Illinois Category:1960 in sports in Illinois