Illini legend Lou Henson was the right guy at the right time

CHAMPAIGN – When he showed up in town as the next Illini basketball coach, Lou Henson was the surprise candidate.

The local newspaper proclaimed Don Devoe from Tennessee as the impending new hire, and the state’s high school coaches association had been pushing for one of their own. Not so far removed from the Slush Fund issues that gutted a productive basketball program and sent Illini athletics into a tailspin, Illinois basketball had just finished last in the Big Ten Conference in back-to-back seasons.

Those high school coaches were a tough sell when it came to sending recruits to Illinois. The facilities were out of date or limited in availability, and the athletic department was run on a shoestring budget.

The Illini needed a home run hire when Gene Bartow skipped out after one year to take the job at UCLA. When Illinois landed Henson, the Illini hired a coach who already led New Mexico State to the Final Four. More importantly, Illinois found a cornerstone for the entire athletic program who built a winner on hard work, grace, strong recruiting, public relations and a revolving staff filled with talent and drive.

“It was all Lou Henson,’’ said Mark Coomes, Henson’s nephew and a former Illini assistant. “Regardless of the assistants, there was always the common denominator of Lou Henson. The 21-year run was all about Lou and how he worked 24/7.

“The guy only needed four hours of sleep during the season. He was always recruiting. He was always coaching and doing things with basketball and PR at the same time. He had an unbelievable amount of energy and worked and worked. Whoever was with him worked, too, but he set the example.’’

After battling health issues for well more than a decade, Henson, 88, died Saturday, but the foundation he built sent Illinois on a 35-year run of extended success. Lon Kruger, Bill Self and Bruce Weber carried on what Henson had started. If Illinois basketball was a good job in this modern era, it was because of Lou Henson

He came to Illinois in part because his wife, Mary, was a native of northwestern Illinois, and Henson felt, like many others, the Illini were a sleeping giant. It would just take more work that some folks realized.

Relationships were built with the members of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, a powerful group from Chicagoland and downstate who were upset Illini AD Cecil Coleman twice passed over the state’s high school coaches for a hire from outside the state lines.

And if you wanted to recruit a kid in those days, college coaches went through the high school coach, and they weren’t too happy the Illini weren’t considering names such as Collinsville’s Vergil Fletcher, Quincy’s Sherrill Hanks or Thornridge’s Ron Ferguson. So in the state’s fertile class of 1976, the Illini and the new staff had little chance to quickly load up.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Public League coaches were chilled by what they felt was unfair treatment during trips to Champaign for the state tournament. It all made it a hard sell for the Illini. At the time, these coaches held a tight grip on the talent pipeline. This was before AAU coaches took over much of the process.

The stud in the Chicago Public League was Larry Williams from Phillips in 1975, when Henson just arrived on the scene. The Illini had no shot at him, and Williams picked Louisville. The following season, it was the same thing with heralded players such as Leyden’s Glen Grunwald (Indiana), Peoria Richwoods’ Derek Holcomb (Indiana), Lawrenceville’s Jay Shidler (Kentucky) and Ronnie Lester of Chicago Dunbar (Iowa). Eventually signing Neil Bresnahan, a solid Catholic League player from Oak Park Fenwick, and Steve Lanter from Mascoutah started things off, as did landing Rob Judson, who later served as an Illini assistant, but the turning point was getting Chicago Morgan Park’s Levi Cobb.

“He was the key guy in terms of getting everyone else’s attention,’’ Coomes said.

From there, the Illini landed Richwood’s Mark Smith and Eddie Johnson of Chicago Westinghouse the following year.

“After Smith and Johnson, it just kept steamrolling,’’ Coomes said.

Acquiring talent was just one challenge. The Illini were exiled to the Huff Gym basement, evicted from Assembly Hall during preseason practice for every Liberace or Muppets on Ice show that came to town. It was worse than a high school facility, because there were only baskets at each end of the court and no baskets along the sideline to work individually.

Nonetheless, the Illini took important steps on the court in Henson’s first season. The Illini were 14-13 overall and 7-11 in the league, defeating national runner-up Michigan and ending a 13-game losing streak to Purdue. There was a heartbeat.

Henson also developed relationships with media while also putting together two key fan groups – the Rebounders and the Orange Krush. The Rebounders served as the adult fan club, and the Krush developed into one of the most active student groups in the country. This was key, because Assembly Hall had been a dungeon with no energy.

His outgoing personality helped Henson forge key media relationships, and he often invited them to his house for dinner on media day, which didn’t end until you tried his favorite dessert, Bananas Foster.

Before he was done, Henson led the Illini to the Big Ten title and an NCAA regional final at Kentucky in 1984, then put together the Flyin’ Illini. Arguably the favorite team in school history, that 1989 group reached the Final Four and entertained Illini fans with their intensity, style and athleticism.

Henson made orange the dominant color with the Illini, letting his team wear it while he put on that orange sport coat.

In 21 years as Illini coach, Henson posted a record of 423-224, and he finished his Illini career as the third-winningest coach in Big Ten history with 214 victories. In all, Henson took over four bankrupt programs – Las Cruces (N.M.) High School, Hardin-Simmons, New Mexico State and Illinois – and turned them into big winners. At Hardin-Simmons, Henson integrated the school with his basketball players.

After Henson got things rolling, athletics director Neale Stoner and football coach Mike White helped turn Illinois into a powerful force in the mid-80’s. But this generation of Illini success started with Henson. He was buried near his son in the cemetery adjacent to Memorial Stadium and the basketball arena where Illini basketball became fun again.

Thanks, Lou. You were the right guy at the right time. Rest in Peace.