Top 10 NBA/ABA careers by an Illinois basketball player

No. 8 Dike Eddleman

Back in the 1940s, they just didn’t make basketball players as they make them today. Dike Eddleman was a great forward for the Illini at 6-foot-2.

Coming out of Centralia High School in Illinois, Eddleman joined the Illini program and was an instant success. He spent two seasons in Champaign and was an All-Big Ten player each year.

After his time at Illinois, Eddleman would go to the professional ranks. He was selected in the third round by the Chicago Stags of the Basketball Association of America, which later became the NBA.

Eddleman would spend four seasons playing in the professional ranks and would average 12.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He also made two All-Star games in his time in the NBA.

The only reason Eddleman’s career came to an end was due to his team closing up shop. He would then take a regular job working at Central Soya.

It wasn’t a long career, and the NBA was a different animal all those years ago, but Eddleman has to go down as having one of the best professional careers in Illinois basketball history. His numbers and accolades are good enough to put him No. 8 on this list.