1973–74 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1973–74 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. Not ranked
AP No. Not ranked
1973–74 record 5–18 (2–12 Big Ten)
Head coach Harv Schmidt
Assistant coach Dick Campbell
Assistant coach Marshall Stoner
Assistant coach Jodie Harrison/Bob Brown
MVP Rick Schmidt
Captain Jeff Dawson
Home arena Assembly Hall
1973–74 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#9 Indiana 12 2   .857     23 5   .821
#6 Michigan 12 2   .857     22 5   .815
#11 Purdue 10 4   .714     21 9   .700
Wisconsin 8 6   .571     16 8   .667
Michigan State 8 6   .571     13 11   .542
Minnesota 6 8   .429     12 12   .500
Iowa 5 9   .357     8 16   .333
Ohio State 4 10   .286     9 15   .375
Northwestern 3 11   .214     9 15   .375
Illinois 2 12   .143     5 18   .217
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973–74 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

The 1973-74 Fighting Illini men's basketball team had done something that no other Illinois team in history had accomplished, finishing last in the Big Ten, tenth place. In the history of the school, Illinois has only had one worse finish, the 1998-99 season, where they ended the year in eleventh place. However, the 1998-99 team played for the Big Ten Tournament championship, losing to Michigan State in the championship game.

The 1973-74 season also witnessed the conclusion of a very difficult tenure at the position of head coach. Harv Schmidt, a former player turned head coach, finished his seventh season at Illinois with an overall record of 89 wins and 77 losses. Unfortunately for Schmidt, several situations contributed to his demise, most of the problems being not of his doing. He was a disciplinarian and demanded attention to detail. He worked his players hard yet he was fair and considerate of their needs. Schmidt had high expectations from his team and set a good example by working as hard as he expected his players to work.

Team

No. Player Hometown High School Class Position
10 Garvin Roberson Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart Central High School Sr. Guard
11 Dave Roberts Maywood, Illinois, Proviso East High School Jr. Guard
14 C.J. Schroeder Davenport, Iowa Davenport West High School Jr. Guard
15 Tom Carmichael Rochelle, Illinois Rochelle Township High School Sr. Center
20 Dennis Graff Gibson City, Illinois Gibson City High School So. Guard
22 Howie Johnson Marshall, Illinois Marshall High School Fr. Guard
24 Jeff Dawson Oak Park, Illinois Downers Grove North High School Sr. Guard
25 Donn Deputy Pekin, Illinois Pekin High School Jr. Forward
30 Mike Wente Effingham, Illinois St. Anthony High School Sr. Center
31 Mark Bondeson Des Plaines, Illinois Maine East High School So. Forward
32 Rick Schmidt Royal, Illinois St. Joseph-Ogden High School Jr. Forward
33 Otho Tucker Paris, Illinois Paris High School So. Guard
41 Dave Smith Clarendon Hills, Illinois Hinsdale Central High School So. Forward/Center
42 Tim Bushell Lincoln, Illinois Lincoln Community High School Fr. Forward/Guard
43 Brad Farnham Paris, Illinois Paris High School Fr. Forward
53 Bill Rucks Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan High School So. Forward
54 Mike Dempsey Moline, Illinois Moline High School Fr. Center

Schedule

Source[2]

Date
Time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
11/30/1973*
no, no
@ #15 Arizona L 80-101  0 - 1
McKale Center (13,658)
Tucson, AZ

12/3/1973*
no, no
vs. Tulane W 99-78  1 - 1
Assembly Hall (5,676)
Champaign, IL

12/8/1973*
no, no
vs. Southern California L 60-71  1 - 2
Assembly Hall (6,450)
Champaign, IL

12/11/1973*
no, no
vs. Detroit W 64-60  2 - 2
Assembly Hall (6,121)
Champaign, IL

12/14/1973*
no, no
vs. Northern Michigan W 82-72  3 - 2
Assembly Hall (5,617)
Champaign, IL

12/27/1973*
no, no
vs. St. Johns
ECAC Holiday Festival
L 60-76  3 - 3
Madison Square Garden (8,403)
New York, NY

12/29/1973*
no, no
vs. Duquesne
ECAC Holiday Festival
L 83-85  3 - 4
Madison Square Garden (-)
New York, NY

1/5/1974
no, no
@ Ohio State W 75-73  4 - 4 ( 1 - 0 )
St. John Arena (10,641)
Columbus, OH

1/12/1974
no, no
vs. Purdue L 69-91  4 - 5 ( 1 - 1 )
Assembly Hall (7,163)
Champaign, IL

1/14/1974
no, no
vs. Michigan State L 82-90  4 - 6 ( 1 - 2 )
Assembly Hall (4,685)
Champaign, IL

1/19/1974
no, no
@ #19 Wisconsin L 75-101  4 - 7 ( 1 - 3 )
Wisconsin Field House (9,173)
Madison, WI

1/24/1974*
no, no
vs. Bradley L 88-105  4 - 8
Chicago Stadium (4,415)
Chicago, IL

1/26/1974*
no, no
vs. Jacksonville L 86-89  4 - 9
Chicago Stadium (-)
Chicago, IL

1/28/1974
no, no
@ Michigan State L 82-93  4 - 10 ( 1 - 4 )
Jenison Fieldhouse (6,758)
East Lansing, MI

2/2/1974
no, no
vs. #20 Michigan L 77-101  4 - 11 ( 1 - 5 )
Assembly Hall (7,771)
Champaign, IL

2/9/1974
no, no
@ #12 Indiana L 67-107  4 - 12 ( 1 - 6 )
Assembly Hall (17,054)
Bloomington, IN

2/11/1974
no, no
@ Minnesota L 61-80  4 - 13 ( 1 - 7 )
Williams Arena (10,925)
Minneapolis, MN

2/16/1974
no, no
@ Northwestern L 75-86  4 - 14 ( 1 - 8 )
Welsh-Ryan Arena (3,798)
Evanston, IL

2/18/1974
no, no
vs. #12 Indiana L 83-101  4 - 15 ( 1 - 9 )
Assembly Hall (7,368)
Champaign, IL

2/23/1974
no, no
vs. Iowa W 91-84  5 - 15 ( 2 - 9 )
Assembly Hall (7,667)
Champaign, IL

2/25/1974
no, no
vs. Minnesota L 52-72  5 - 16 ( 2 - 10 )
Assembly Hall (7,720)
Champaign, IL

3/2/1974
no, no
@ Purdue L 83-94  5 - 17 ( 2 - 11 )
Mackey Arena (10,307)
West Lafayette, IN

3/9/1974
no, no
vs. Ohio State L 78-79  5 - 18 ( 2 - 12 )
Assembly Hall (7,697)
Champaign, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Player stats

Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Rebounds Assists Points
Rick Schmidt[3] 2319111116534493
Jeff Dawson[4]23173724173418
Dennis Graff[5] 18125501813162
Dave Roberts[6] 2342377522121
Tom Carmichael[7] 23482112717117

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round Pick Player NBA Club
9168Jeff DawsonKansas City Kings

[9]

References

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