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Illinois Basketball: Top 5 Illini players to ever wear the No. 1

By Rees Woodcock

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 22: D.J. Richardson #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates during the game against Colorado Buffaloes during second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at The Frank Erwin Center on March 22, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 22: D.J. Richardson #1 of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates during the game against Colorado Buffaloes during second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at The Frank Erwin Center on March 22, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – DECEMBER 06: General view of Illinois Fighting Illini basketballs seen before the game against the IUPUI Jaguars at State Farm Center on December 6, 2016 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

There have been a ton of legends come through the Illinois basketball program, but not many donned the No. 1 during their time in Champaign.

Looking back in the Illini records and team photos, you will be hard-pressed to find many players who wore the single No. 1. Just in recent years has the trend started of wearing this number.

When you look at the Illinois jerseys in the rafters, FightingIllini.com lists two No. 1s in Chuck Carney and Ray Woods. But I don’t believe they actually donned a number. From pictures I have looked at and research I have done as far as when jersey numbers were actually introduced in college basketball, I don’t believe these two had numbers. I believe numbers started going into effect in the 1930s, and both Woods and Carney played the 10s and 20s, respectively.

The first team photo of Illinois basketball players wearing numbers was the 1935-36 campaign. There isn’t a player wearing the No. 1 in any team photo for the next eight seasons. I then looked at the rosters Illinois has on their website, and those start in 1944-45. From that season on, no Illini player wore No. 1.

With that being said, I believe I am correct when I say Aaron Spears is the first Illinois basketball player to ever wear No. 1. That sounds mind-blowing, but I believe that is true.

Here are the top five Illinois basketball players to ever wear the No. 1.

5. Aaron Spears

  • Best: 3.2 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 1.0 Ast
  • Career: 1.5 Pts
  • 2 NCAAs, 1 Sweet 16, 1 B1G Regular Season

When you have Aaron Spears as the first Illinois basketball player to wear No. 1, then you have pretty limited options to choose from when it comes to a top five.

At the No. 5 spot, I have to put Spears. When it comes to the class of 2002, no one thinks of Spears. That was the class that consisted of Dee Brown, Deron Williams, and James Augustine. I would venture to say that most people today don’t remember that there was another player in that class.

Well, Spears was that fourth player. He was a three-star recruit at the time, but his size was intriguing. Spears would spend two seasons with the Illini. During his best year, he averaged 3.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game. For his Illinois career, Spears averaged just 1.5 points and 0.8 rebounds per contest.

Spears was a part of some successful Illini runs. The team made it to the NCAA tournament two times, advanced to the Sweet 16 once, and won the Big Ten regular-season one time.

After his sophomore year, Spears transferred out and ended up at St. John’s. With the Illini, Spears wasn’t too memorable on some great Illinois teams. He does check-in as the No. 5 Illinois basketball player of all-time to wear No. 1, though.

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