Throughout history, the Illinois basketball program has had a lot of talent at the power forward position.
Many of the all-time greats have played power forward for the Illini. So, I am going to lay out the top three power forwards in program history, as well as two additional players who barely missed the cut.
To make this list, players had to have good stats and at least made one All-Big Ten team or been named as an All-American. NCAA tournament appearances will matter, but if a player doesn’t have individual success and tournament appearances, they might not make it on this list.
The first honorable mention spot goes to Nick Weatherspoon. Weatherspoon played Three seasons at Illinois. For his career, he averaged 20.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. The reason he didn’t make the list is that he never played in the NCAA tournament, even though he did make the All-Big Ten first-team once. Weatherspoon ranks as No.5 on my list.
The next player who just missed the cut is Dave Scholz. Scholz played three seasons with the Orange and Blue. His career averages were impressive at 20.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
Scholz did make two All-Big Ten teams during those three seasons. The reason I left him off this list is that he never played in the NCAA tournament. Without a doubt, he was still a great player which is why he is No. 4 on my list.
Here are the top three Illini power forwards of all-time