1953–54 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1953–54 Illinois Fighting Illini 1953–54_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 19 17–5 10-4 Harry Combes Howie Braun 7th 17th John Kerr John Kerr Huff Hall The 1953–54 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illiniois. Regular season In his seventh year at Illinois, Harry Combes continued to offer the fans of the Fighting Illini a successful team that they could be follow across the country to record crowds. The 1953-54 team returned one of the most dominant players in the NCAA, Johnny "Red" Kerr. During the season, Kerr shattered Illinois’ single-season scoring record by tallying 556 points in his senior year. Kerr’s 1,299 career points in three seasons currently ranks 20th on the all-time Illinois scoring list. After his Illinois career came to an end, Kerr started a 12-year professional career followed by becoming the first head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1966. The 1954 team added twin brothers, Paul and Phil Judson from Hebron, Illinois, Bruce Brothers and Bill Ridley as sophomores. A youth movement that helped the Illini finish in a 3rd place tie in the Big Ten. Unfortunately the Illini would lose 5 total games with three of the five losses coming at the hands of ranked opponents. The starting lineup included captain John Kerr at the center position, Jim Wright and Paul Judson at guard and Bruce Brothers and Max Hooper at the forward slots.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster 1953 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Morris Sterneck 7 G 6 1 170 JR Salem, Illinois Salem High School n Elmer Plew 9 G 6 0 165 JR Paris, Illinois Paris High School n Bill Ridley 11 G 5 9 152 SO Taylorville, Illinois Taylorville High School y Warren Wilkinson 12 G 5 11 160 SO West Frankfort, Illinois Frankfort Community High School n Robert Leigh 14 G 6 1 170 SO East Lynn, Illinois East Lynn High School n Glass Peterson 15 G 5 11 180 SO Pekin, Illinois Pekin High School n Jim Wright 16 G 6 0 165 SR Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville High School n Johnny Kerr 22 C 6 9 215 SR Chicago, Illinois Tilden High School y C Ed Makovsky 24 G 6 5 205 JR Cicero, Illinois Morton High School n Robert Reitsch 25 F 6 3 188 SO Rockford, Illinois Rockford West High School n Jim Dutcher 27 F 6 3 188 JR Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove High School Jim Dutcher (basketball) Phil Judson 30 G 6 2 170 SO Hebron, Illinois Alden-Hebron High School n Bruce Brothers 32 F 6 5 200 SO Quincy, Illinois Quincy Senior High School n Paul Judson 34 G 6 3 170 SO Hebron, Illinois Alden-Hebron High School y Max Hooper 47 F 6 5 195 SR Mt. Vernon, Illinois Mt. Vernon High School n Earl Newman 48 F 6 3 220 JR Chicago, Illinois Marshall High School n Harry Combes (University of Illinois) (7th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (17th year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1953-54 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1953-54, FightingIllini.com yes yesSchedule |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/1/1953 yes Ohio Huff Hall Champaign, IL 88–54 6,913 1-0 12/5/1953 yes yes 1953 Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma McCasland Field House Norman, OK 86–61 5,000 2-0 12/9/1953 9 yes 1953 Butler Bulldogs Butler Huff Hall Champaign, IL 80–48 6,913 3-0 12/12/1953 9 yes 1953 Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama Huff Hall Champaign, IL 77–54 6,410 4-0 12/19/1953 4 yes 1953 DePaul Blue Demons DePaul Huff Hall Champaign, IL 79–65 2,719 5-0 12/21/1953 4 yes 1953 Oklahoma State Cowboys Oklahoma A&M 7 Huff Hall Champaign, IL 60–65 OT 4,234 5-1 12/29/1953 8 yes 1953 Utah State Aggies Utah State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 88–61 2,649 6-1 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/1/1954 8 1953 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota 6 Huff Hall Champaign, IL 72–84 6,193 6-2 0-1 1/4/1954 8 yes 1953 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall Evanston, IL Rivalry 66–65 9,253 7-2 1-1 1/9/1954 15 yes 1953 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 59–60 9,002 7-3 1-2 1/11/1954 15 1953 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 90–76 8,683 8-3 2-2 1/16/1954 19 yes Ohio State Ohio Expo Center Coliseum Columbus, OH 82–78 8,683 9-3 3-2 1/18/1954 19 Iowa Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 70–79 6,913 9-4 2-3 2/1/1954 yes DePaul yes Alumni Hall Chicago, IL 71–61 9,678 10-4 2/6/1954 Michigan Huff Hall Champaign, IL 87–68 6,913 11-4 3-3 2/8/1954 1953 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Huff Hall Champaign, IL 89–55 6,913 12-4 4-3 2/13/1954 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 70–64 OT 13,000 13-4 5-3 2/20/1954 yes Iowa 10 Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Rivalry 74–51 15,700 14-4 6-3 2/22/1954 Wisconsin Huff Hall Champaign, IL 66–64 6,913 15-4 7-3 2/27/1954 20 yes Michigan Yost Field House Ann Arbor, MI 79–61 4,500 16-4 8-3 3/1/1954 20 Northwestern Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 84–82 6,782 17-4 9-3 3/6/1954 yes Indiana 2 The Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN Rivalry 64–67 11,000 17-5 9-4 |- Central Time Rankings 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball rankings Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsJohn Kerr 22210136556Paul Judson229262246Bruce Brothers226459187Max Hooper 226734168Jim Wright 225945163Bill Ridley 193054114Jim Dutcher 19303292Ed Makovsky 22222165Morris Sterneck 1617943Elmer Plew 137620Phil Judson94513Warren Wilkinson 5215Robert Reitsch 9124Earl Newman 4022 Season Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140322001727/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1953.html 2014-03-22 Awards and honors Johnny Kerr Helms 2nd Team All-American Look Magazine 3rd Team All-American Associated Press 3rd Team All-American United Press International 3rd Team All-American 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 2013-01-18 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 Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round PickJohnny KerrSyracuse Nationals161954 NBA Draft Rankings 1953–54 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1953 in sports in Illinois Category:1954 in sports in Illinois