1939–40 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1939–40 Illinois Fighting Illini 1939-40_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 14–6 7–5 Douglas Mills Howie Braun Wally Roettger Ralph Fletcher 4th 3rd 5th 1st William Hapac Huff Hall The 1939–40 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season Doug Mills entered his fourth year as the head coach of the Fighting Illini with high hopes as well as a player with national prominence. William "Bill" Hapac was the program's first consensus first-team All-American as recognized by the NCAA. During the 1939–40 season, he became the first-ever recipient of the University of Illinois Athlete of the Year award. Hapac set the Big Ten single-game scoring record on February 10, 1940, with 34 points vs. Minnesota, a point total unheard of at that time. In addition to his success on the hardwood, Hapac also was a three-year letterwinner for the Illini baseball team. During the season, the Illini won 10 of their 11 home games only losing to conference rival Purdue in the last game of the season. Unfortunately for the Illini they finished with a 4–5 record on the road to finish in a fourth place tie overall in conference action. Mills' team featured 9 returning letterman including team captain William Hapac. The Illini also featured a starting lineup of John Drish at the center position and Harold Shapiro, Joe Frank, and William Hapac at forward and Victor Wukovits and future major league baseball player Walter Evers at the guard spot.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster 1939 Illinois Fighting Illini y Colin Handlon 3 G SR Connersville, Indiana n Henry Sachs 4 G SO Chicago, Illinois n Walter Evers 5 F SO Collinsville, Illinois y Robert O'Neill 6 C JR Pitman, New Jersey n Harry Lasater 8 G JR Fairfield, Illinois n J. Frederick Townshend 9 C SO n Norman Cusick 10 F SO Chicago Heights, Illinois n Robert Richmond 12 G JR Johnston City, Illinois n Victor Wukovits 13 C SO Mishawaka, Indiana n Howard Cronk 14 G JR Anderson, Indiana n Rex Sherman 15 F SO Pekin, Illinois n William Hocking 16 G SO Evanston, Illinois n Joe Frank 17 F SR Urbana, Illinois n Kenneth Brown 18 G FR Catlin, Illinois n William Hapac 19 F SR Cicero, Illinois y C Harold Shapiro 20 G JR Chicago, Illinois n John Drish 21 F JR Evanston, Illinois y Scott Gill 22 F SO n David Miller 24 F SO Taylorville, Illinois n Leonard Sharp 28 F SO Kewanee, Illinois n Howard Cronk 29 F SO n Paul Milosevich 30 F SO Zeigler, Illinois n Douglas Mills (University of Illinois) (4th year) Wally Roettger (University of Illinois) (5th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (3rd year) Ralph Fletcher (1st year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/2015/7/18/mbb_alltimerosters_1925_1949.aspx?#1940 Schedule yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/6/1939 yes 1939 Monmouth (Ill.) Fighting Scots Monmouth (IL) Huff Hall Champaign, IL 37–19 4,346 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="" 12/6/1939 yes 1939 Wabash Little Giants Wabash Huff Hall Champaign, IL 60–21 4,346 2–0 12/15/1939 yes 1939 Carleton Knights Carleton Huff Hall Champaign, IL 46–15 4,164 3–0 12/18/1939 yes 1939 Princeton Tigers Princeton Huff Hall Champaign, IL 41–25 4,346 4–0 12/27/1939 yes 1939 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Huff Hall Champaign, IL 42–29 3,747 5–0 12/29/1939 yes yes 1939 Drake Bulldogs Drake Drake Fieldhouse Des Moines, IA 35–34 – 6–0 1/1/1940 yes 1939 Butler Bulldogs Butler Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN 37–18 4,000 7–0 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/6/1940 yes Indiana Wildermuth Intramural Center Bloomington, IN Rivalry 36–38 6,000 7–1 0–1 1/8/1940 1939 Chicago Maroons University of Chicago Huff Hall Champaign, IL 34–33 5,200 8–1 1–1 1/13/1940 yes 1939 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Ohio Expo Center Coliseum Columbus, OH 31–37 4,046 8–2 1–2 1/15/1940 yes Michigan Yost Fieldhouse Ann Arbor, MI 48–43 4,500 9–2 2–2 2/3/1940 yes yes Notre Dame Notre Dame Fieldhouse Notre Dame, IN 40–58 5,500 9–3 2/10/1940 1939 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Huff Hall Champaign, IL 60–31 5,402 10–3 3–2 2/12/1940 1939 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 35–33 5,400 11–3 4–2 2/17/1940 yes 1939 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN 27–33 8,800 11–4 4–3 2/19/1940 Wisconsin Huff Hall Champaign, IL 37–35 5,400 12–4 5–3 2/24/1940 Michigan Huff Hall Champaign, IL 51–28 5,692 13–4 6–3 2/26/1940 yes University of Chicago Henry Crown Field House Chicago, IL 42–40 3,500 14–4 7–3 3/2/1940 yes 1939 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Rivalry 47–62 7,000 14–5 7–4 3/4/1940 Purdue Huff Hall Champaign, IL 31–34 7,172 14–6 7–5 Central Time SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1939–40 pg.79, FightingIllini.com Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsWilliam Hapac 189554244Walter Evers 174033113Victor Wukovits 19322892Colin Handlon 19232369Joe Frank 19251060John Drish 1820747Harold Shapiro 1517539William Hocking1313935Henry Sachs 1815232Robert Richmond1010929Robert O'Neill1010626Howard Cronk10328Rex Sherman 4306Paul Milosevich 1113Scott Gill 1113Frederick Townshend 4113Norman Cusick 1102Kenneth Brown 1102Edward Evers 5022Harry Lasater 5102Leonard Sharp 1011 http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1939.html Season Stats 2014-04-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20150210104953/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1939.html 2015-02-10 dead Awards and honors William Hapac Helms 1st team All-American (Consensus) Converse 1st team All-American References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1939 in sports in Illinois Category:1940 in sports in Illinois