1956–57 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1956–57 Illinois Fighting Illini 1956–57_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 14–8 7-7 Harry Combes Howie Braun Jim Bredar Jess MacLeay 10th 20th 1st 1st Harv Schmidt Harv Schmidt Huff Hall The 1956–57 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illiniois. Regular season Harry Combes celebrated 10 years as the head coach of the University of Illinois' Fighting Illini basketball team. During his ten years as coach, Combes had established the Illini as a national powerhouse with sportswriters taking note. For example, the Associated Press began its basketball poll in 1949 with United Press International adding its poll in 1951 and from 1951–56 the Illini finished the season ranked in the Top 20 nationally every year. Illinois’ highest final ranking in the 1950s was second in both polls in 1952. The 1956–57 team, unfortunately, would begin a downward spiral for Combes' tenure, sending the program into a timespan where his teams would finish in the lower half of the Big Ten for four of six years. A highlight of the 1957 season would take place on December 17, 1956, when Illinois defeated San Francisco, 62-33, snapping the Dons’ 51-game regular-season win streak. This season also marked the first time that a Fighting Illini team entered a holiday tournament. The Kentucky Invitational brought Southern Methodist, Dayton and Illinois to Lexington for a two-day tournament, once again matching Adolph Rupp with Combes. Combes had talented lettermen return including the leading scorers George Bon Salle, Don Ohl and team "captain" Harv Schmidt. It also saw the return of Bill Altenberger, Hiles Stout, John Paul and Ted Caiazza. The team also added sophomore Roger Taylor. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 7 wins and 7 losses, finishing in 7th place in the Big Ten. They would finish with an overall record of 14 wins and 8 losses. The starting lineup included George Bon Salle at the center position, Roger Taylor and Don Ohl at guard and Harv Schmidt and Hiles Stout at the forward slots.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC 1-58261-356-7 Roster 1956 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Hiles Stout 10 F 6 4 205 SR Peoria, Illinois Central High School n Roger Taylor 12 G 6 0 160 SO Park Forest, Illinois Rich High School n Jim Chengary 14 F 6 3 190 JR Chicago, Illinois Bowen High School n Bill Altenberger 20 G 6 1 179 SR East St. Louis, Illinois Senior High School y George Bon Salle 22 C 6 8 225 SR Chicago, Illinois Loyola Academy y Ted Caiazza 24 C 6 7 235 JR LaGrange, Illinois Lyons Township High School n Billy Bolk 30 G 5 11 175 JR Terre Haute, Indiana James A. Garfield High School n Harvard Schmidt 32 F 6 6 195 SR Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee High School y Harv Schmidt C Al Gosnell 33 F 6 4 190 SO Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville High School n Larry Breyfogle 34 F 6 3 165 JR Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville High School n Lloyd Eggers 40 F 6 3 185 SO Toledo, Illinois Toledo High School y John Paul 42 G 6 1 175 JR Elgin, Illinois St. Edward High School n Don Ohl 44 G 6 3 180 JR Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville High School y Bob Brown 48 C 6 7 196 SO Wilmington, Delaware DuPont High School n Tom Haller 52 F 6 3 180 SO Lockport, Illinois Lockport Township High School y Bernie Thompson 54 F 6 2 175 SO Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont Senior High School y Harry Combes (University of Illinois) (10th year) Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (20th year) Jim Bredar (University of Illinois) (1st year) Jess MacLeay (University of Illinois) (1st year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1956-57 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1956-57, FightingIllini.com yes yesSchedule |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/5/1956 yes 1956 Butler Bulldogs Butler Huff Hall Champaign, IL 98–81 6,240 1-0 12/8/1956 yes yes 1956 Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma McCasland Field House Norman, OK 69–58 3,000 2-0 12/15/1956 7 yes 1956 Loyola Wolfpack Loyola (New Orleans) Huff Hall Champaign, IL 83–72 6,128 3-0 12/17/1956 7 yes San Francisco 2 Huff Hall Champaign, IL 62–33 6,912 4–0 12/21/1956 5 yes yes 1956 Dayton Flyers Dayton Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY Kentucky Invitational Tournament 82–65 7,000 5-0 12/22/1956 5 yes yes Kentucky 7 Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY Kentucky Invitational Tournament 70–91 9,500 5-1 12/28/1956 6 yes 1956 Princeton Tigers Princeton Huff Hall Champaign, IL 108–87 2,559 6-1 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/5/1957 5 yes 1956 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota 19 Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 88–91 14,062 6-2 0-1 1/7/1957 5 1956 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 81–70 3,390 7-2 1-1 1/12/1957 10 yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 79–63 4,000 8-2 2-1 1/14/1957 10 Indiana Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 112–91 6,899 9-2 3-1 1/26/1957 9 yes yes 1956 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 99–81 15,678 10-2 2/2/1957 7 yes 1956 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN 74–85 10,000 10-3 3-2 2/4/1957 7 1956 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State 11 Huff Hall Champaign, IL 96–89 6,189 11-3 4-2 2/9/1957 15 yes Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 64–70 7,394 11-4 4-3 2/11/1957 15 1956 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Huff Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 104–97 6,899 12-4 5-3 2/16/1957 16 yes Michigan Yost Field House Ann Arbor, MI 89–102 6,800 12-5 5-4 2/18/1957 16 Michigan State Huff Hall Champaign, IL 83–89 6,800 12-6 5-5 2/23/1957 Purdue Huff Hall Champaign, IL 80–78 6,850 13-6 6-5 2/25/1957 yes Ohio State St. John Arena Columbus, OH 79–72 13,380 14-6 7-5 3/2/1957 Minnesota Huff Hall Champaign, IL 75–86 6,251 14-7 7-6 3/4/1957 6 yes Indiana 10 The Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN Rivalry 76–84 10,000 14-8 7-7 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsHarv Schmidt 22156102414Don Ohl 2214553343George BonSalle 1410469277Hiles Stout 217788242Roger Taylor 228852228Bill Altenberger 187226170John Paul 214918116Ted Caiazza 1881430Tom Haller1631016Larry Breyfogle 156113Jim Chengary 4022Bob Brown 1000Lloyd Eggers 4000 http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1956.html Season Stats 2014-03-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20130625105359/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1956.html 2013-06-25 dead Awards and honors George Bon Salle National Association of Basketball Coaches 2nd Team All-American Converse Honorable Mention All-American Don Ohl Converse Honorable Mention All-American Associated Press Mention All-American Harv Schmidt Converse 2nd Team 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 2013-01-23 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 PickGeorge Bon SalleSyracuse Nationals17Harv SchmidtMinneapolis Lakers231957 NBA Draft Rankings 1956–57 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1956 in sports in Illinois Category:1957 in sports in Illinois