1987–88 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

1987–88 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
1987–88 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
, Champion
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Second Round
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 16
1987–88 record	23–10 (12–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Lou Henson;
Assistant coaches	; Jimmy Collins; ;
MVP	Nick Anderson
MVP	Kenny Battle
Captain	; Jens Kujawa
Home arena	Assembly Hall
	Seasons ← 1986–87 1988–89 →

The 1987–88 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

Regular season[]

The 1987-88 season brought Lou Henson his 500th career victory and laid the foundation for what would be an incredible history making season in 1988-1989.

Roster[]

1987–88 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	11	Travis Smith	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Ridgway High School	Ridgway, Illinois
G	13	Kendall Gill	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Rich Central High School	Matteson, Illinois
G	15	Mark Shapland	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Monticello High School	Monticello, Illinois
G	21	Glynn Blackwell (C)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Highland Park Community High School	Highland Park, Michigan
G	23	Larry Smith	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Alton High School	Alton, Illinois
F	24	Ervin Small	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Simeon High School	Chicago, Illinois
G/F	25	Nick Anderson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Simeon High School	Chicago, Illinois
G	30	Eddie Manzke	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Marist High School	Orland Park, Illinois
F	32	Bob Starnes	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS Fr	St. Thomas Aquinas High School	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
F	33	Kenny Battle	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Jr	West Aurora High School	Aurora, Illinois
G/F	35	Stephen Bardo	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Carbondale Community High School	Carbondale, Illinois
F	40	Mike MacDonald	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Streamwood High School	Streamwood, Illinois
F	44	Phil Kunz	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	So		Carlyle, Illinois
F	45	Lowell Hamilton	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Providence St. Mel High School	Chicago, Illinois
F/C	50	Bryan Brickner	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Scales Mound High School	Scales Mound, Illinois
C	54	Jens Kujawa (C)	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jr	Taylorville High School	Braunschweig, West Germany

Head coach

Lou Henson (New Mexico State University) (13th year)

Assistant coach(es)

Jimmy Collins (New Mexico State) (5th year)
(Hardin-Simmons University) (7th year)
(New Mexico State) (3rd year)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

All-Time Illini Roster

Source^[1] ^[2]

Schedule[]

Source^[3]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-Conference regular season
11/27/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. Baylor Maui Invitational	W 73-50	1-0	Lahaina Civic Center (1,200) Maui, HI
11/28/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. Villanova Maui Invitational	L 76-78	1-1	Lahaina Civic Center (1,200) Maui, HI
11/29/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. #7 Kansas Maui Invitational	W 81-75	2-1	Lahaina Civic Center (1,000) Maui, HI
12/2/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. Chicago State	W 86-57	3-1	Assembly Hall (13,486) Champaign, IL
12/5/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. Mississippi Valley State	W 111-73	4-1	Assembly Hall (14,354) Champaign
12/8/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. Austin Peay	W 100-62	5-1	Assembly Hall (14,519) Champaign
12/11/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. Illinois-Chicago	W 109-53	6-1	Assembly Hall (13,653) Champaign, IL
12/12/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. Auburn Illini Classic	W 107-103 ^ot	7-1	Assembly Hall (14,847) Champaign, IL
12/19/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. North Carolina	L 74-85	7-2	Assembly Hall (16,712) Champaign, IL
12/22/1987* no, no	No. NR	vs. #17 Missouri Braggin' Rights	W 75-63	8-2	St. Louis Arena (18,224) St. Louis, MO
12/30/1987* no, no	No. NR	@ Colorado	W 86-68	9-2	Coors Events Center (8,241) Denver, CO

1/4/1988 no, no	No. NR	vs. #11 Purdue	L 68-81	9-3 (0-1)	Assembly Hall (16,654) Champaign, IL
1/7/1988 no, no	No. 19	@ Minnesota	W 65-61 ^ot	10-3 (1-1)	Williams Arena (10,988) Minneapolis, MN
1/9/1988 no, no	No. 19	vs. Michigan State	W 77-62	11-3 (2-1)	Assembly Hall (16,616) Champaign, IL
1/16/1988 no, no	No. 20	@ Wisconsin	W 80-65	12-3 (3-1)	Wisconsin Field House (11,068) Madison, WI
1/17/1988* no, no	No. 20	vs. Tennessee	W 103-79	13-3	Assembly Hall (15,386) Champaign, IL
1/21/1988 no, no	No. 13	@ #19 Iowa Rivalry	L 79-93	13-4 (3-2)	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, IA
1/23/1988 no, no	No. 13	vs. Northwestern	W 79-48	14-4 (4-2)	Assembly Hall (14,606) Champaign, IL
3/4/1987 no, no	No. 13	@ #8 Michigan	L 64-76	14-5 (4-3)	Crisler Arena (13,609) Ann Arbor, MI
1/30/1988* no, no	No. 13	@ #1 Arizona	L 70-78	14-6	McKale Center (13,227) Tucson, AZ
2/4/1988 no, no	No. 17	@ Ohio State	L 60-64	14-7 (4-4)	St. John Arena (13,320) Columbus, OH
2/6/1988 no, no	No. 17	vs. #3 Indiana Rivalry	L 74-75	14-8 (4-5)	Assembly Hall (16,671) Champaign, IL
2/11/1988 no, no	No. NR	vs. Minnesota	W 86-50	15-8 (5-5)	Assembly Hall (14,313) Champaign, IL
2/13/1988 no, no	No. NR	@ Michigan State	W 83-65	16-8 (6-5)	Jenison Fieldhouse (10,004) East Lansing, MI
2/17/1988 no, no	No. NR	vs. Ohio State	W 118-86	17-8 (7-5)	Assembly Hall (14,587) Champaign, IL
2/21/1988 no, no	No. NR	vs. Wisconsin	W 85-65	18-8 (8-5)	Assembly Hall (16,348) Champaign, IL
2/25/1988 no, no	No. NR	@ #2 Purdue	L 79-93	18-9 (8-6)	Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN
2/29/1988 no, no	No. NR	@ Indiana Rivalry	W 75-65	19-9 (9-6)	Assembly Hall (16,233) Bloomington, IN
3/6/1988 no, no	No. NR	vs. #11 Iowa Rivalry	W 94-81	20-9 (10-6)	Assembly Hall (16,538) Champaign, IL
3/9/1988 no, no	No. 19	vs. Michigan	W 85-74	21-9 (11-6)	Assembly Hall (16,605) Champaign, IL
3/12/1988 no, no	No. 19	@ Northwestern	W 79-74	22-9 (12-6)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
NCAA Tournament^[4]
3/18/1988* no, no	No. 16	vs. Texas-San Antonio NCAA Tournament	W 81-72	23-9	Riverfront Coliseum (16,562) Cincinnati, OH
3/20/1988* no, no	No. 16	vs. Villanova NCAA Tournament	L 63-66	23-10	Riverfront Coliseum (16,562) Cincinnati, OH
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Player stats[]

Player	Games Played	Minutes Played	2 pt. Field Goals	3 pt. Field Goals	Free Throws	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals	Points
Nick Anderson^[5]	33	909	221	2	77	217	53	28	37	525
Kenny Battle^[6]	33	1027	197	0	122	183	55	10	72	516
Glynn Blackwell^[7]	33	822	143	10	83	111	78	1	40	399
Kendall Gill^[8]	33	946	107	21	67	73	138	3	65	344
Lowell Hamilton^[9]	33	627	140	1	48	127	9	19	14	331
Stephen Bardo^[10]	33	820	77	3	53	138	125	7	41	216
Jens Kujawa^[11]	33	719	69	0	38	171	34	29	17	176
Larry Smith^[12]	31	403	45	2	41	37	80	1	19	133
Phil Kunz	26	195	16	0	9	41	2	13	3	41
Ervin Small	24	98	10	0	6	36	4	2	1	26
Mark Shapland	6	22	2	0	0	9	1	0	0	4
Bryan Brickner	5	13	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1
Travis Smith	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1
Mike MacDonald	2	4	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Eddie Manzke	6	18	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0
Bob Starnes	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Awards and honors[]

Kendall Gill
- Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
Nick Anderson
- Team Co-Most Valuable Player ^[13]
- Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
Kenny Battle
- Team Co-Most Valuable Player ^[14]
- Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)

Team players drafted into the NBA[]

Player	NBA Club	Round	Pick

^[15]

Rankings[]

References[]

^ Men's Basketball Roster
^ All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2010-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1987-88 Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com
^ 1988 NCAA Tournament
^ pg. 121 Season Stats
^ pg. 121 Season Stats
^ pg. 121 Season Stats
^ pg. 121 Season Stats
^ pg. 121 Season Stats
^ pg. 121 Season Stats
^ pg. 121 Season Stats
^ pg. 121 Season Stats
^ List of MVPs
^ List of MVPs
^ 1988 NBA Draft Archived 2010-03-17 at the Wayback Machine

[1] Men's Basketball Roster

[2] All-Time Illini Rosters Archived 2010-04-22 at the Wayback Machine

[3] University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1987-88 Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com

[4] 1988 NCAA Tournament

[5] . 121 Season Stats

[6] . 121 Season Stats

[7] . 121 Season Stats

[8] . 121 Season Stats

[9] . 121 Season Stats

[10] . 121 Season Stats

[11] . 121 Season Stats

[12] . 121 Season Stats

[13] List of MVPs

[14] List of MVPs

[15] 1988 NBA Draft Archived 2010-03-17 at the Wayback Machine

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

hide v t 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
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics


v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 3 Purdue	16	–	2	.889	29	–	4	.879
No. 10 Michigan	13	–	5	.722	26	–	8	.765
No. 17 Iowa	12	–	6	.667	24	–	10	.706
No. 16 Illinois	12	–	6	.667	23	–	10	.697
Indiana	11	–	7	.611	19	–	10	.655
Ohio State	9	–	9	.500	20	–	13	.606
Wisconsin	6	–	12	.333	12	–	16	.429
Michigan State	5	–	13	.278	10	–	18	.357
Minnesota	4	–	14	.222	10	–	18	.357
Northwestern	2	–	16	.111	7	–	21	.250

Rankings from AP Poll