# 1955–56 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The 1955–56 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.

## Regular season

Harry Combes, for the ninth consecutive year at Illinois, directed a team that would finish no worse than third place in the Big Ten. His 164 wins and 44 losses overall with a 94 and 30 record in the conference gave Combes three "Final Four" finishes as well as three conference championships. Combes' team, recruited by assistant coach Howie Braun, was exclusively recruited from the state of Illinois.
The 1955-56 team had talented lettermen return including the leading scorers George Bon Salle and team "captain" Paul Judson. It also saw the return of Bruce Brothers, Bill Ridley, Bill Altenberger, Hiles Stout, and future Illini head coach, Harv Schmidt. The team also added future NBA all-star Don Ohl as a sophomore. The Illini finished the season with a conference record of 11 wins and 3 losses, finishing in 2nd place in the Big Ten. Unfortunately the Illini would lose four total games with two of the four coming in the final three days of the season. The Illini's final Associated Press ranking placed them at "#7", however; they maintained a "#2" national ranking for the final month of the regular season. The starting lineup included George Bon Salle at the center position, Bill Ridley and Paul Judson at guard and Harv Schmidt, Bruce Brothers and Don Ohl at the forward slots.

### Roster
## Schedule

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference regular season ||||||
| 12/6/1955* no, no | No. 8 | Butler | W 107–75 | 1-0 | Huff Hall (4,535) Champaign, IL |
| 12/10/1955* no, no | No. 8 | at Missouri Rivalry | L 73–74 | 1-1 | Brewer Fieldhouse (5,800) Columbia, MO |
| 12/13/1955* no, no | | at Notre Dame | W 103–93 | 2-1 | Notre Dame Fieldhouse (4,300) Notre Dame, IN |
| 12/17/1955* no, no | | Washington (St. Louis) | W 75–74 | 3-1 | Huff Hall (4,444) Champaign, IL |
| 12/19/1955* no, no | | DePaul | W 97–79 | 4-1 | Huff Hall (4,747) Champaign, IL |
| 12/23/1955* no, no | No. 17 | Oklahoma | W 82–58 | 5-1 | Huff Hall (3,390) Champaign, IL |
| 12/29/1955* no, no | No. 9 | Drake | W 102–66 | 6-1 | Huff Hall (3,713) Champaign, IL |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| 1/2/1956 no, no | No. 9 | No. 16 Michigan State | W 73–65 | 7-1 (1-0) | Huff Hall (5,192) Champaign, IL |
| 1/9/1956 no, no | No. 6 | Wisconsin | W 96–77 | 8-1 (2-0) | Huff Hall (6,069) Champaign, IL |
| 1/14/1956 no, no | No. 8 | at No. 12 Indiana Rivalry | W 96–72 | 9-1 (3-0) | The Fieldhouse (10,056) Bloomington, IN |
| 1/16/1956 no, no | No. 8 | at Purdue | W 92–76 | 10-1 (4-0) | Lambert Fieldhouse (9,500) West Lafayette, IN |
| 1/28/1956* no, no | No. 5 | at DePaul | W 80–66 | 11-1 | Chicago Stadium (15,254) Chicago, IL |
| 1/30/1956 no, no | No. 5 | at Minnesota | W 95–84 | 12-1 (5-0) | Williams Arena (9,805) Minneapolis, MN |
| 2/6/1956 no, no | No. 6 | Indiana Rivalry | W 92–89 | 13-1 (6-0) | Huff Hall (6,912) Champaign, IL |
| 2/11/1956 no, no | No. 6 | Ohio State | W 111–64 | 14-1 (7-0) | Huff Hall (6,154) Champaign, IL |
| 2/13/1956 no, no | No. 6 | Michigan | W 89–66 | 15-1 (8-0)) | Huff Hall (6,135) Champaign, IL |
| 2/18/1956 no, no | No. 3 | at Michigan State | W 96–76 | 16-1 (9-0) | Jenison Fieldhouse (9,094) East Lansing, MI |
| 2/20/1956 no, no | No. 3 | Purdue | W 102–77 | 17-1 (10-0) | Huff Hall (6,135) Champaign, IL |
| 2/25/1956 no, no | No. 2 | at Ohio State | L 84–87 | 17-2 (10-1) | Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (8,539) Columbus, OH |
| 2/27/1956 no, no | No. 2 | Minnesota | W 97–81 | 18-2 (11-1) | Huff Hall (5,765) Champaign, IL |
| 3/3/1956 no, no | No. 2 | at No. 10 Iowa Rivalry | L 72–96 | 18-3 (11-2) | Iowa Field House (15,200) Iowa City, IA |
| 3/5/1956 no, no | No. 2 | at Northwestern Rivalry | L 82–83 | 18-4 (11-3) | McGaw Memorial Hall (8,500) Evanston, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Player stats

| Player | Games Played | Field Goals | Free Throws | Points |
| George BonSalle | 22 | 156 | 118 | 430 |
| Paul Judson | 22 | 160 | 84 | 404 |
| Bill Ridley | 21 | 109 | 104 | 322 |
| Harv Schmidt | 22 | 113 | 69 | 295 |
| Bruce Brothers | 22 | 51 | 58 | 160 |
| Don Ohl | 22 | 57 | 33 | 147 |
| Hiles Stout | 22 | 35 | 42 | 112 |
| Bill Altenberger | 18 | 19 | 15 | 53 |
| Ted Caiazza | 5 | 8 | 4 | 20 |
| Phil Judson | 6 | 7 | 4 | 18 |
| Jim Chengary | 9 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Larry Breyfogle | 9 | 5 | 1 | 11 |
| John Paul | 12 | 5 | 0 | 10 |

## Awards and honors

* Paul Judson
** Converse 2nd Team All-American
** National Association of Basketball Coaches 3rd Team All-American
** United Press International 3rd Team All-American
** Newspaper Enterprises Association 3rd Team All-American
** International News Service Honorable Mention All-American
* Bill Ridley
** Converse 2nd Team All-American
** National Association of Basketball Coaches 3rd Team All-American
** United Press International 3rd Team All-American
** Newspaper Enterprises Association 3rd Team All-American
* Bruce Brothers
** Converse Honorable Mention All-American
** Team Most Valuable Player
* Harv Schmidt
** Converse Honorable Mention All-American

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Player | NBA Club | Round | Pick |
| Paul Judson | Syracuse Nationals | 2 | 13 |