1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini 1965–66_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 12–12 8–6 Harry Combes Howie Braun Jim Wright 19th 29th 8th Donnie Freeman Donnie Freeman Assembly Hall The 1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season Harry Combes entered his 19th season as the head coach of the Fighting Illini. The program was heading in a positive direction with six up-and-coming sophomores joining a varsity team that already included five juniors and five seniors. This balance was demonstrated within the starting lineup which included a rotation of two sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. The starters included, Don Freeman and Rich Jones as forwards, Preston Pearson and Bob Brown as guards, and Ron Dunlap at center. It was during this season that Freeman would mark his place in Illini history by setting a record for most points in a season (668), while averaging 27.8 points per game. When he finished at Illinois, he had totaled 1449 points and averaged 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game over his three varsity seasons. This offensive output led to Freeman being named a 1st-team All-American by the Helms Foundation, a 2nd-team All-American by Converse and Basketball News, and honorable mention with UPI, Roster 1965 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes John Prescott 10 F 6 6 185 SO Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest High School n Benny Louis 11 G 6 2 170 SO Pinckneyville, Illinois Pinckneyville Community High School n Greg Wright 12 G 6 1 195 SO Glenwood, Illinois Homewood-Flossmoor High School n Jerry Mettille 14 G/F 6 4 180 JR Morris, Illinois Morris Community High School n Donnie Freeman 15 G 6 3 180 SR Madison, Illinois Madison High School y C basketball, born 1944 Rich Crusius 20 F 6 6 175 SO Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington High School n Bob Johansen 21 F 6 5 190 JR Geneva, Illinois Geneva High School n Jim Dawson 24 G 6 0 170 JR Elmhurst, Illinois York High School y Jimmy Dawson (basketball, born 1945) Preston Pearson 25 G 6 1 190 JR Freeport, Illinois Freeport High School y Deon Flessner 30 F 6 4 200 JR Fithian, Illinois Fithian High School n Jim Vopicka 22 G 6 1 175 JR Brookfield, Illinois Morton West High School n Rich Jones 33 F/C 6 7 200 SO Memphis, Tennessee Lester High School y Rich Jones (basketball) Ron Dunlap basketball 35 C 6 8 215 SO Chicago, Illinois Farragut Academy y Bob Brown 40 G/F 6 2 190 SR Wilmington, DE P. S. Dupont High School n Larry Hinton 43 F 6 2 190 SR Shelbyville, Illinois Shelbyville High School n Mike Graville 44 F 6 0 185 SR Madison, Illinois Madison High School n Dan Lee 54 F 6 2 185 SR Attica, Indiana Attica High School n Harry Combes (University of Illinois) (19th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (29th year) Jim Wright (University of Illinois) (8th year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1965-66 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1965-66 https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 , FightingIllini.com yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/1/1965 yes 1965 Butler Bulldogs Butler Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 88-74 9,167 1-0 12/3/1965 yes yes 1965 BYU Cougars BYU Marriott Center Provo, Utah 98-109 11,488 1-1 12/4/1965 yes yes 1 UCLA Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA 79-97 12,365 1-2 12/8/1965 yes Kentucky Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 68-86 7,966 1-3 12/11/1965 yes 1965 West Virginia Mountaineers West Virginia Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 96-86 6,251 2-3 12/14/1965 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 90-70 8,206 3-3 1-0 12/18/1965 yes yes 1965 Princeton Tigers Princeton Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 81-84 6,038 3-4 12/27/1965 yes yes Georgetown Madison Square Garden New York, NY ECAC Holiday Festival 96-94 8,757 4-4 12/28/1965 yes 10 yes 1965 Providence Friars Providence Madison Square Garden New York, NY ECAC Holiday Festival 79-81 12,239 4-5 12/30/1965 yes yes 1965 Army Black Knights Army Madison Square Garden New York, NY ECAC Holiday Festival 69-78 18,499 4-6 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/8/1966 yes Indiana New Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN Rivalry 98-84 7,502 5-6 2-0 1/11/1966 Wisconsin Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 80-64 6,127 6-6 3-0 1/15/1966 yes 1965 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN 87-93 8,936 6-7 3-1 1/28/1966 yes yes 1965 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 120-92 18,183 7-7 2/1/1966 4 yes Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI 99-93 9,544 8-7 4-1 2/5/1966 Ohio State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 78-77 9,838 9-7 5-1 2/7/1966 1965 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 77-80 7,695 9-8 5-2 2/12/1966 Indiana Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 77-81 8,175 9-9 5-3 2/19/1966 1965 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 100-89 8,643 10-9 6-3 2/22/1966 yes Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 66-68 10,484 10-10 6-4 2/26/1966 yes Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 92-94 7,340 10-11 6-5 2/28/1966 Purdue Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 98-81 6,207 11-11 7-5 3/5/1966 Iowa Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 106-90 9,592 12-11 8-5 3/7/1966 yes Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall Evanston, IL Rivalry 76-84 4,800 12-12 8-6 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws Rebounds PointsDon FreemanSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 24258152285668Rich JonesSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 2420696265508Jim DawsonSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 2416342100368Deon FlessnerSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 244838127134Bob BrownSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 15442442112Preston PearsonSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 22383068106Ron DunlapSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 23283210988Bob JohansenSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 2027113765Larry HintonSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 201271331Benny LouisSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 15441212Jerry MettileSeason Stats https://web.archive.org/web/20140115080650/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1965.html 2014-01-15 62226Mike Graville 10000 Awards and honors Don Freeman Team Most Valuable Player http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/05_mbb_guide_06.pdf List of MVPs 2014-01-24 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 1st team All-American (Helms) 2nd team All-American (Converse) 2nd team All-American (Basketball News) Honorable Mention All-American (UPI) Rich Jones Honorable Mention All-American (Converse) Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round PickDon FreemanPhiladelphia 76ers391966 NBA Draft Rankings 1965–66 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1965 in sports in Illinois Category:1966 in sports in Illinois