1907–08 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1907–08 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

1907–08 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record20–6 (6–5 Big Ten)
Head coach
CaptainMaurice Dadant
Home arenaKenney Gym
Seasons
1907–08 Western Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Chicago 7 1   .875 23 2   .920
Wisconsin 7 1   .875 10 2   .833
Illinois 6 5   .545 20 6   .769
Minnesota 2 6   .250 12 7   .632
Purdue 0 8   .000 5 9   .357
Iowa - -   10 6   .625
Indiana - -   9 6   .600
Northwestern - -   2 7   .222

Regular season

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The 1907–08 season saw the third coach in three years take the reins at the University of Illinois. Fletcher Lane was Illinois’ third coach, but lasted just one season. Even though he led his team to a 20–6 record, the university, as well as the athletes, deemed Lane's coaching style as subpar.[1] Lane's team benefited from a long Southern trip in which the team beat several YMCA and club teams from Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, and Georgia. The starting lineup consisted of forwards Albert Penn and H. J. Popperfuss, center Avery Brundage, and guards Thomas E. Thompson and captain M. G. Dadant.[2]

Roster

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"1907-08 Fighting Illini team"
1907–08 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F Charles Stewart
Sr New York, New York
G Edward Ryan
Sr Chicago, Illinois
F Henry Popperfuss
So Tomah, Wisconsin
F Maurice Dadant (C)
Sr Hamilton, Illinois
G Avery Brundage
Jr Chicago, Illinois
G Thomas E. Thompson
So Williams Bay, Wisconsin
G Roy Rennacker
So Winnetka, Illinois
G Carl Watson
Fr DeKalb, Illinois
F Albert Penn
Jr Syracuse, New York
G Strother Ambrose Briggs
Fr Minier, Illinois
G Benjamin Albert Horn
So Chicago, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule

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Source[3]

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site
city, state
Non-Conference regular season
12/19/1907*
no, no
at Decatur YMCA W 33-28  1-0
Decatur YMCA 
Decatur, IL
12/20/1907*
no, no
at WashingtonU W 36–25  2-0
Francis Gymnasium 
St. Louis, MO
12/21/1907*
no, no
at Cairo Athletic Club W 92–14  3-0
Cairo Athletic Club 
Cairo, IL
12/23/1907*
no, no
at Memphis YMCA W 56–8  4-0
Memphis YMCA 
Memphis, TN
12/25/1907*
no, no
at Ft. Worth YMCA W 41–25  5-0
Ft. Worth YMCA 
Ft. Worth, TX
12/25/1907*
no, no
at Ft. Worth YMCA W 32–20  6-0
Ft. Worth YMCA 
Ft. Worth, TX
12/26/1907*
no, no
at Waco YMCA W 58–20  7-0
Waco YMCA 
Waco, TX
12/27/1907*
no, no
at Temple YMCA W 36–17  8-0
Temple YMCA 
Temple, TX
12/28/1907*
no, no
at Galveston YMCA W 41–21  9-0
Galveston YMCA 
Galveston, TX
12/30/1907*
no, no
at Beaumont YMCA W 34–17  10-0
Beaumont YMCA 
Beaumont, TX
1/1/1908*
no, no
at Mobile YMCA W 22–21  11-0
Mobile YMCA 
Mobile, AL
1/2/1908*
no, no
at Columbus YMCA W 31-30  12-0
Columbus YMCA 
Columbus, GA
1/2/1908*
no, no
at Montgomery YMCA L 21–31  12-1
Montgomery YMCA 
Montgomery, AL
1/3/1908*
no, no
at Birmingham Athletic Club W 46–24  13-1
Birmingham Athletic Club 
Birmingham, AL
1/4/1908*
no, no
at Rose Polytechnic Institute W 35–26  14-1
Terre Haute High School 
Terre Haute, IN
Big Ten regular season
1/11/1908
no, no
at Purdue W 24–23  15-1
(1-0)
Lafayette Colliseum 
West Lafayette, IN
1/18/1908
no, no
Wisconsin L 20–28  15-2
(1-1)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
1/25/1908
no, no
Indiana
Rivalry
W 39–12  16-2
(2-1)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
2/8/1908
no, no
University of Chicago L 21–35  16-3
(2-2)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
2/14/1908
no, no
at Iowa
Rivalry
L 36–46  16-4
(2-3)
Iowa Armory 
Iowa City, IA
2/15/1908
no, no
at Minnesota W 16–15  17-4
(3-3)
University of Minnesota Armory 
Minneapolis, MN
2/29/1908
no, no
Purdue W 38–15  18-4
(4-3)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
3/6/1908
no, no
at University of Chicago L 17–42  18-5
(4-4)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
3/7/1908
no, no
at Northwestern
Rivalry
W 18–13  19-5
(5-4)
Patten Gymnasium 
Evanston, IL
3/9/1908
no, no
at Wisconsin L 14–27  19-6
(5-5)
University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium 
Madison, WI
3/12/1908
no, no
Minnesota W 22–20  20-6
(6-5)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Awards and honors

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  • First 20 win season for the Fighting Illini men's basketball program.

References

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  1. ^ A Century of Orange and Blue: Celebrating 100 Years of Fighting Illini Basketball By Loren Tate, Jared Gelfond pg.20 ISBN 1-58261-793-7
  2. ^ Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 1-58261-356-7
  3. ^ University of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1907-08 Archived 2015-02-10 at the Wayback Machine, FightingIllini.com