Saturday, August 15, 2009 10:17 AM CDT
EIU unveils its all-century team
By BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
MATTOON -- As master of ceremonies Dave Kidwell said, several players were a slam dunk.
A few others, or actually maybe those who just missed the top 10, could fuel discussions until this celebration of 100 years of Eastern Illinois men’s basketball to be capped with a Feb. 26-27 weekend honoring the all-century team as well as six top teams in the program’s history.
The celebration kicked off Friday night at Mattoon Country Club following an EIU golf outing with the announcement of the top 10 players spanning from Andy Sullivan’s 1942-46 career to Henry Domercant, who left in 2003 as not only the career scoring leader for the Panthers but the Ohio Valley Conference.
“A lot of work went into it,” said EIU coach Mike Miller, who was a member of this selection committee. “There were so many players during the years. We tried to span as much of the history as possible. There were a lot of good players who were really deserving.”
Joining Miller on the committee to name the top 10 players as well as six honored teams were former coaches Don Eddy and Rick Samuels, former players Roger Dettro and Troy Collier and Panther Club member Scott Wilson. Members of the EIU administrative staff serving on the committee included Athletic Director Barbara Burke, assistant athletic director for special projects Kidwell, assistant athletic director for philanthropy Joel Moersch, director of athletic marketing Ryan Gilmore and director of media relations Rich Moser.
“There were several slam dunks but there were several decisions that were hard to make,” Kidwell said. “The 10 individuals or their families should feel very honored to be chosen as 10 out of the nearly 1,000 to play basketball for Eastern Illinois.”
Those 10 are to be honored at some time or another through the end of Eastern’s home basketball season.
“It’s very exciting for us to honor the tradition of Eastern Illinois basketball,” Burke said. “It’ll be a year of celebration culminating with the weekend in February. We’ll also unveil a permanent display in Lantz (Arena) at that weekend. We’ll also be honoring people at different events to allow individuals to stand alone.”
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
THE ALL-CENTURY LIST
JON COLLINSIn just three seasons after transferring, Collins left Eastern as its career scoring leader with a since-broken record of 1,702 points in 1,655. Now fourth on the career list, Collins was the Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year in both 1985 and ’86 and was selected in the fifth round of the 1986 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.
CRAIG DeWITTThe center for Eastern’s 1978 NCAA Division II third-place finisher, Craig DeWitt earned NABC third-team All-American honors in 1979 and second-team in 1980. He is now ninth on the Panthers’ career scoring list with 1,426 points and sixth with 684 rebounds in 1977-80.
HENRY DOMERCANT
The career scoring record holder for both the Ohio Valley Conference and Eastern with 2,602 points in 200-03, Domercant for two straight years was the second leading scorer in NCAA Division I averaging 26.4 points as a junior and a school record 27.9 as a senior. As a sophomore he averaged 22.8 points, fifth in the nation, for the Panthers’ 2001 OVC tournament champions and NCAA qualifiers. He is now playing pro ball in Italy.
KEVIN DUCKWORTHBefore becoming an NBA All-Star in 1989 and ’91 and starting at center for two Portland Trail Blazer teams that reached the NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs’ second-round draft choice set EIU career records with 867 rebounds and 123 blocked shots in 1983-86. The 7-foot center scored 1,569 points for sixth on the Panthers all-time list.
KYLE HILLThe exclamation mark of his college career came when leading EIU’s come-from-behind win over Austin Peay for the 2001 Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship and an NCAA berth. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the league tournament in a senior season in which he averaged 23.8 points, second in the nation and a school record before being topped by the next two seasons by Domercant. Now third on EIU’s career scoring list with 1.819 points in 1986-89, Hill was chosen by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the 2001 NBA draft and the past year played pro ball for Alicante II in Spain.
TOM KATSIMPALIS
A NAIB second-team All-American in 1950, Katsimpalis was EIU’s career scoring and rebounding record holder when completing his career and now ranks seventh in scoring with 1,538 points in 1949-52. He was the first EIU player selected in the NBA draft when taken in the seventh round by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1952.
JOHN MILHOLLANDHelping Eastern to a fourth-place finish in the 1957 NAIA nationals, Milholland’s 284 field goals in that season still stand as Eastern’s school record. His 20.4 point-per-game scoring average was Eastern’s best until Domercant broke the record averaging 21.7. Holding the school’s career scoring record for 30 years, Milholland still ranks fifth on Eastern’s career scoring list with 1,655 points in 1956-58 while his 718 field goals during that time stood as a school record until Domercant made 861.
ANDY SULLIVANA three-time Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, Sullivan was the captain of EIU teams in 1944-45 and 45-46. He was named the conference’s MVP in 1945 after leading the league in scoring.
JAY TAYLOR
Second on EIU’s career scoring list with 1,926 points in 1986-89, Taylor was the Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year in 1988-89 when he averaged a since broken school record 23.8 points per game. The two time Division I honorable-mention All-American was a free agent who played for the New Jersey Nets.
CHARLIE THOMAS
Before college basketball awarded 3 points for shots where Thomas got many of his baskets, he still scored 1,452 points in 1975-78 and now ranks eighth on EIU’s career list. A guard for EIU’s NCAA Division II third-place finisher in 1978, Thomas’ .834 career free-throw percentage is third best in school history. He helped the Panthers to third place.
HONORED EIU TEAMS
1952 – The only team in school history with an undefeated regular season, coach Bill Healy’s team finished 24-2 reaching the NAIA national tournament with Tom Katsimpalis as the team captain.
1957 – A late-season surge ended with a fourth place in the NAIA nationals with a 17-14 record for coach Bob Carey. Lloyd Ludwig was the team captain.
1976 – Coach Don Eddy’s 23-8 team finished third in NCAA Division II. Brad Warble was the team captain.
1978 – Eastern again finished third in Division II under Eddy with Derrick Scott as the captain in a 21-10 year.
1992 – Eastern’s first trip to the NCAA Division I tournament came from winning the Mid-Continent Conference tournament. Rick Samuels coached the 17-14 team with Dave Olson as the captain.
2001 – Kyle Hill and Henry Domercant were the nation’s second- and fifth-leading scorers as Samuels’ Panthers rallied from 21 points down to beat Austin Peay for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament title and another NCAA bid.
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