1947–48 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1947–48 Illinois Fighting Illini 1947–48_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 15–5 7–5 Harry Combes Howie Braun Wally Roettger 1st 11th 13th Jack Burmaster Jack Burmaster Huff Hall The 1947–48 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season After 11 seasons that included three Big Ten Conference championships and a trip to the NCAA tournament, Doug Mills removed himself as head coach of the Fighting Illini, however; he remained as the University of Illinois athletic director until 1966. Replacing Mills was a former Illini player, Harry Combes. Combes was a senior during Mills' first season with the Fighting Illini, a team that won the conference championship. During Combes' 20 years as head coach, the Illini won 316 games while losing only 150, a .678 winning percentage. During conference play, his teams won 174 times while only losing 104 games. Combes still owns several Illini coaching records including winning 4 conference championships. Combes most significant feat over his 20 years was back-to-back NCAA tournament third-place finishes in 1951 and 1952. Combes came to Illinois after spending five seasons at Champaign High School where he served as boys basketball and baseball coach. While at Champaign High School, from 1939 to 1947, he compiled an impressive of 254–46 record in basketball and an equally substantial baseball record of 70-26-2 (.724) over a five-year period (1937–1942). With the 'Whiz Kids' gone, a fresh start with a couple of All-American athletes was the focus for the new head coach. Bill Erickson, Dwight Eddleman, Jack Burmaster, Wally Osterkorn, Fred Green, Burdette Thurlby and Jim Marks returned from a team that finished with an overall record of 14–6, placing second in the Big Ten. Roster 1947 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Robert Menke 7 C 6 3 185 JR Elgin, Illinois Elgin High School n Dick Foley 9 G 6 0 160 JR Paris, Illinois Paris High School n Jack Burmaster 11 G 6 2 188 SR Elgin, Illinois Elgin High School y C Walter Osterkorn 13 C 6 4 205 SO Chicago, Illinois Amundsen High School y Burdette Thurlby 14 F 6 2 180 SO Kirkland, Illinois Kirkland High School n Robert Doster 16 F 6 1 170 JR Decatur, Illinois Decatur High School n Joseph Rodriguez 17 G 5 10 165 SR Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls High School n Robert Rowe 19 C 6 7 200 JR Warren, Illinois Warren High School n Walt Kersulis 21 C 6 4 190 SO East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis Senior High School n Van Anderson 22 F 6 2 190 SO Sullivan, Illinois Sullivan Community High School n Benton Odum 24 f 6 0.5 175 SO Marion, Illinois Marion High School n Stanley Fronczak 26 G 6 2 200 SR Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn High School n Jim Marks 27 F 6 1 175 JR Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville High School n Dwight Humphrey 29 F 5 9 145 JR Moline, Illinois Moline High School n Bill Erickson 33 F 6 1 174 SO Rockford, Illinois East High School y Dwight Eddleman 40 F 6 2 190 JR Centralia, Illinois Centralia High School y Fred Green 48 C 6 7 206 JR Urbana, Illinois Urbana High School n Harry Combes (University of Illinois) (1st year) Wally Roettger (University of Illinois) (13th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (11th year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1947-48 Schedule yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/5/1947 yes 1947 Coe College Coe Huff Hall Champaign, IL 67–27 6,905 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="" 12/8/1947 yes 1947 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Huff Hall Champaign, IL 40–38 6,905 2–0 12/13/1947 yes 1947 Pittsburgh Panthers Pittsburgh Huff Hall Champaign, IL 70–33 6,905 3–0 12/20/1947 yes yes 1947 Penn Quakers Penn Palestra Philadelphia, PA 70–44 2,500 4–0 12/22/1947 yes Washington State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 71–35 5,196 5–0 12/23/1947 yes Washington State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 59–42 4,142 6–0 1/1/1948 yes 1947 Harvard Crimson Harvard Huff Hall Champaign, IL 77–41 6,905 7–0 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/3/1948 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 47–52 13,000 7–1 0–1 1/5/1948 1947 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 52–47 6,905 8–1 1–1 1/10/1948 1947 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 61-58 6,905 9–1 2–1 1/17/1948 yes 1947 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 51–59 16,690 9–2 2–2 1/19/1948 Indiana Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 46–45 6,905 10–2 3–2 1/24/1948 Wisconsin Huff Hall Champaign, IL 57–36 6,905 11-2 4–2 1/28/1948 yes yes 1947 Marquette Golden Eagles Marquette Marquette Gymnasium Milwaukee, WI 88–66 5,200 12–2 4–2 2/7/1948 Michigan Huff Hall Champaign, IL 57–66 6,905 12–3 4–3 2/9/1948 yes yes Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Rivalry 61–70 16,048 12–4 4–4 2/14/1948 yes Ohio State Ohio Expo Center Coliseum Columbus, OH 50–57 4,449 12–5 4–5 2/21/1948 yes 1947 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN 98–54 6,905 13–5 5–5 2/28/1948 yes Northwestern Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL Rivalry 60–43 17,680 14–5 6–5 3/1/1948 yes Indiana The Field House Bloomington, IN Rivalry 52–51 10,500 15–5 7–5 Central Time SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1943–44 pg.81 https://web.archive.org/web/20161026185153/http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/fightingillini.com/documents/2015/10/14/2015_16_ILLINI_MBB_Record_Book_for_Web.pdf October 26, 2016 , FightingIllini.com Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsDwight Eddleman 2011547277Jack Burmaster 187234178Bill Erickson 185537147Wally Osterkorn 154845141Fred Green184321107Jim Marks 15331884Burdette Thurlby 17281874Walt Kersulis 15251868Van Anderson1421850Stan Fronczak 1721749Dick Foley 1613632Bob Doster73410Cliff Fulton 5306Benton Odum 2204Joe Rodriguez2113Tom Gallagher6102Bob Menke1102Robert Rowe 1000Dwight Humphrey5000 http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1947.html Season Stats 2014-04-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20140407065157/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1947.html 2014-04-07 dead Awards and honors Dwight Eddleman Associated Press 2nd team All-American (1948) Converse 3rd team All-American (1948) True Magazine 3rd team All-American (1948) Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) Jack Burmaster Converse Honorable Mention All-American (1948) Team Most Valuable Player http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/05_mbb_guide_06.pdf List of MVPs 2013-01-15 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 Round Pick Player NBA club 2-Jack BurmasterSt. Louis Bombershttp://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1948&lg=N 1948 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com 2012-04-07 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20120503192341/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1948&lg=N 2012-05-03 References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1947 in sports in Illinois Category:1948 in sports in Illinois