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1972–73 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

April 12, 2024

The 1972–73 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

1972–73 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record14–10 (8–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Dick Campbell
  • Marshall Stoner
MVPNick Weatherspoon
CaptainNick Weatherspoon
Home arenaAssembly Hall
Seasons
1972–73 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Indiana 11 – 3   .786 22 – 6   .786
No. 10 Minnesota 10 – 4   .714 21 – 5   .808
Purdue 8 – 6   .571 15 – 9   .625
Illinois 8 – 6   .571 14 – 10   .583
Ohio State 8 – 6   .571 14 – 10   .583
Iowa 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542
Michigan 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542
Michigan State 6 – 8   .429 13 – 11   .542
Wisconsin 5 – 9   .357 11 – 13   .458
Northwestern 2 – 12   .143 5 – 19   .208
Rankings from AP Poll
"1972-73 Fighting Illini men's basketball team"

Regular season edit

Head coach Harv Schmidt entered his sixth season with the Fighting Illini with high expectations. The 1971-72 team returned one of the top senior athletes in the country, Nick Weatherspoon. As a sophomore, Weatherspoon scored 381 points, averaging 16.5 points per game, while collecting 246 rebounds. His junior year was even better, scoring 500 total points, averaging 20.8 points and pulling down 262 rebounds. Nothing, however, would be better than Weatherspoon's senior year. During this season he would score 600 points, averaging 25.0 points per game, while amassing 295 total rebounds. Weatherspoon remains as number 11 on the all-time leading scores list at the University of Illinois, only surpassed by players that completed four years of varsity basketball. His three year average of 20.9 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game still remain number one for the Fighting Illini.

The 1972-73 team's starting lineup included Weatherspoon and Rick Schmidt at the forward spots, Jeff Dawson and Otho Tucker as guards and Nick Conner at center. The roster included the teams first 7 foot tall player, Bill Rucks a freshman from Waukegan High School.

Roster edit

1972–73 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 10 Garvin Roberson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Elkhart Central High School Elkhart, Indiana
G 11 Dave Roberts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Proviso East High School Maywood, Illinois
F 12 Nick Weatherspoon (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr McKinley High School Canton, Ohio
G 14 C.J. Schroeder 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Davenport West High School Davenport, Iowa
G 20 Dennis Graff 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Gibson City High School Gibson City, Illinois
G 21 Larry Cohen 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr New Trier East High School Wilmette, Illinois
G 22 Rich Connell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr St. Joseph-Ogden High School St. Joseph, Illinois
G 24 Jeff Dawson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Downers Grove North High School Oak Park, Illinois
G 25 Donn Deputy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Pekin High School Pekin, Illinois
F 30 Mike Wente 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr St. Anthony High School Effingham, Illinois
F 31 Mark Bondeson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Maine East High School Des Plaines, Illinois
F 32 Rick Schmidt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So St. Joseph-Ogden High School Royal, Illinois
G 33 Otho Tucker 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Paris High School Paris, Illinois
F 40 John McBride 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Carl Sandburg High School Orland Park, Illinois
F/C 41 Dave Smith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Hinsdale Central High School Clarendon Hills, Illinois
F 42 Jim Rucks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Waukegan High School Waukegan, Illinois
F 44 Jed Foster 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Fairfield High School Fairfield, Illinois
F/C 45 Nick Conner 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr East High School Columbus, Ohio
C 53 Bill Rucks 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Waukegan High School Waukegan, Illinois
C 54 Jim DeDecker 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Alleman High School Moline, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

All-Time Illini Roster

Source[1] [2]

Schedule edit

Source[3]

Date
time, TV 		Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/2/1972*
no, no 		DePauw W 100-68  1 - 0
 Assembly Hall (8,755)
Champaign, IL
12/4/1972*
no, no 		Valparaiso W 80-62  2 - 0
 Assembly Hall (8,326)
Champaign, IL
12/9/1973*
no, no 		@ Detroit L 77-79 ot 2 - 1
 Calihan Hall (2,651)
Detroit, MI
12/13/1972*
no, no 		Iowa State W 74-60  3 - 1
 Assembly Hall (8,501)
Champaign, IL
12/19/1972*
no, no 		Furman W 86-81  4 - 1
 Assembly Hall (9,418)
Champaign, IL
12/22/1972*
no, no 		@ Southern California L 72-75  4 - 2
 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (3,472)
Los Angeles, CA
12/29/1972*
no, no 		Temple
Sugar Bowl Classic 		W 82-77  5 - 2
 Municipal Auditorium (6,975)
New Orleans, LA
12/30/1972*
no, no 		#1 UCLA
Sugar Bowl Classic 		L 64-71  5 - 3
 Municipal Auditorium (7,123)
New Orleans, LA
Big Ten regular season
1/6/1973
no, no 		@ Purdue L 80-91  5 - 4 ( 0 - 1 )
 Mackey Arena (11,684)
West Lafayette, IN
1/8/1973
no, no 		Wisconsin W 76-74  6 - 4 ( 1 - 1 )
 Assembly Hall (8,607)
Champaign, IL
1/13/1973
no, no 		Iowa
Rivalry 		W 80-78  7 - 4 ( 2 - 1 )
 Assembly Hall (9,916)
Champaign, IL
1/25/1973*
no, no 		Notre Dame W 87-84  8 - 4
 Chicago Stadium (15,817)
Chicago, IL
1/27/1973*
no, no 		South Carolina L 76-86  8 - 5
 Assembly Hall (6,000)
Champaign, IL
2/3/1973
no, no 		Michigan W 76-75  9 - 5 ( 3 - 1 )
 Assembly Hall (11,117)
Champaign, IL
2/5/1973
no, no 		@ Northwestern W 84-77  10 - 5 ( 4 - 1 )
 McGaw Memorial Hall (4,726)
Evanston, IL
2/10/1973
no, no 		@ Wisconsin L 88-99  10 - 6 ( 4 - 2 )
 Wisconsin Field House (8,231)
Madison, WI
2/12/1973
no, no 		@ #4 Indiana
Rivalry 		L 67-87  10 - 7 ( 4 - 3 )
 Assembly Hall (14,156)
Bloomington, IN
2/17/1973
no, no 		Ohio State W 79-68  11 - 7 ( 5 - 3 )
 Assembly Hall (11,892)
Champaign, IL
2/19/1973
no, no 		#4 Minnesota L 52-72  11 - 8 ( 5 - 4 )
 Assembly Hall (11,367)
Champaign, IL
2/24/1973
no, no 		Michigan State L 82-90  12 - 8 ( 6 - 4 )
 Assembly Hall (10,677)
Champaign, IL
2/26/1973
no, no 		@ Michigan W 96-89  13 - 8 ( 7 - 4 )
 Crisler Center (8,235)
Ann Arbor, MI
3/3/1973
no, no 		@ Ohio State L 64-65  13 - 9 ( 7 - 5 )
 St. John Arena (13,489)
Columbus, OH
3/5/1973
no, no 		Northwestern W 77-76  14 - 9 ( 7 - 5 )
 Assembly Hall (10,857)
Champaign, IL
3/10/1973
no, no 		@ Iowa
Rivalry 		L 76-93  14 - 10 ( 8 - 6 )
 Iowa Field House (12,353)
Iowa City, IA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats edit

Player Games Played Minutes Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Points
Nick Weatherspoon[4] 24 880 247 106 295 600
Jeff Dawson[5] 24 930 182 83 68 447
Nick Conner[6] 24 845 136 43 221 315
Otho Tucker[7] 24 822 92 53 79 237
Jed Foster[8] 24 487 38 37 99 113
Rick Schmidt[9] 23 471 39 10 90 88
C.J. Schroeder[10] 20 163 9 14 28 32
Dave Roberts[11] 15 8 94 9 7 25
Don Deputy 7 27 4 4 3 12
Bill Rucks 5 31 5 1 10 11
Larry Cohen 3 12 3 0 1 6
Garvin Roberts 8 38 1 2 4 4
Jim Rucks 3 31 1 2 1 4

Awards and honors edit

Team players drafted into the NBA edit

Player NBA Club Round Pick
Nick Weatherspoon Capitol Bullets 1 13
Jeff Dawson Golden State Warriors 8 11
Nick Conner Buffalo Braves 10 2

[13]

Rankings edit

Main article: 1972–73 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

References edit

  1. ^ Men's Basketball Roster
  2. ^ All-Time Illini Rosters All-Time Illini Rosters 2010-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1972-73 2013-12-16 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
  4. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  5. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  6. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  7. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  8. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  9. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  10. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  11. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  12. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  13. ^ 1973 NBA Draft 2014-06-30 at the Wayback Machine

April 12, 2024
1972, illinois, fighting, illini, basketball, team, represented, university, illinois, 1972, illinois, fighting, illini, basketballconferencebig, conferencerecord14, head, coachharv, schmidtassistant, coachesdick, campbell, marshall, stonermvpnick, weatherspoo. The 1972 73 Illinois Fighting Illini men s basketball team represented the University of Illinois 1972 73 Illinois Fighting Illini men s basketballConferenceBig Ten ConferenceRecord14 10 8 6 Big Ten Head coachHarv SchmidtAssistant coachesDick Campbell Marshall StonerMVPNick WeatherspoonCaptainNick WeatherspoonHome arenaAssembly HallSeasons 1971 721973 74 1972 73 Big Ten Conference men s basketball standings vte Conf OverallTeam W L PCT W L PCTNo 6 Indiana 11 3 786 22 6 786No 10 Minnesota 10 4 714 21 5 808Purdue 8 6 571 15 9 625Illinois 8 6 571 14 10 583Ohio State 8 6 571 14 10 583Iowa 6 8 429 13 11 542Michigan 6 8 429 13 11 542Michigan State 6 8 429 13 11 542Wisconsin 5 9 357 11 13 458Northwestern 2 12 143 5 19 208Rankings from AP Poll 1972 73 Fighting Illini men s basketball team Contents 1 Regular season 1 1 Roster 2 Schedule 3 Player stats 4 Awards and honors 5 Team players drafted into the NBA 6 Rankings 7 ReferencesRegular season editHead coach Harv Schmidt entered his sixth season with the Fighting Illini with high expectations The 1971 72 team returned one of the top senior athletes in the country Nick Weatherspoon As a sophomore Weatherspoon scored 381 points averaging 16 5 points per game while collecting 246 rebounds His junior year was even better scoring 500 total points averaging 20 8 points and pulling down 262 rebounds Nothing however would be better than Weatherspoon s senior year During this season he would score 600 points averaging 25 0 points per game while amassing 295 total rebounds Weatherspoon remains as number 11 on the all time leading scores list at the University of Illinois only surpassed by players that completed four years of varsity basketball His three year average of 20 9 points per game and 11 3 rebounds per game still remain number one for the Fighting Illini The 1972 73 team s starting lineup included Weatherspoon and Rick Schmidt at the forward spots Jeff Dawson and Otho Tucker as guards and Nick Conner at center The roster included the teams first 7 foot tall player Bill Rucks a freshman from Waukegan High School Roster edit 1972 73 Illinois Fighting Illini men s basketball teamPlayers CoachesPos Name Height Weight Year Previous school HometownG 10 Garvin Roberson 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m 190 lb 86 kg Jr Elkhart Central High School Elkhart IndianaG 11 Dave Roberts 6 ft 2 in 1 88 m 175 lb 79 kg So Proviso East High School Maywood IllinoisF 12 Nick Weatherspoon C 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 185 lb 84 kg Jr McKinley High School Canton OhioG 14 C J Schroeder 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m 195 lb 88 kg Jr Davenport West High School Davenport IowaG 20 Dennis Graff 6 ft 1 in 1 85 m 170 lb 77 kg Fr Gibson City High School Gibson City IllinoisG 21 Larry Cohen 6 ft 2 in 1 88 m 180 lb 82 kg Sr New Trier East High School Wilmette IllinoisG 22 Rich Connell 6 ft 1 in 1 85 m 175 lb 79 kg Fr St Joseph Ogden High School St Joseph IllinoisG 24 Jeff Dawson 6 ft 1 in 1 85 m 175 lb 79 kg Jr Downers Grove North High School Oak Park IllinoisG 25 Donn Deputy 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m 185 lb 84 kg Jr Pekin High School Pekin IllinoisF 30 Mike Wente 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 200 lb 91 kg Jr St Anthony High School Effingham IllinoisF 31 Mark Bondeson 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 180 lb 82 kg Fr Maine East High School Des Plaines IllinoisF 32 Rick Schmidt 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 205 lb 93 kg So St Joseph Ogden High School Royal IllinoisG 33 Otho Tucker 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 185 lb 84 kg So Paris High School Paris IllinoisF 40 John McBride 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 195 lb 88 kg Sr Carl Sandburg High School Orland Park IllinoisF C 41 Dave Smith 6 ft 7 in 2 01 m 200 lb 91 kg Fr Hinsdale Central High School Clarendon Hills IllinoisF 42 Jim Rucks 6 ft 3 in 1 91 m 215 lb 98 kg Sr Waukegan High School Waukegan IllinoisF 44 Jed Foster 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 205 lb 93 kg Sr Fairfield High School Fairfield IllinoisF C 45 Nick Conner 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 195 lb 88 kg Sr East High School Columbus OhioC 53 Bill Rucks 7 ft 0 in 2 13 m 250 lb 113 kg Fr Waukegan High School Waukegan IllinoisC 54 Jim DeDecker 6 ft 10 in 2 08 m 210 lb 95 kg Sr Alleman High School Moline Illinois Head coachHarv Schmidt University of Illinois 6th year Assistant coach es Dick Campbell 6th year Marshall Stoner Western Illinois University 1st year Legend C Team captain S Suspended I Ineligible W Walk on nbsp Injured nbsp Current redshirtAll Time Illini RosterSource 1 2 Schedule editSource 3 Datetime TV Opponent Result Record Site attendance city stateNon Conference regular season12 2 1972 no no DePauw W 100 68 1 0 Assembly Hall 8 755 Champaign IL12 4 1972 no no Valparaiso W 80 62 2 0 Assembly Hall 8 326 Champaign IL12 9 1973 no no Detroit L 77 79 ot 2 1 Calihan Hall 2 651 Detroit MI12 13 1972 no no Iowa State W 74 60 3 1 Assembly Hall 8 501 Champaign IL12 19 1972 no no Furman W 86 81 4 1 Assembly Hall 9 418 Champaign IL12 22 1972 no no Southern California L 72 75 4 2 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 3 472 Los Angeles CA12 29 1972 no no Temple Sugar Bowl Classic W 82 77 5 2 Municipal Auditorium 6 975 New Orleans LA12 30 1972 no no 1 UCLA Sugar Bowl Classic L 64 71 5 3 Municipal Auditorium 7 123 New Orleans LABig Ten regular season1 6 1973 no no Purdue L 80 91 5 4 0 1 Mackey Arena 11 684 West Lafayette IN1 8 1973 no no Wisconsin W 76 74 6 4 1 1 Assembly Hall 8 607 Champaign IL1 13 1973 no no Iowa Rivalry W 80 78 7 4 2 1 Assembly Hall 9 916 Champaign IL1 25 1973 no no Notre Dame W 87 84 8 4 Chicago Stadium 15 817 Chicago IL1 27 1973 no no South Carolina L 76 86 8 5 Assembly Hall 6 000 Champaign IL2 3 1973 no no Michigan W 76 75 9 5 3 1 Assembly Hall 11 117 Champaign IL2 5 1973 no no Northwestern W 84 77 10 5 4 1 McGaw Memorial Hall 4 726 Evanston IL2 10 1973 no no Wisconsin L 88 99 10 6 4 2 Wisconsin Field House 8 231 Madison WI2 12 1973 no no 4 Indiana Rivalry L 67 87 10 7 4 3 Assembly Hall 14 156 Bloomington IN2 17 1973 no no Ohio State W 79 68 11 7 5 3 Assembly Hall 11 892 Champaign IL2 19 1973 no no 4 Minnesota L 52 72 11 8 5 4 Assembly Hall 11 367 Champaign IL2 24 1973 no no Michigan State L 82 90 12 8 6 4 Assembly Hall 10 677 Champaign IL2 26 1973 no no Michigan W 96 89 13 8 7 4 Crisler Center 8 235 Ann Arbor MI3 3 1973 no no Ohio State L 64 65 13 9 7 5 St John Arena 13 489 Columbus OH3 5 1973 no no Northwestern W 77 76 14 9 7 5 Assembly Hall 10 857 Champaign IL3 10 1973 no no Iowa Rivalry L 76 93 14 10 8 6 Iowa Field House 12 353 Iowa City IA Non conference game Rankings from AP Poll Tournament seedings in parentheses All times are in Central Time Player stats editPlayer Games Played Minutes Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds PointsNick Weatherspoon 4 24 880 247 106 295 600Jeff Dawson 5 24 930 182 83 68 447Nick Conner 6 24 845 136 43 221 315Otho Tucker 7 24 822 92 53 79 237Jed Foster 8 24 487 38 37 99 113Rick Schmidt 9 23 471 39 10 90 88C J Schroeder 10 20 163 9 14 28 32Dave Roberts 11 15 8 94 9 7 25Don Deputy 7 27 4 4 3 12Bill Rucks 5 31 5 1 10 11Larry Cohen 3 12 3 0 1 6Garvin Roberts 8 38 1 2 4 4Jim Rucks 3 31 1 2 1 4Awards and honors editNick Weatherspoon 1st Team All American Helms Honorable Mention Converse Team Most Valuable Player 12 Team players drafted into the NBA editPlayer NBA Club Round PickNick Weatherspoon Capitol Bullets 1 13Jeff Dawson Golden State Warriors 8 11Nick Conner Buffalo Braves 10 2 13 Rankings editMain article 1972 73 NCAA Division I men s basketball rankingsReferences edit Men s Basketball Roster All Time Illini Rosters All Time Illini Rosters Archived 2010 04 22 at the Wayback Machine University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1972 73 Archived 2013 12 16 at the Wayback Machine FightingIllini com Season Stats pg 118 PDF Archived from the original PDF on July 8 2011 Retrieved December 13 2013 Season Stats pg 118 PDF Archived from the original PDF on July 8 2011 Retrieved December 13 2013 Season Stats pg 118 PDF Archived from the original PDF on July 8 2011 Retrieved December 13 2013 Season Stats pg 118 PDF Archived from the original PDF on July 8 2011 Retrieved December 13 2013 Season Stats pg 118 PDF Archived from the original PDF on July 8 2011 Retrieved December 13 2013 Season Stats pg 118 PDF Archived from the original PDF on July 8 2011 Retrieved December 13 2013 Season Stats pg 118 PDF Archived from the original PDF on July 8 2011 Retrieved December 13 2013 Season Stats pg 118 PDF Archived from the original PDF on July 8 2011 Retrieved December 13 2013 List of MVPs PDF Archived from the original PDF on October 30 2014 Retrieved December 13 2013 1973 NBA Draft Archived 2014 06 30 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1972 73 Illinois Fighting Illini men 27s basketball team amp oldid 1216608304, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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