1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	12–12 (8–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Harry Combes (19th season);
Assistant coaches	Howie Braun (29th season); Jim Wright (8th season);
MVP	Don Freeman
Captain	Don Freeman
Home arena	Assembly Hall
	Seasons ← 1964–65 1966–67 →

1965–66 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 9 Michigan	11	–	3	.786	18	–	8	.692
Michigan State	10	–	4	.714	15	–	7	.682
Iowa	8	–	6	.571	17	–	7	.708
Illinois	8	–	6	.571	12	–	12	.500
Minnesota	7	–	7	.500	14	–	10	.583
Northwestern	7	–	7	.500	12	–	12	.500
Wisconsin	6	–	8	.429	11	–	13	.458
Ohio State	5	–	9	.357	11	–	13	.458
Indiana	4	–	10	.286	8	–	16	.333
Purdue	4	–	10	.286	8	–	16	.333

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season

Harry Combes entered his 19th season as the head coach of the Fighting Illini. The program was heading in a positive direction with six up-and-coming sophomores joining a varsity team that already included five juniors and five seniors. This balance was demonstrated within the starting lineup which included a rotation of two sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. The starters included, Don Freeman and Rich Jones as forwards, Preston Pearson and Bob Brown as guards, and Ron Dunlap at center.

It was during this season that Freeman would mark his place in Illini history by setting a record for most points in a season (668), while averaging 27.8 points per game. When he finished at Illinois, he had totaled 1449 points and averaged 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game over his three varsity seasons. This offensive output led to Freeman being named a 1st-team All-American by the Helms Foundation, a 2nd-team All-American by Converse and Basketball News, and honorable mention with UPI,

Roster

1965–66 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	10	John Prescott	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Lake Forest High School	Lake Forest, Illinois
G	11	Benny Louis	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	So	Pinckneyville Community High School	Pinckneyville, Illinois
G	12	Greg Wright	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Homewood-Flossmoor High School	Glenwood, Illinois
G/F	14	Jerry Mettille	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Morris Community High School	Morris, Illinois
G	15	Donnie Freeman (C)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Madison High School	Madison, Illinois
F	20	Rich Crusius	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	So	Bloomington High School	Bloomington, Illinois
F	21	Bob Johansen	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Geneva High School	Geneva, Illinois
G	24	Jim Dawson	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	York High School	Elmhurst, Illinois
G	25	Preston Pearson	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Freeport High School	Freeport, Illinois
F	30	Deon Flessner	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Fithian High School	Fithian, Illinois
G	22	Jim Vopicka	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Morton West High School	Brookfield, Illinois
F/C	33	Rich Jones	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Lester High School	Memphis, Tennessee
C	35	Ron Dunlap	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Farragut Academy	Chicago, Illinois
G/F	40	Bob Brown	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	P. S. Dupont High School	Wilmington, DE
F	43	Larry Hinton	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Shelbyville High School	Shelbyville, Illinois
F	44	Mike Graville	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Madison High School	Madison, Illinois
F	54	Dan Lee	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Attica High School	Attica, Indiana

Head coach

Harry Combes (University of Illinois) (19th year)

Assistant coach(es)

Howie Braun (University of Illinois) (29th year)
Jim Wright (University of Illinois) (8th year)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule

Source^[1]

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/1/1965* no, no	Butler	W 88-74	1-0	Assembly Hall (9,167) Champaign, IL
12/3/1965* no, no	at BYU	L 98-109	1-1	Marriott Center (11,488) Provo, Utah
12/4/1965* no, no	at No. 1 UCLA	L 79-97	1-2	Pauley Pavilion (12,365) Los Angeles, CA
12/8/1965* no, no	Kentucky	L 68-86	1-3	Assembly Hall (7,966) Champaign, IL
12/11/1965* no, no	West Virginia	W 96-86	2-3	Assembly Hall (6,251) Champaign, IL
12/14/1965 no, no	at Wisconsin	W 90-70	3-3 (1-0)	Wisconsin Field House (8,206) Madison, WI
12/18/1965* no, no	vs. Princeton	L 81-84	3-4	Chicago Stadium (6,038) Chicago, IL
12/27/1965* no, no	vs. Georgetown ECAC Holiday Festival	W 96-94	4-4	Madison Square Garden (8,757) New York, NY
12/28/1965* no, no	vs. No. 10 Providence ECAC Holiday Festival	L 79-81	4-5	Madison Square Garden (12,239) New York, NY
12/30/1965* no, no	vs. Army ECAC Holiday Festival	L 69-78	4-6	Madison Square Garden (18,499) New York, NY
Big Ten regular season
1/8/1966 no, no	at Indiana Rivalry	W 98-84	5-6 (2-0)	New Fieldhouse (7,502) Bloomington, IN
1/11/1966 no, no	Wisconsin	W 80-64	6-6 (3-0)	Assembly Hall (6,127) Champaign, IL
1/15/1966 no, no	at Purdue	L 87-93	6-7 (3-1)	Mackey Arena (8,936) West Lafayette, IN
1/28/1966* no, no	vs. Notre Dame	W 120-92	7-7	Chicago Stadium (18,183) Chicago, IL
2/1/1966 no, no	at No. 4 Michigan	W 99-93	8-7 (4-1)	Crisler Arena (9,544) Ann Arbor, MI
2/5/1966 no, no	Ohio State	W 78-77	9-7 (5-1)	Assembly Hall (9,838) Champaign, IL
2/7/1966 no, no	Northwestern Rivalry	L 77-80	9-8 (5-2)	Assembly Hall (7,695) Champaign, IL
2/12/1966 no, no	Indiana Rivalry	L 77-81	9-9 (5-3)	Assembly Hall (8,175) Champaign, IL
2/19/1966 no, no	Minnesota	W 100-89	10-9 (6-3)	Assembly Hall (8,643) Champaign, IL
2/22/1966 no, no	at Michigan State	L 66-68	10-10 (6-4)	Jenison Fieldhouse (10,484) East Lansing, MI
2/26/1966 no, no	at Minnesota	L 92-94	10-11 (6-5)	Williams Arena (7,340) Minneapolis, MN
2/28/1966 no, no	Purdue	W 98-81	11-11 (7-5)	Assembly Hall (6,207) Champaign, IL
3/5/1966 no, no	Iowa Rivalry	W 106-90	12-11 (8-5)	Assembly Hall (9,592) Champaign, IL
3/7/1966 no, no	at Northwestern Rivalry	L 76-84	12-12 (8-6)	McGaw Memorial Hall (4,800) Evanston, 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	Points
Don Freeman^[2]	24	258	152	285	668
Rich Jones^[3]	24	206	96	265	508
Jim Dawson^[4]	24	163	42	100	368
Deon Flessner^[5]	24	48	38	127	134
Bob Brown^[6]	15	44	24	42	112
Preston Pearson^[7]	22	38	30	68	106
Ron Dunlap^[8]	23	28	32	109	88
Bob Johansen^[9]	20	27	11	37	65
Larry Hinton^[10]	20	12	7	13	31
Benny Louis^[11]	15	4	4	12	12
Jerry Mettile^[12]	6	2	2	2	6
Mike Graville	1	0	0	0	0

Awards and honors

Don Freeman
- Team Most Valuable Player ^[13]
- 1st team All-American (Helms)
- 2nd team All-American (Converse)
- 2nd team All-American (Basketball News)
- Honorable Mention All-American (UPI)
Rich Jones
- Honorable Mention All-American (Converse)

Team players drafted into the NBA

Player	NBA Club	Round	Pick
Don Freeman	Philadelphia 76ers	3	9

^[14]

Rankings

References

^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1965-66 Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
^ 1966 NBA Draft Archived 2014-01-17 at the Wayback Machine

[1] University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1965-66 Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com

[2] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[3] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[4] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[5] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[6] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[7] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[8] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[9] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[10] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[11] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[12] Season Stats Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine

[13] "List of MVPs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.

[14] 1966 NBA Draft Archived 2014-01-17 at the Wayback Machine

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

v t e Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Venues	Kenney Gym (1906–1925) Huff Hall (1926–1963) State Farm Center (1963–present) Prairie Capital Convention Center (2015)
Rivalries	Indiana Iowa Missouri Northwestern
Culture & lore	Whiz Kids Flyin' Illini Orange Krush Fighting Illini Sports Network Oskee Wow-Wow Illinois Loyalty Chief Illiniwek 1960s slush fund scandal
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics