Illinois Basketball: Top 4 Illini players to ever wear the No. 2

3 of 4

Mar 8, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Kipper Nichols (2) goes up for a shot against Iowa Hawkeyes guard Connor McCaffery (30) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Kipper Nichols

Best: 10 Pts, 4.2 Reb
Career: 6.1 Pts, 2.9 Reb
1 NCAA

Now we start to get to the meat of the best No. 2s in Illinois basketball history. Before Chris Hicks, who is No. 3 on this list, wore the No. 2, I don’t believe there was a single Illini player to ever don the number.

One of the best to ever put on that rare jersey, and the No. 2 player on the list of the best Illinois basketball players to ever wear the No. 2 is Kipper Nichols. Yes, that Kipper Nichols. He is the second-best to ever wear No. 2 for the Illini.

Nichols entered the Illinois program, technically, as a transfer. He was all set to attend Tulane before deciding to get his release from the program. He would transfer to Illinois and had to sit out a semester before suiting up for the Orange and Blue.

The best season Nichols had with Illinois consisted of him averaging 10.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He would end up finishing his Illini career with averages of 6.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest.

Nichols went through a coaching change, and he would have finally had a chance to play in the NCAA tournament, but COVID hit and canceled the postseason that year. It was a tough decision between No. 1 and No. 2, but I think Nichols falls to the No. 2 slot based on team success.

Home/All-Time Basketball Lists