The 1953–54 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illiniois.
Regular season In his seventh year at Illinois, Harry Combes continued to offer the fans of the Fighting Illini a successful team that they could be follow across the country to record crowds. The 1953-54 team returned one of the most dominant players in the NCAA, Johnny "Red" Kerr. During the season, Kerr shattered Illinois’ single-season scoring record by tallying 556 points in his senior year. Kerr’s 1,299 career points in three seasons currently ranks 20th on the all-time Illinois scoring list. After his Illinois career came to an end, Kerr started a 12-year professional career followed by becoming the first head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1966.
The 1954 team added twin brothers, Paul and Phil Judson from Hebron, Illinois, Bruce Brothers and Bill Ridley as sophomores. A youth movement that helped the Illini finish in a 3rd place tie in the Big Ten. Unfortunately the Illini would lose 5 total games with three of the five losses coming at the hands of ranked opponents. The starting lineup included captain John Kerr at the center position, Jim Wright and Paul Judson at guard and Bruce Brothers and Max Hooper at the forward slots.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC
Roster
Schedule
SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1953-54, FightingIllini.com
Schedule |- !colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season
!colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season
Rankings
Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsJohn Kerr 22210136556Paul Judson229262246Bruce Brothers226459187Max Hooper 226734168Jim Wright 225945163Bill Ridley 193054114Jim Dutcher 19303292Ed Makovsky 22222165Morris Sterneck 1617943Elmer Plew 137620Phil Judson94513Warren Wilkinson 5215Robert Reitsch 9124Earl Newman 4022 Season Stats
Awards and honors Johnny Kerr Helms 2nd Team All-American Look Magazine 3rd Team All-American Associated Press 3rd Team All-American United Press International 3rd Team All-American Converse Honorable Mention All-American Team Most Valuable Player
Team players drafted into the NBA Player NBA club Round PickJohnny KerrSyracuse Nationals16
Rankings
References