John Graham "Red" Kerr was an American basketball player, coach, and color commentator. He played in the NBA from 1954 to 1966, mainly as a member of the Syracuse Nationals. He later held several coaching and administrative positions before embarking on a thirty-three-year career as a television color commentator for the Chicago Bulls.
Nelison “Nick” Anderson is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings, and Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Thomas Dwight "Dike" Eddleman was an American athlete who was generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of athletics at the University of Illinois. Eddleman participated on the university's basketball, track and field, and football teams between the years of 1942 and 1949. Eddleman earned a combined 11 varsity letters in his career at the university, during which he also became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Eddleman was born in Centralia, Illinois, and attended Centralia High School. On October 24, 2008, Eddleman was named a Distinguished Alumni of Centralia High school. He, along with five others, including James Brady, were the first to be named Distinguished Alumni. His wife, Teddy Eddleman, accepted his award.
Kendall Cedric Gill is an American former professional basketball player who now works as a television basketball analyst.
Andrew Michael "Handy Andy" Phillip was an American professional basketball player. Born in Granite City, Illinois, Phillip had an 11-year career and played for the Chicago Stags of the Basketball Association of America and the Philadelphia Warriors, Fort Wayne Pistons and Boston Celtics, of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Donald E. Freeman is an American former professional basketball player. He spent eight seasons (1967–1975) in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and one season (1975–1976) in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Freeman was the youngest of four children.
Bruce Douglas is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'3" guard, he played varsity basketball for Quincy Senior High School four years, and was a four-year starter at the University of Illinois. He also briefly played professionally with the Sacramento Kings and in the CBA.
Deon La velle Thomas is an American-Israeli former basketball player. As a high school player, he led his team to the Chicago Public League title, and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball. As a college player at the University of Illinois, he finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Illini history. Selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 28th selection of the 1994 NBA Draft, he opted to play professional basketball in Europe and Israel.
Kenneth Darnel Norman is an American former professional basketball player. After graduating from Crane High School in Chicago, Kenny was an outstanding forward for the Illinois Fighting Illini who was selected 19th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers of the 1987 NBA Draft. Norman was elected to the "Illinois Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004. He earned the nickname, "Snake", that he kept throughout his college and professional careers, as a youth playing basketball at Touhy-Herbert Park, on Chicago's West Side.
Kenneth R. Battle is an American former professional basketball player.
Edward Arnet Johnson is an American former professional basketball player who spent 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a year in the Greek Basket League midway through his career. With nearly 1,200 games in the NBA, he scored the second-most career points among players who never played in an NBA All-Star Game, behind Jamal Crawford. As of the 2018–19 season, he is ranked 52nd in all-time points scored, and ranked fifth-most in points scored by an eligible player not in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. As of 2019 he is the co-host of NBA Today, which airs weekdays on Sirius XM NBA Radio and also is the play-by-play TV analyst for the Phoenix Suns on Bally Sports Arizona.
Don J. Sunderlage was an American basketball player.
Duane W. "Skip" Thoren is an American former professional basketball player. At a height of 6 ft 10 in tall, he played at the center position.
Gary Lee "Tex" Bradds was an American basketball player. After a successful college career at Ohio State, where he was the 1964 College Player of the Year, he played an integral role with the 1968–69 Oakland Oaks, the American Basketball Association champions. He attended Greeneview High School, where he scored 61 points in a game. The school's gym is named in his honor.
The 1962–63 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illiniois.
Jenna Smith is an American former professional basketball center. She was drafted in the second round of the 2010 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics, having previously played college basketball for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini where she earned First team All-Big Ten honors in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2016, she was named assistant coach of the Indiana State Sycamores women's basketball team.
The 1961–62 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
Govoner Vaughn was a former high school, college and professional basketball player during the 1950s & 60s. Vaughn led Edwardsville High School to a fourth-place finish in the I.H.S.A. 1954 high school playoffs, as well as a second-place finish in 1956 to defending champion, Rockford West. Vaughn played in eight career state playoff games over two seasons, and his 92 points were all scored during the 1956 tournament. He, along with his teammate, Mannie Jackson, were named first-team all-tournament.
James C. Dawson is an American former professional basketball point guard who played one season in the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a member of the Indiana Pacers during the 1967–68 season. He attended University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign where he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls during the 16th round of the 1967 NBA draft, but he did not play for them.
John M. Wessels was an American college basketball standout for Illinois in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A center, Wessels averaged 13.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in his three years of varsity basketball for the Fighting Illini, earning a varsity letter each year. Graduating from Rockford West High School, Wessels led the Warriors to the IHSA state championship during consecutive seasons in 1955 and 1956.
