1968–69 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1968–69 Illinois Fighting Illini 1968–69_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team.jpg 300px Big Ten Conference Big Ten 20 19–5 9–5 Harv Schmidt Dick Campbell Jim Wright 2nd 2nd 10th Dave Scholz Dave Scholz Assembly Hall Hurricane Classic Champion The 1968–69 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois. Regular season In only his second season as the Head coach of the Fighting Illini, Harv Schmidt guided his basketball team to a high-point of an Associated Press ranking of number 4 by the beginning of January, 1969. Schmidt and his Illini won their first ten games of the season with the single biggest win occurring December 21, 1968, as they stopped the Houston Cougars' 60 game home winning streak, 97–84. After the win, the Illini, just two days short of two years after the original "Slush Fund" announcement, appeared to be back in their prime. During the season the Illini defeated a total of 4 top 20 teams, including a tenth ranked Ohio State in February. Like so many years before, the Illini's only losses came at the hands of the competition provided by the other teams within the Big Ten Conference. The team completed the season with only 5 losses, all coming within the league. The final totals were 19 wins overall with 9 of those wins coming within the conference. The team was led in scoring for the season by Dave Scholz, Greg Jackson, Mike Price and Jodie Harrison. Scholz would finish his senior season by being named 1st team All-American by the Helms Foundation, 3rd team All-American by the Associated Press and to the Converse honorable mention All-American team. The Fighting Illini would go on to finish the season with a 19-5 overall record and tied for 2nd place in the conference with a 9–5 record. The 1968-69 team's starting lineup included Scholz and Fred Miller at the forward spots, Price and Harrison as guards and Jackson at center. Roster 1968 Illinois Fighting Illini y yes Rick Howat 10 G 6 2 160 SO Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove North High School n Bob Windmiller 11 G 6 0 175 SO Ossian, Indiana Ossian High School n Fred Miller 14 F 6 4 195 SO Pekin, Illinois Pekin High School n Mike Price 15 G/F 6 3 195 JR Indianapolis, Indiana Arsenal Technical High School y Mike Price (basketball) Brad Richardson 20 F 6 4 210 SO Olney, Illinois East Richland High School n Randy Crews 30 F 6 5 220 JR Kankakee, Illinois Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School n Greg Jackson 31 C 6 8 255 SO Chicago, Illinois St. Philip High School n Les Busboom 32 G 6 4 195 SR Royal, Illinois St. Joseph-Ogden High School n Jodie Harrison 33 G 6 3 195 SR Streator, Illinois Streator High School n Denny Pace 34 G/F 6 3 175 SR Collinsville, Illinois Collinsville High School n Dave Scholz 40 F/C 6 8 220 SR Decatur, Illinois Stephen Decatur High School y C Bob Shapland 43 G 6 2 180 SO Champaign, Illinois Central High School n Ron Armbrust 44 G 6 1 180 JR Lincoln, Illinois Lincoln High School n Harv Schmidt (University of Illinois) (2nd year) Dick Campbell (2nd year) Jim Wright (University of Illinois) (10th year) https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1968-69 Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1968-69 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 , FightingIllini.com yes yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season 12/2/1968 yes 1968 Butler Bulldogs Butler Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 105-66 11,833 1-0 12/6/1968 yes yes 1968 Creighton Bluejays Creighton Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, NE 69-66 9,240 2-0 12/9/1968 yes 1968 University of North Dakota North Dakota Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 83-51 11,795 3-0 12/14/1968 yes Iowa State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 75-48 10,051 4-0 12/17/1968 yes Ohio Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 95-82 10,031 5-0 12/19/1968 yes 1968 Tulane Green Wave Tulane Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 105-71 10,252 6-0 12/21/1968 yes yes 20 1968 Houston Cougars Houston Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX 97-84 5,200 7-0 12/27/1968 12 yes yes Creighton Miami Beach Convention Center Miami, FL Hurricane Classic 90-77 2,093 8-0 12/28/1968 12 yes yes 1968 Miami Hurricanes Miami (FL) Miami Beach Convention Center Miami, FL Hurricane Classic 86-76 2,486 9-0 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season 1/4/1969 8 1968 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 80-58 16,128 10-0 1-0 1/7/1969 4 yes Purdue Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN 84-98 14,123 10-1 1-1 1/11/1969 4 yes 12 1968 Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern McGaw Memorial Hall Evanston, IL Rivalry 82-77 OT 8,388 11-1 2-1 1/25/1969 8 yes 15 yes Notre Dame Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL 83-86 18,000 12-1 1/28/1969 7 yes 12 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State St. John Arena Columbus, OH 67-76 13,374 12-2 2-2 2/1/1969 7 Wisconsin Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 86-73 15,740 13-2 3-2 2/8/1969 10 Iowa Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 98-69 16,128 14-2 4-2 2/11/1969 10 yes Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI 87-92 8,113 14-3 4-3 2/15/1969 10 yes Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 70-75 7,020 14-4 4-4 2/18/1969 19 10 Ohio State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 73-57 16,128 15-4 5-4 2/23/1969 19 Michigan Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 100-92 16,128 16-4 6-4 2/25/1969 15 yes Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA Rivalry 53-74 13,700 16-5 6-5 3/1/1969 15 yes Indiana New Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN Rivalry 77-64 5,425 17-5 7-5 3/4/1969 20 Michigan State Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 71-57 14,912 18-5 8-5 3/8/1969 20 Northwestern Assembly Hall Champaign, IL Rivalry 78-68 16,128 19-5 9-5 |- Central Time Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws Rebounds PointsDave Scholzhttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html Season Stats 2013-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 dead 2418197209459Greg Jacksonhttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html Season Stats 2013-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 dead 2416368200394Mike Pricehttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html Season Stats 2013-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 dead 2412058163298Jodie Harrisonhttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html Season Stats 2013-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 dead 24878096254Fred Millerhttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html Season Stats 2013-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 dead 22445564254Denny Pacehttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html Season Stats 2013-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 dead 24562786139Randy Crewshttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html Season Stats 2013-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 dead 24434682132Rick Howathttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html Season Stats 2013-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 dead 2234101478Bob Windmillerhttp://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html Season Stats 2013-12-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232155/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/records/year-1968.html 2013-12-30 dead 1523101456Les Busboom 10561116Bob Shapland 83036Brad Richardson 813105 Awards and honors Dave Scholz Team Most Valuable Player http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ill/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/05_mbb_guide_06.pdf List of MVPs 2013-12-30 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) 3rd team All-American (AP) Honorable Mention All-American (Converse) Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round PickSteve Kuberski*Boston Celtics49Dave ScholzPhiladelphia 76ers413Rich Jones*Phoenix Suns51Jodie HarrisonBaltimore Bullets1561969 NBA Draft *Kuberski transferred to Bradley to finish his eligibility due to the "Slush-Fund" scandal of 1966. *Jones transferred to Memphis State to finish his eligibility due to the "Slush-Fund" scandal of 1966. Rankings 1968–69 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Illinois Fighting Illini Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball seasons Category:1968 in sports in Illinois Category:1969 in sports in Illinois