Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is included in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area.
The State Farm Center is a large dome-shaped 15,544-seat indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The arena hosts games for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, women's basketball, and wrestling teams. It also doubles as a performance and event center, and is one of the largest venues between Chicago and St. Louis. It opened in 1963 and was known until 2013 as Assembly Hall until State Farm Insurance acquired naming rights as part of a major renovation project.
Louis Ray Henson was an American college basketball coach. He retired as the all-time leader in victories at the University of Illinois with 423 victories and New Mexico State with 289 victories. Overall, Henson won 779 games putting him in sixteenth place on the all-time list. Henson was also one of only four NCAA coaches to have amassed at least 200 total wins at two institutions. On February 17, 2015, Henson was selected as a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. In August 2015, prior to the reopening of the newly renovated State Farm Center at the University of Illinois, the hardwood floor was dedicated and renamed Lou Henson Court in his honor. The court at the Pan American Center at New Mexico State University is also named in his honor.
Frank Lowell Williams is an American former professional basketball player. As a point guard, Williams was drafted out of the University of Illinois with the 25th overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.
Daniel "Dee" Brown is an American former professional basketball player and current college coach. Brown played at the University of Illinois from 2002 to 2006, receiving numerous awards and accolades, including the 2005 Sporting News National Player of the Year. Brown was selected in the second round of the 2006 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. Brown played for several international basketball teams from 2007 to 2015.
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.
Harry Combes, a native of Monticello, Illinois, served as head men's basketball coach at University of Illinois between 1947 and 1967.
Manual Academy is a public high school located in the south end of Peoria, Illinois. It is the southernmost of the three city high schools operated by the Peoria Public Schools.
James Earl Collins was an American basketball player and coach. He was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, where he attended Corcoran High School. Collins was the head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1996 to 2010, becoming the program's all-time winningest coach and leading UIC to its first-ever postseason appearances - NCAA tournament appearances in 1998, 2002 and 2004, and an NIT showing in 2003.
The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference, that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Home games are played at the State Farm Center, located on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's campus in Champaign. Illinois has one pre-tournament national championship and one non-NCAA tournament national championship in 1915 and 1943, awarded by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Illinois has appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 32 times, and has competed in 5 Final Fours, 9 Elite Eights, and has won 18 Big Ten regular season championships.
Ronald Yngve Bontemps was an American basketball player who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was born in Taylorville, Illinois, and attended Beloit College. He was a captain of the United States men's basketball team, which won the gold medal in the 1952 Olympic Games. He played in all eight games. Bontemps died on May 13, 2017, in Peoria, Illinois, aged 90.
Douglas Raymond "Gaga" Mills, a native of Elgin, Illinois, was a high school and college basketball player and coach in the state of Illinois. During high school, Mills was the first player in the state to lead his team to back-to-back titles in 1924 and 1925. He totaled 32 points in four state tournament games for Elgin High School during an era of low-scoring play. Mills played for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team from 1927 to 1930 followed by a five-year coaching stint at Joliet Township High School. He led his Joliet team to the state tournament in 1935. He returned to the U of I as head men's basketball coach from 1936 to 1947. He coached the famous "Whiz Kids" and also served as the Fighting Illini's athletic director. Mills died in 1993.
The 2014–15 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by third-year head coach John Groce, the Illini played their home games at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 19–14, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten tournament to Michigan. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Alabama.
The 2015–16 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team will represent University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Illini, led by fourth year head coach Matt Bollant, play their home games at the State Farm Center and are members of the Big Ten Conference. In November 2015, Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois will host Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball for five games while renovations to the State Farm Center was completed. They finished the season 9–21, 2–16 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten women's tournament to Penn State.
The Illinois–Indiana men's basketball rivalry is an intra-Big Ten Conference, college sports rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Indiana Hoosiers. Multiple factors have played into the creation of the games between the two schools; Illinois and Indiana share a state border and are located about 153 miles (246 km) apart, they share recruiting ground, and for many decades both teams played in a facility named Assembly Hall.
The 2016–17 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fifth-year head coach John Groce, the Illini played their home games at State Farm Center as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 20–15, 8–10 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten tournament to Michigan. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Valparaiso and Boise State before losing in the Quarterfinals to UCF.
The 2017–18 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by first-year head coach Brad Underwood, the Illini played their home games at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 14–18, 4–14 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for 11th place. As the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the first round to Iowa.
The Illinois–Iowa men's basketball rivalry is an intra-Big Ten Conference, college sports rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Iowa Hawkeyes. Multiple factors have played into the creation of the games between the two schools; Illinois and Iowa share a state border and are located about 242 miles (389 km) apart, and they share recruiting ground. The rivalry has been evidenced both on the court and off the court. Among the off the court elements of the rivalry, recruiting of basketball talent has resulted in battles for specific athletes. The most notable battle turned into the Pearl/Thomas Incident which began when both schools sought the services of Deon Thomas and resulted in recruiting restrictions and a one-year post-season ban for Illinois.
Adam Miller Jr. is an American college basketball player for the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pac-12 Conference. He previously played for the Illinois Fighting Illini and LSU Tigers.
Da'Monte Williams is an American former professional basketball player. Williams previously played professionally for U.D. Oliveirense. Williams played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference.
