University of Illinois Athletics

Don Sunderlage won the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball in 1951 as the Big Ten Conference MVP. He was a first-round NBA draft pick by the Milwaukee Hawks in 1951. Sunderlage earned Second-Team and Third-Team All-American status, and First-Team All-Big Ten honors in 1951 after leading the Illini to the Big Ten Championship and NCAA Final Four. He also was the starting guard on the 1949 team that won the Big Ten title and advanced to Final Four. Illinois finished third in both trips to the Final Four with Sunderlage. Before he could start his NBA career, Sunderlage spent a required year in the military. From 1953-55, he played in the NBA as a member of the Milwaukee Hawks and Minneapolis Lakers, representing the Hawks at the 1954 NBA All-Star Game. Sunderlage and his wife, Janice, died in a tragic car accident in 1961 at the age of 31.