Hall of Fame - Men's Basketball

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Team: 1997-1998
Inducted: 2017
The 1997-98 UIC men’s basketball team was the first in school history to earn a bid in the NCAA Tournament. It had the most conference wins and the highest conference win percentage in the school’s Division I history, a 12-2 record in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) and an overall record of 22-6, turning out notable wins against tough teams like Butler and Michigan State.
The team, helmed by head coach Jimmy Collins who was in just his second season, set a record for most wins at home, going 13-1 at the UIC Pavilion. Deadly from downtown, they were ranked sixth in the nation with a 3-point percentage of nearly 42 percent. That season, the Flames led the MCC in 3-point percentage, 3-pointers made, and assists.
Team members: Jason Ayers, Anton Collins, Anthony Coomes, Cliffton Flagg, Clifton Jackson, Jordan Kardos, Theandre Kimbrough, Bryant Lowe, Mark Miller, T.J. Mixson, Jimmy Sexton, Thor Solverson, Konstantine Stavropoulos, Frank Wade, Leonard Walker, J.T. Wilson
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1980-82
Inducted: 1993
Sport: Basketball
Years: 2001-05
Inducted: 2013
Banks is one of the most decorated players in UIC Basketball history. He was a gifted scorer who snaked through defenses to create an open shot. He led UIC in scoring each of his four years and left his mark as the career points leader with 2,097.
The Windy City native was twice named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team and led the Flames to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. Banks was named the Horizon League Tournament MVP in 2002, and chalked up second-team NABC All-District honors in 2005.
Sport: Basketball, Baseball
Years: 1956-1959
Inducted: 1999
Bonk was a multi-sport athlete earning thre-e varsity letters in basketball and four in baseball (3 at Navy Pier and 1 at the Urbana campus). During the 1958 campaign he batted .341 helping the team reach a 25-4 record. "Playing baseball at Lincoln Park and being part of the famous double play team of Bonk and Ron Klein: 'Bonk to Klein to the outer drive!'"
After UIC Bonk taught for more than 30 years at the high school level, 23 of those years were at Quigley South High School. He also served as a varsity baseball coach for 28 years winning 477 games. In 1980, he was inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball Hall of Fame and in 1981 was named "Man of the Year" by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Position: Basketball Coach
Years: 1996-2010
Inducted: 2019
Jimmy Collins boasts several firsts and records for UIC Men’s Basketball, having served at the helm from 1996 to 2010. Collins has a total of 218 wins, the most of any coach in UIC history. Collins helped the Flames to three NCAA appearances, including the program’s first in 1997-98. In addition, he helped UIC to one NIT appearance during his tenure. Collins coached the 2003-04 team, which set the school record for wins at 24. He recruited and coached many All-Horizon League stars including Cedrick Banks, Scott VanderMeer and Mark Miller.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1966-1970
Inducted: 1992
Czyz achieved notoriety in basketball at UIC, starting every game during his four year career. He was just four points shy of 1,000 point plateau, placing second on the career scoring list at the time. He was a key member of the 1968 squad that finished with a record of 12-5 and that same season he drained a career high 32 points against Trinity Christian. He averaged 19.3 points and led UIC to a Milwaukee Christmas Tournament championship in 1968 as well.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1981-1985
Inducted: 2006
Daniels enjoyed a standout career at UIC, ranking in the top five in the career record book for scoring (1,538), rebounding (656), field goals made (628), field goal percentage (.565) and free throws made (282). After his final season. He was a key cog for the 1983-84 squad that captured the Association of Mid-Continent Universities Conference title and set a then-school record with 22 victories. Daniels averaged a team-best 17.7 points per game in his senior season and was later selected in the fifth round of the NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1969-1971
Inducted: 1994
Lettered two season on the hardcourt and in his first year (1969) he led the team in scoring with 517 points, which was a single season record until 1986. Demos finished his career with 849 points and scored a career high 36 in a game against George Williams.
Demos was a threat on offense, but defensively he knew that was not his strong point. "Every time I shot and made a basket, Tom Russo (head coach) called me transparent on defense. I figured I was better on offense than my man, so that made up for defense."
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1988-1990
Inducted: 1995
As a 5-11 guard for the Flames, Dildy was a workhorse, starting 28 games and averaging over 36 minutes a game his senior season. He finished the year with an average of 6.0 ppg, provided 55 steals and led UIC with 157 assists while committing just 52 turnovers. He helped lead UIC to the championship game of the Mid-Continent Tournament twice.
Dildy finished his career with 260 assists and 105 steals which were both the fourth best totals in school history when he left. Dildy went on to serve two tours as the Flames assistant basketball coach, before becoming the head coach at Chicago State University.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1980-1984
Inducted 2010
Ellis was a prolific shooter, leading the Flames in scoring for three seasons of his career. He averaged the most points during the 1981-1982 campaign when he poured in 16.9 points per game. He captained the 1983-1984 squad that won the Mid-Continent Universities Conference championship with a league mark of 12-2 and set a single season school record for most wins with 22.
Among his many accomplishments, Ellis concluded his career in the top ten for scoring (1,289 points) and for field goals made (526). His proudest moment was walking out of the UIC Pavilion as a graduate and showing what it took to be a good role model as a student-athlete.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1963
Inducted: 1993
Finerty had no intentions of playing basketball when he was recruited out of his weight lifting class by Tom Russo in 1963. Despite his lack of intention, Finerty would go on to become an impressive, record setting basketball player. By the time he left the university, Finerty was ranked #1 in all-time single season field goal percentage, #2 in all-time career field goal percentage #3 in in all-time rebounds and #20 in all-time scoring. Finerty also holds the honor of being the first four-year letterwinner in UIC's basketball history.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1992-1995
Inducted: 2001
The most dominating player in UIC history, Ford racked up numerous honors and records while shooting for the Flames. When his career concluded at UIC he was the second most prolific scorer (2,012) and holds career marks for field goals attempted (1,638), field goals made (790) and blocked shots (164). He was named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year following his senior season, leading the Flames by scoring 26.2 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game, while finishing fourth in the country in scoring and 24th in rebounding. Ford was named the Basketball Weekly Player of the Year and the State Journal-Register Player of the Year.
Ford became the first player in UIC history to be drafted into the NBA when he was chosen 26th by the Seattle Supersonics. His number 24 hangs in the rafters of the UIC Pavilion.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1967-1969
Inducted: 1991
Frey was the second UIC player ever to earn four letters in basketball when his career ended in 1969. During his career at UIC, Frey played 72 games and earned 1,048 points and 233 assists. Frey had a career free throw percentage of .711 and he averaged 14.6 points per game. In his first season at UIC he scored 303 points and averaged 14.5 points per game across a 21-game season. He was named team MVP of the 1966-67 season as he averaged 16.7 points per game, while shooting over 48 percent from the field. In the 1967-68 season as co-captain, Frey averaged 15.1 points per game and shot over 50 percent from the field. During his senior campaign as co-captain, Frey scored his career-high 31 points in the game against cross-town rival Chicago State.
Sport: Basketball Coach
Years: 1987-1996
Inducted: 2009
As the head men's basketball coach from 1987-1996, Hallberg guided the Flames to 134 victories in nine seasons. Under his tutelage, Hallberg coached 20 all-league honorees, eight all-tournament team selections, two conference players of the year (Kenny Williams-1994 and Sherell Ford-1995) and the 1994 Mid-Continent Tournament MVP in Ford.
Hallberg led UIC to only their second 20-win season in 1993 and took them to four Mid-Continent Conference Championships, including three straight from 1992-1994. While at UIC, Hallberg lists defeating sister school Illinois, on the road at Assembly Hall, 71-60, to open the 1990-91 season among his favorite memories.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1988-1991
Inducted: 1997
A four-year guard on the Flames men's basketball team, Hill earned second team All-Mid-Continent Conference honors following his junior and senior seasons. During his senior campaign Hill led the Flames to the championship game of the Mid-Continent Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament Team. He became the 12th player in UIC history to reach 1,000-point plateau and finished his career in third-place on the UIC all-time scoring list with 1,578 points.
Hill started in 88 consecutive games over his last three seasons and scored in double figures in 69 of them. He set the career mark in steals (209), three-point field goals (274), three-point attempts (757), and total field goal attempts (1,336).
Sport: Basketball, Baseball
Years: 1957-1958
Inducted: 2004
Hornacek was a two sport contributor while at UIC in 1957-58. Under UIC's first basketball coach, Leo Gedvilas, Hornacek was a starting forward for the Navy Pier squad. He was also a letter winner on the baseball team. Hornacek went on to be a P.E. Teacher and the Dean of Students at St. Joseph's High School in Westchester. During his tenor he coached basketball for 30 years and baseball for 27, winning 12 conference titles in basketball and a regional baseball title.
Sport: Basketball, Football, Baseball
Years: 1956-1958
Inducted: 1990
Klein was not just an athlete that played three sports, he was an athlete that excelled at football, basketball and baseball. He was so proficient at each that he captained all three squads during the 1957-1958 season. A year earlier he had been chosen as Navy Pier's Athlete of the Year for his performance in those three sports.
Klein quarterbacked the football team in the fall and set a single season school record of 413 yards passing and 5 TD passes in 1957. During the winter, he played basketball and earned team MVP honors twice. When spring rolled around, Klein took to the diamond at the shortstop position and in 1956 he led the team in RBIs.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1984-1987
Inducted: 2005
Richard ‘Dick’ Knar played three seasons for the Flames, appearing in 88 games. Over those three seasons, Knar averaged 10.2 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game and 2.4 assists per game.
In his time with the Flames, Knar was a three-time All-Academic/Scholar-Athlete and was the annual rebounding leader in the 1985-86 season, averaging 7.1 rebounds per game.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1948-1951
Inducted: 1992
Koziol was an outstanding guard for the Navy Pier basketball team. In just his first game he put up 26 points and put up 156 tallies in just 18 games. That season he was selected by his teammates as the Most Valuable Player. He was also named captain of the first team to have a winning season at Navy Pier. In his final game of the 1950-1951 season Koziol put in 21 points.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1971-1975
Inducted: 1990
A prolific scorer, Lambert set the UIC school record with 1,651 career points, a record that stood for 19 years. At the time he also set the record for most field goals made and attempted. He was a battler on the boards hauling in 1,181 rebounds for another UIC career mark, that still stands as of 2013.
Lambert set the single game record for most points with 43 against Trinity Christian and put up three of the top rebounding performances in a single game, led by a 23-carom effort against Quincy. That season he took down a school record 348 rebounds. Lambert took advantage of his time at the charity stripe making 311, which was second on the Flames list.

Sport: Men's Basketball
Team: 2005-2009
Inducted: 2023
A two-time All-Horizon League First Team selection, Mayo played in 121 games during his UIC career, starting 111 and averaging 31.7 minutes per game. He finished his collegiate career as UIC's fourth all-time leading scorer (1,718 points) and his .854 career free throw percentage remains second-best in school history. At the time of his induction, the sharpshooter ranked second in school history for career three-point field goals made (266) and free throws made (398).

Mayo led the Flames to three winning seasons in four years and was also named to the 2008-09 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 12 Second Team.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1975-1979
Inducted: 1994
Merchantz made school history receiving UICC's first athletic scholarship in 1975. He lettered four years and his 315 points as a sophomore led the Chikas in scoring that season. He sank 36 straight free throws as a junior, which was a record that stood for almost twenty years. He left UIC ranked in the top ten scoring 906 points and 638 rebounds.
"As a player, one of my fondest memories was the consecutive free throw string I had going and ranking nationally for my free throw percentage," remembers Merchantz.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1995-1998
Inducted: 2003
One of the most decorated players in UIC history, Miller played a major part in the school's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1998. In that senior year he was named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year. During that campaign he averaged 19.7 points a contest to lead UIC and the MCC.
Miller was named the MCC All-Newcomer Team and All-MCC Second Team as a freshman. He was also named All-MCC Second Team his sophomore year and selected to the All-MCC First Team as a junior. Miller is only the second player in UIC history to have his number retired - 12.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1967-1971
Inducted:1990
Olsen shot more free throws than any other player in UIC history, attempting a school-record 662 charity tosses and sinking a school-record 436 of those attempts. He started every game for four straight seasons and left UIC as the career scoring leader with 1,629 points. In 1968-1969 season he was named UIC's Athlete of the Year and was the basketball MVP.
He captained the team during his junior and senior seasons and as a junior averaged 18.8 points per game and 12.5 rebounds per game. Olsen pulled down over 971 boards in his career including a school record of 25 in a game versus Chicago State.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1981-1984
Inducted: 1998
Rice played center and power forward on UIC teams that successfully made the transition to Division I basketball. He shot and rebounded well in each of his seasons, achieving stats such as 57 percent field goals made and 8.5 rebounds per game in a single season. The highlight of Rice's career was during the 1983-84 season when the team he captained won the Mid-Continent Conference championship.
"Darryl played every game like it was his last. You knew going into each game that Darryl Rice was ready to give it all for UIC," said former Athletic Director Tom Russo.
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1990-1994
Inducted: 2000
One of the best shooting guards in school history, at the conclusion of his career he left UIC as the all-time points leader with 2,025. He was tenacious on defense as well going down as UIC's steal leader with 237. During the 1992-93 season he set the record for most three-pointers made 88.
"As far as I'm concerned, he's the best basketball player in UIC history. He was pretty unstoppable. He not only had big games against the lesser opponents, but it seemed the bigger the team was, the bigger he played. He was an example of what a small man can do in the game of basketball," said Denny Wills, Assistant Athletic Director.

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