The 1917–18 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
Regular season Under the direction of coach Ralph Jones, the 1917–18 season for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team, was unusual because World War I was happening in Europe. Co-captain George Halas, for example, left the team in January 1918 to help out with the war effort.A Century of Orange and Blue: Celebrating 100 Years of Fighting Illini Basketball By Loren Tate, Jared Gelfond pg.17 In only the second season of having 10 members, the Big Ten Conference continued their 12-game schedule of home and road competitions. The Illini finished their season with an overall record of 9 wins and 6 losses and a 6-win 6-loss conference mark. The starting lineup included co-captain Earl Anderson and B.E. Mittleman at the forward positions, J.S. Probst and P.C. Taylor at center, and co-captain George Halas and Burt Ingwersen as guards.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC Anderson would be named a consensus All-American for the season.
Roster
Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1917–18 , FightingIllini.com
!colspan=12 style="background:#DF4E38; color:white;"| Non-Conference regular season |- align="center" bgcolor=""
!colspan=9 style="background:#DF4E38; color:#FFFFFF;"|Big Ten regular season
Player stats Player Games played Field goals Free throws PointsEarl Anderson 156767201Bert Ingwersen 1524149Paul Taylor 1424048J.S. Probst1015030Benjamin Mittleman 713026Charles Vail 118016J.G. Stevens 75010George Halas 5102
Awards and honors George Halas was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1963), for his role in the development of the National Football League as well as for his coaching and playing for the Chicago Bears.
Earl Anderson was named a Consensus All-American for the 1917–18 season.
References