Editor’s Note: Mike Korcek is a former Northern Illinois Sports Information Director. His historical perspective on NIU athletics appears periodically in the Daily Chronicle.
For some of us old-timers, tonight’s Northern Illinois University men’s basketball game at the Assembly Hall against the University of Illinois might be the equal of President Richard Nixon
going to the People’s Republic of China in 1972 or the Berlin Wall symbolically falling in the late 1980s – a historical first.
Okay, I’m exaggerating. Maybe Huskie basketball isn’t that important.
I’ve wanted the Huskies to play Illinois in men’s hoops all these years.
Give coach Ricardo Patton credit. In only this third season in DeKalb, he’s accomplished that.
“As we said coming into taking over the program, we wanted to schedule the top teams in our state,”
Patton said at NIU’s Media Day. “If you look, we’re playing Illinois for the first time, which really blows my mind that Northern Illinois has never had a game with Illinois. But we’re going there; hopefully sometime in the near future, we can get Illinois to come here, and play in the ‘Convo.’ ”
What’s taken so long here? How can the modern-day Huskies be the only Division I program in the state not to play Illinois in men’s basketball?
On the hardwood, the Northern Illinois men have been classified as a “major college” since 1967-68 and held NCAA Division I status as long or longer than Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (the Salukis and Walt Frazier won the National Invitation Tournament in March 1967 as a College Division program), Eastern Illinois University, the University of Illinois-Chicago, Western Illinois University, Chicago State University, plus the now defunct Northeastern Illinois University Division I program – all past Illinois non-conference opponents.
To add to the indignity, Illinois has hosted EIU six times and WIU five.
Since that elevation to Division I status, the Huskies have played nine of the Big Ten Conference’s 11 members – with the exception of Penn State and Illinois. For better or worse, Northern Illinois enters the long-awaited showdown as a mid-major (NCAA tournament bids in 1982, 1991, and 1996, conference championships in 1971-72, 1980-81, and 1990-91, post-season league tourney crowns in 1982 and 1996, and one Division title in 2006).
The benchmark modern-age Huskie season would be the 21-4 campaign that included the stunning upset of fifth-rated Indiana (85-71) and first-year coach Bobby Knight and the Chicago Stadium appearance versus No. 11 South Carolina in 1971-72.
Over the years, some Northern Illinois individuals could start for Illinois. No doubt.
Start with No. 33, the slamboyant Kenny Battle who starred at both schools and ranked as the best athlete and inspirational MVP on the 1988-89 Flyin’ Illini.
You’re kidding yourself if you don’t think NIU’s Jim Smith, Jim Bradley, Billy “The Kid” Harris,
Larry Jackson, Jerry Zielinski, Matt Hicks, Paul Dawkins, Allen Rayhorn, Tim Dillon, Donnell Thomas, Donald Whiteside, or T. J. Lux could’ve cracked the U of I starting five.
There are two sides of this and every story. If you’re a Northern Illinois grad and a state native, you want to schedule the best around and that generally means the Illini in almost every collegiate endeavor.
We’re talking the flagship higher education institution in the Land of Lincoln, a charter member of the Big Ten Conference, five NCAA Final Four appearances in men’s basketball, etc.
“Absolutely, I am envious of the current Huskies and their opportunity to play at Illinois this week,” said Dillon, a 6-foot-8 former Huskies Hall of Famer. “When I was in school we played Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, DePaul, Notre Dame, Marquette, and some other high-majors. The only school we didn’t play was Illinois. In the summer, we used to work out with some of their guys, and played in the Prairie State Games against them.”
The villain in this story?
“Politics of the game and recruiting,” said ex-swingman Art Rohlman, who played for coach Tom Jorgensen and served as an assistant coach on the fabled 1971-72 quintet. “To be honest, they (Illinois) just didn’t want to play us (then). Jorgy upgraded the schedule in those early years and we played at Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Creighton, St. Joseph’s (PA), New Mexico State in the Chicago Stadium, you name it.
“We were competitive and would’ve been against Illinois in the day. Heck, when Indiana State had Larry Bird, did you see Indiana’s Bobby Knight scheduling them? I think Jorgy would’ve loved to schedule Illinois. At that time, two or three years in the Division I ranks, we were the new guys on the block.”
Over the years, some Huskies adjusted their goals accordingly.
“We couldn’t get Illinois on the schedule,” said Hall of Famer Donald Whiteside, the 5-10 point guard on the 1991 Northern Illinois NCAA club. “So, our in-state rival was DePaul instead and we beat them when we were seniors, which really helped us get an at-large berth in the NCAA that year. You want to play the best in your state.”
Cliff Fulton played with the fabled Illinois “Whiz Kids” in the early 1940s, coached the freshmen teams at both schools, and served as the Huskies’ official scorekeeper for many years.
“I’m really not sure of all the internal workings,” Fulton said. “But any time Illinois plays an in-state school, it could have much to lose. If Northern wins or plays well, it has much to gain. I really don’t know if they (Illinois) was intentionally dodging us (NIU).”
Battle wore both the Huskie (1984-86) and Illini (1987-89) uniforms and saw both sides of the issue.
“It’s not about basketball. It’s politics and recruiting when you’re the big dog,” the 6-6 forward said. “At Northern, coach (John) McDougal always wanted to play a strong non-conference schedule. My sophomore year, we beat Northwestern and Marquette. Would we have liked to play Illinois? You bet. When I transferred to Illinois, they offered NIU a game and I think coach (Jim) Rosborough turned it down. I understood why.”
Former Northern Illinois assistant coach Dave Kaplan, who now works with WGN-AM radio and ComcastSports.net, helped recruit Battle in the McDougal era and always knew the score.
“Sure, coach McDougal wanted to play Illinois,” Kaplan recalled. “John wouldn’t back away from anyone. I remember the year after we beat Notre Dame there (1981-82), they dropped us even with a two-game contract. If you were a head coach at that time and looking at Northern Illinois with Kenny Battle, or Allen Rayhorn, or Tim Dillon, you might be thinking ‘those guys are pretty good, if we schedule them, we could lose.’
“Let’s be realistic,” Kaplan added. “Illinois is Illinois. It is a great school. It’s a great program. Bruce Weber or whomever the coach at Illinois is – being at the state school – wants a stranglehold on the in-state recruiting.”
Realistically, this might not be the most ideal time to be playing Illinois for the first time. The school’s 6-37 all-time won-lost mark against the Big Ten might be irrelevant at this juncture.
That said, kudos to coach Patton and assistant Sundance Wicks for this historic moment in Northern Illinois hoops.
After 44 years, you gotta start from someplace.
