1977–78 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1977–78 Illinois Fighting Illini 1977–78_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 13–14 7–11 Lou Henson Tony Yates Mark Bial Les Wothke 3rd 4th 1st 3rd Audie Matthews Audie Matthews Assembly Hall The 1977–78 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season The most significant recruit of the first three years of Head Coach Lou Henson's tenure at Illinois arrived this season. Eddie Johnson was considered to be the most significant piece to reviving the Illini basketball program, a program that had not been to a post-season tournament for 16 years. Johnson, who played at Chicago Westinghouse High School, was one of the state's top seniors and a Parade Magazine All-American. During his senior year at Westinghouse, Johnson, along with teammate Mark Aguirre, became part of a team that went 29–0, losing only in the Public League Final to Wendell Phillips. Prior to choosing Illinois, Johnson visited Southern Cal, Iowa, Michigan and DePaul, but with the encouragement of assistant coach Tony Yates, he selected Illinois. Along with Johnson, Henson recruited Mark Smith from Peoria Richwoods High School. By season's end, Smith would develop into the team's second leading scorer, finishing the season with 312 points. The team's starting lineup included Neil Bresnahan and Levi Cobb as forwards, Audie Matthews and Reno Gray at the guard positions, and Rich Adams playing center. Roster 1977 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Reno Gray 10 G 6 2 170 JR Chicago, Illinois Hales Franciscan High School n Ken Ferdinand 12 F 6 6 200 JR Urbana, Illinois Urbana High School n Matt Meyer 20 G 6 0 165 JR Mantino, Illinois Foreman High School n Steve Lanter 21 G 6 4 175 SO y Belleville, Illinois Mascoutah Community High School n Larry Lubin 23 G 6 0 175 JR Glencoe, Illinois New Trier High School n Tom Gerhardt 24 F 6 6 210 SR Chicago, Illinois De La Salle High School n Rob Judson 30 G 6 2 170 SO Zion, Illinois Zion-Benton High School y Neil Bresnahan 31 F 6 6 200 SO Oak Park, Illinois Fenwick High School n Levi Cobb 32 F 6 6 205 SO Chicago, Illinois Morgan Park High School n Eddie Johnson 33 F 6 7 210 FR Chicago, Illinois Westinghouse High School y Eddie A. Johnson (basketball, born 1959) Rich Adams 40 F 6 9 205 SR Cincinnati, Ohio Colerain High School y Mike Jones 41 G/F 6 4 185 FR Joliet, Illinois Joliet Central High School n Mark Smith 42 F 6 7 195 FR Peoria, Illinois Richwoods High School n Rick Leighty 42 F 6 7 195 FR Peoria, Illinois Richwoods High School n Audie Matthews 43 G/F 6 5 185 SR Chicago Heights, Illinois Bloom High School n C Lou Henson (New Mexico State University) (3rd year) Tony Yates (University of Cincinnati) (4th year) Les Wothke (Greenville University) (3rd year) Mark Bial (University of Illinois) (1st year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1977-78 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1977–78 https://web.archive.org/web/20130625105319/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1977.html 2013-06-25 , FightingIllini.com yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 11/25/1977 yes 1977 Charlotte 49ers Charlotte Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 64–68 8,655 0–1 11/28/1977 yes 1977 Arizona Wildcats Arizona Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 113–107 7,356 1–1 12/1/1977 yes 1977 USC Trojans Southern California Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 82–59 8,941 2–1 12/3/1977 yes 1977 South Carolina Gamecocks South Carolina Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC yes 84–68 9,116 3–1 12/6/1977 yes Missouri Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Show-Me Classic 96–85 6,010 4–1 12/16/1977 yes BYU Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 81–74 8,612 5–1 12/28/1977 yes Washington State yes Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR Far West Classic 75–82 9,762 5–2 12/29/1977 yes 1977 Oregon Ducks Oregon yes Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR Far West Classic 86–80 6,432 6–2 12/30/1977 yes Washington yes Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR Far West Classic 68–81 6,542 6–3 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/5/1978 1977 Purdue Boilermakers Purdue Mackey Arena yes West Lafayette, IN 85–95 11,253 6–4 0–1 1/7/1978 Indiana 11 Assembly Hall yes Bloomington, IN Rivalry 65–64 16,903 7–4 1–1 1/12/1978 Michigan State 12 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 70–82 10,300 7–5 1–2 1/14/1978 Michigan Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 65–61 8,795 8–5 2–2 1/19/1978 1977 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Williams Arena yes Minneapolis, MN 66–70 15,134 8–6 2–3 1/21/1978 1977 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 73–64 9,616 9–6 3–3 1/26/1978 Iowa Iowa Field House yes Iowa City, IA Rivalry 70–61 11,000 10–6 4–3 1/30/1978 1977 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 84–87 9,285 10–7 4–4 2/2/1978 Wisconsin Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 74–71 7,802 11–7 5–4 2/4/1978 Ohio State St. John Arena yes Columbus, OH 65–70 13,489 11–8 5–5 2/9/1978 Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall yes Evanston, IL Rivalry 61–72 3,268 11–9 5–6 2/11/1978 Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House yes Madison, WI 73–80 7,802 11–10 5–7 2/16/1978 Minnesota Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 69–75 8,098 11–11 5–8 2/18/1978 Iowa Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 77–76 9,441 12–11 6–8 2/23/1978 Michigan Crisler Center yes Ann Arbor, MI 96–107 13,589 12–12 6–9 2/25/1978 Michigan State 10 Jenison Fieldhouse yes East Lansing, MI 67–89 9,886 12–13 6–10 3/2/1978 Indiana Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 68–77 7,222 12–14 6–11 3/2/1978 Purdue Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 67–66 11,938 13–14 7–11 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Minutes played Field goals Free throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals PointsAudie Matthewshttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 27780136558750012327Mark Smithhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 276801119016336737312Rich Adamshttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 2761810858133373225274Eddie Johnsonhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 27469100208416811220Rob Judsonhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 2760576454957120197Neil Bresnahanhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 27670943119568221219Reno Grayhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 204349062966118186Levi Cobbhttp://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf pg. 119 Season Stats 2011-03-25 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212650/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2009-10_Guide05.pdf dead 276107228131231017172Mike Jones 2723235216202872Ken Ferdinand 15801351822231Larry Lubin 17112889190624Tom Gerhardt 21105422230110Matt Meyer 650011000 Awards and honors Eddie Johnson Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005) Audie Matthews 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 Player NBA club Round PickRich AdamsSan Antonio Spurs486Audie MatthewsDetroit Pistons61171978 NBA Draft Rankings 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1977 in sports in Illinois Category:1978 in sports in Illinois