1955–56 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1955–56 Illinois Fighting Illini 1955–56_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 8 10 18–4 11-3 Harry Combes Howie Braun 9th 19th Paul Judson Bruce Brothers Huff Hall The 1955–56 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season Harry Combes, for the ninth consecutive year at Illinois, directed a team that would finish no worse than third place in the Big Ten. His 164 wins and 44 losses overall with a 94 and 30 record in the conference gave Combes three "Final Four" finishes as well as three conference championships. Combes' team, recruited by assistant coach Howie Braun, was exclusively recruited from the state of Illinois. The 1955-56 team had talented lettermen return including the leading scorers George Bon Salle and team "captain" Paul Judson. It also saw the return of Bruce Brothers, Bill Ridley, Bill Altenberger, Hiles Stout, and future Illini head coach, Harv Schmidt. The team also added future NBA all-star Don Ohl as a sophomore. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 11 wins and 3 losses, finishing in 2nd place in the Big Ten. Unfortunately the Illini would lose four total games with two of the four coming in the final three days of the season. The Illini's final Associated Press ranking placed them at "#7", however; they maintained a "#2" national ranking for the final month of the regular season. The starting lineup included George Bon Salle at the center position, Bill Ridley and Paul Judson at guard and Harv Schmidt, Bruce Brothers and Don Ohl at the forward slots.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster 1955 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Jim Chengary 8 F 6 3 190 SO Chicago, Illinois Bowen High School n Hiles Stout 10 F 6 4 205 JR Peoria, Illinois Central High School n Bill Ridley 11 G 5 9 160 SR Taylorville, Illinois Taylorville High School y Bill Altenberger 20 G 6 1 179 JR East St. Louis, Illinois Senior High School y George Bon Salle 22 C 6 7 215 JR Chicago, Illinois Loyola Academy y Ted Caiazza 24 C 6 7 235 SO LaGrange, Illinois Lyons Township High School n Phil Judson 30 G 6 2 165 SR Hebron, Illinois Alden-Hebron High School n Bruce Brothers 32 F 6 5 200 SR Quincy, Illinois Quincy Senior High School n Harvard Schmidt 33 F 6 6 190 JR Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee High School y Harv Schmidt Paul Judson 34 G 6 4 172 SR Hebron, Illinois Alden-Hebron High School y C Larry Breyfogle 35 F 6 3 165 SO Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville High School n John Paul 43 G 6 1 175 SO Elgin, Illinois St. Edward High School n Don Ohl 44 G 6 3 190 SO Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville High School y Harry Combes (University of Illinois) (9th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (19th year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1955-56 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1955-56, FightingIllini.com yes yesSchedule |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/6/1955 8 yes 1955 Butler Bulldogs Butler Huff Hall Champaign, IL 107–75 4,535 1-0 12/10/1955 8 yes yes 1955 Missouri Tigers Missouri Brewer Fieldhouse Columbia, MO Rivalry 73–74 5,800 1-1 12/13/1955 yes yes 1955 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Notre Dame Fieldhouse Notre Dame, IN 103–93 4,300 2-1 12/17/1955 yes 1955 Washington University Bears Washington (St. Louis) Huff Hall Champaign, IL 75–74 4,444 3-1 12/19/1955 yes 1955 DePaul Blue Demons DePaul Huff Hall Champaign, IL 97–79 4,747 4-1 12/23/1955 17 yes 1955 Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma Huff Hall Champaign, IL 82–58 3,390 5-1 12/29/1955 9 yes 1955 Drake Bulldogs Drake Huff Hall Champaign, IL 102–66 3,713 6-1 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/2/1956 9 1955 Michigan State Spartans Michigan State 16 Huff Hall Champaign, IL 73–65 5,192 7-1 1-0 1/9/1956 6 Wisconsin Huff Hall Champaign, IL 96–77 6,069 8-1 2-0 1/14/1956 8 yes Indiana 12 The Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN Rivalry 96–72 10,056 9-1 3-0 1/16/1956 8 yes 1955 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN 92–76 9,500 10-1 4-0 1/28/1956 5 yes yes DePaul Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 80–66 15,254 11-1 1/30/1956 5 yes 1955 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 95–84 9,805 12-1 5-0 2/6/1956 6 Indiana Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 92–89 6,912 13-1 6-0 2/11/1956 6 1955 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 111–64 6,154 14-1 7-0 2/13/1956 6 Michigan Huff Hall Champaign, IL 89–66 6,135 15-1 8-0) 2/18/1956 3 yes Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 96–76 9,094 16-1 9-0 2/20/1956 3 Purdue Huff Hall Champaign, IL 102–77 6,135 17-1 10-0 2/25/1956 2 yes Ohio State Ohio Expo Center Coliseum Columbus, OH 84–87 8,539 17-2 10-1 2/27/1956 2 Minnesota Huff Hall Champaign, IL 97–81 5,765 18-2 11-1 3/3/1956 2 yes Iowa 10 Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Rivalry 72–96 15,200 18-3 11-2 3/5/1956 2 yes 1955 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall Evanston, IL Rivalry 82–83 8,500 18-4 11-3 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsGeorge BonSalle 22156118430Paul Judson2216084404Bill Ridley 21109104322Harv Schmidt 2211369295Bruce Brothers 225158160Don Ohl 225733147Hiles Stout 223542112Bill Altenberger 18191553Ted Caiazza 58420Phil Judson67418Jim Chengary 97014Larry Breyfogle 95111John Paul 125010 http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1955.html Season Stats 2014-03-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20140319192148/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1955.html 2014-03-19 dead Awards and honors Paul Judson Converse 2nd Team All-American National Association of Basketball Coaches 3rd Team All-American United Press International 3rd Team All-American Newspaper Enterprises Association 3rd Team All-American International News Service Honorable Mention All-American Bill Ridley Converse 2nd Team All-American National Association of Basketball Coaches 3rd Team All-American United Press International 3rd Team All-American Newspaper Enterprises Association 3rd Team All-American Bruce Brothers 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 2013-01-21 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 Harv Schmidt Converse Honorable Mention All-American Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round PickPaul JudsonSyracuse Nationals2131956 NBA Draft Rankings 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1955 in sports in Illinois Category:1956 in sports in Illinois