1941–42 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The Illinois Fighting Illini finished the season with a record of 18 wins and 5 losses. Under the direction of head coach and athletic director Douglas Mills, the Illini grouped a team of players, all around 6' 3", into a nearly undefeatable lineup later to be known as "The Whiz Kids". This group captured the attention of the entire nation while winning back-to-back conference titles and combining for a 35-6 record, 25-2 in the Big Ten over those two seasons. They dazzled crowds everywhere averaging 58 points per game, while most teams were averaging in the low 40s. Primarily made up of sophomores, they dominated the 1941-42 conference basketball season by posting a 13 – 2 record. A starting lineup consisting of Arthur "Jack" Smiley, Ken Menke, Andy Phillip, Ellis "Gene" Vance, Victor Wukovits and Art Mathisen, developed a winning attitude that would maintain for the next 15 years, a time period where the Illini would finish no less than third in the conference for 13 of them. The 1942 NCAA tournament was only in its fourth year of existence and was staged around the collegiate basketball coaches convention being held at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. The warm weather and unsufferable humidity caused the young Illini to lose two games in a period of two days.

The final living Whiz Kid, Gene Vance, died in 2012.

Source^[1]

^[2]

• Andy Phillip
  • National Player of the Year
  • Consensus All-American
  • Big Ten Player of the Year
  • Pic Magazine 2nd team All-American
  • Converse 3rd team All-American
  • Team Most Valuable Player ^[3]
  • Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
• Gene Vance
  • Sporting News Honorable Mention All-American
  • Fighting Illini All-Century team (2005)
• Jack Smiley
  • Sporting News Honorable Mention All-American
• Art Mathisen
  • Sporting News Honorable Mention All-American
• Ken Menke
  • Sporting News Honorable Mention All-American
  • Converse Honorable Mention All-American