Players

Efrem Winters

Year Inducted: 1997

Category: Players

Schools / Organizations:
(Chicago) King High School
The University of Illinois-Urbana

Biography:

Efrem Winters was an all-stater at (Chicago) King High School in 1982 when that school began making its presence felt on the Chicago Public League basketball scene.  Winters was named the most valuable player in the 1983 McDonald’s Classic All-Star game.

He played four seasons at the University of Illinois–Urbana where the Illini posted a 95-35 record during his career. Winters scored 1,487 points and averaged 11.7 ppg.  The 1983-84 team won the Big Ten championship with a 15-3 record and a 26-5 overall mark. Winters averaged 11.2 points and was named first team all-Big Ten by UPI and second team by AP. The Illini lost 54-51 to Kentucky in the NCAA Mideast Regional. 

As an Illini freshman, Winters averaged 12.4 points, 14.7 points as a sophomore, 10.0 points as a junior and 9.3 as a senior. He ranked as the Illini’s sixth all-time career scoring leader.  Efrem Winters died on January 27, 2024 at the age of 61.

(Photo is courtesy of The University of Illinois-Urbana basketball.)