The 1952–53 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
Regular season Under the leadership of Harry Combes and coming off consecutive third-place finishes in the NCAA Tournament, the Fighting Illini men's basketball program had become one of the most powerful in the nation. The 1952-53 team returned one of the most dominant players in the NCAA, Johnny Kerr. It also returned United Press honorable mention all-American guards Irv Bemoras and Jim Bredar.
Unfortunately the Illini would lose 4 conference games during the Big Ten season which would give them a second-place finish. Three of the four losses came at the hands of ranked opponents. The starting lineup included captain Jim Bredar and Irving Bemoras at guard, Clive Follmer and Max Hooper at the forward slot with Robert Peterson and, future hall of famer Johnny "Red" Kerr at the center position. The team also included former University of Minnesota head coach Jim Dutcher.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC
Roster
Schedule SourceUniversity of Illinois Fighting Illini Statistics Summary for 1952-53, 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 2215380386Irv Bemoras 2211984322Jim Bredar2210650262Clive Follmer 228286250Max Hooper 217345191Bob Peterson225354160Jim Schuldt 19141139Jim Wright 1715737Max Baumgardner9131036Ed Makovsky 1691533Elmer Plew 1312630Jim Dutcher 107923Morris Sterneck 9146
Awards and honors
Irv Bemoras Converse 2nd team All-American Look Magazine 2nd team All-American Helms 2nd team All-American Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American Team Most Valuable Player Jim Bredar International News Service 2nd team All-American Converse 2nd team All-American Look Magazine 2nd team All-American Helms 2nd team All-American Associated Press 3rd team All-American Johnny Kerr Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American International News Service Honorable Mention All-American Converse Honorable Mention All-American Clive Follmer Big Ten Medal of Honor
Team players drafted into the NBA PlayerNBA ClubJim BredarFt. Wayne Pistons
Rankings
References