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Jan 8, 2025 | Blog

Phil Judson’s Reflections on Playing in Huff Gym

Phil Judson, December 2024 provided this article.

I never knew I would play basketball in Huff Gym! The first time I heard about it was when my older brother Howie, as a freshman, played on the Hebron High School basketball team in the 1940 State Basketball Tournament. I was only five years old at the time. Howie spent two years at Illinois playing basketball and baseball, but I never saw him play.

However, eleven years later, in March 1951, I first saw Huff Gym. My teammates Paul (my brother), Don Wilbrandt, and I traveled to Champaign and saw two State Tournament games that year. Our high school coach, Russ Ahearn, wanted us to see what it looked like and have some idea what to expect just in case we would make it to Huff Gym the following year…… WHICH WE DID!

On March 20th, 1952, when my teammates and I ran out onto the floor of Huff Gym to play Champaign High School in the 1952 State Basketball Tournament, I had a feeling of greatness. To be on the same floor where the “Whiz Kids” and Dike Eddleman, Illinois’s Greatest Athlete, and so many other great basketball players and great teams played was incomprehensible!

The atmosphere was one I had never experienced. There was an excitement about it. It was a feeling of exhilaration that gave me confidence and loads of energy.

The crowd, inches from the out-of-bounds line, was wishing us the best. They were almost on top of me, stretching their arms and hands out, wanting me to touch them. The gym was packed with 6,997 fans. During the season, we played at the Oak Park Fieldhouse, Northern Illinois University, where we played DeKalb, and at Waukegan and Elgin to help us prepare for this experience.

The crowd size and noise did not affect me throughout the season and tournament. The crowds were cheering for Hebron, except for the team we were playing. Playing at the University of Illinois, the floor was larger and had a different atmosphere, but it did not concern me.

After the state championship game, one of my best feelings was looking high up on the wall at the wooden state map. At the start of the State Tournament, sixteen red bulbs were on the map. As teams got beat, their light was turned off. The light on the left side of the map, set into a wide curve of the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, represented perennial power, Quincy. Over the past eleven years, Quincy appeared in the Sweet Sixteen nine times. That night, two lights were left on. At the end of the game, the Quincy light, which we had just beaten, was turned off. Only ONE lighted “RED BULB” depicting HEBRON as “STATE CHAMPIONS” was on.

Playing on the University of Illinois basketball court presented more open space than on the Hebron basketball court. Hebron’s court size was 40 feet wide and 72 feet long. Playing on the University of Illinois basketball court gave us more room to relax and breathe. At different times, while bringing the ball down the court, we had more opportunities to size up the situation and make the necessary adjustments.

As a player for the University of Illinois in Huff Gym, I had to adjust to playing with rectangular backboards. We had fan-shaped backboards all through grade school and high school. I found that rectangular backboards gave me more to shoot at and helped me be a better scorer.

Huff Gym also had an exciting atmosphere, but the tone was subtle. When the ball was brought down the court, the fans would get excited almost every time. They were looking for action, wanting us to get fired up, feel like we weren’t playing fast enough, and score immediately!

It was enjoyable playing at Huff; we had lots of fun and great memories. We had the home-court advantage, with fans who were in favor of us and yelling at our opponents. It was a great place to play!

Playing in Huff Gym in the State Tournament and while attending the University of Illinois was an experience that provided memories I still love sharing. Read more about Huff Gym.

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