Sept. 6, 2005

by Jared Gelfond, Illinois Athletic Public Relations

The Illinois basketball family lost one of its members a week ago when Nick Conner (Illinois forward/center from 1970-1973) passed away at the age of 55 from a long battle with lung cancer. The Illinois basketball program and the athletic department send their deepest condolences to the Conner family and the following is a tribute to the life and career of Nick Conner.

The Nick Conner legend began long before he ever stepped foot on the University of Illinois campus. Playing for Columbus East High School in Ohio, Conner was a part of what many consider to be one of the greatest Ohio high school basketball teams of all-time.

Playing alongside Ed Ratleff (played for the Houston Rockets in the NBA and a member of the 1972 Olympic basketball team) and Dwight `Bo' Lamar, Conner's Columbus East team lost just once in three years on their way to capturing two straight Class AAA state championships in 1968 and 1969. The 1969 team was so good that all five starters went on to play college basketball.

Conner ventured to Champaign in the fall of 1969 alongside fellow Ohioan Nick Weatherspoon and the two of them immediately made an impact on the floor when they began play in the 1970-1971 season.

Standing 6-6, Conner played most of his career in Champaign out of position in the center spot, but he more than made up for it with his incredible leaping ability. In fact he is arguably the greatest leaper in the history of Illinois basketball, and his uncanny quickness off the floor was a sight to behold.

What made his leaping ability even more incredible was the fact that, like his friend Weatherspoon, Conner had extremely bad knees that would leave him in pain after practices and games.

Never a great shooter from outside 8-10 feet, Conner did his damage close to the basket. He averaged eight points a game his sophomore year, nine his junior year and 14 in his senior season.

There is no doubt his greatest game in an Illini uniform came on December 30, 1972 against the top-ranked UCLA Bruins in the Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans. Going up against the virtually unstoppable Bill Walton, Conner did more than hold his own against one of the best players in college basketball history as he frustrated Walton with his quickness and leaping ability on his way to scoring 17 points on 8-of-14 from the field.

A quiet guy around his teammates and the media, Conner was still known as a jokester when he did speak. Talking about his improved shooting in a 1972 game program, Conner credited the Ohio State Fair saying, "When you take your girl to the fair and she wants to win one of those big stuffed animals you've got to win her one. The free throw game costs 50 cents a shot and you've got to make two in a row to win. You become a better shooter almost overnight."

Nick is survived by his wife Dorinda, his mother Beatrice and his two sons, Jonathan and Savannas.

The following are just a few of the thoughts and memories that were shared this week by Nick Conner's former teammates and coaches.

Nick Weatherspoon (Illinois forward, 1970-1973)
"I have seen a lot of players play over the years, but Nick Conner is one of the quickest jumpers that I have ever seen in my life. He helped my game a lot when we got to the University of Illinois because we used to play one-on-one all the time and it was so hard to get your shot off against him that I had to develop all these new shots just so I could get the ball up to the basket.

"He jumped according to the ball. If you threw the ball up 8 feet he would jump 8 feet and if you threw the ball up 10 feet he would jump 10 feet and I don't know how far he could get but however high it was he was going to get to that level and I have never seen a player like that.

"He was a tremendous athlete and he probably could have ran track for the Olympics, probably could have been a great boxer and he was just a tremendous physical specimen who loved to play basketball.

"Away from the court he loved life and he loved people. If someone needed something he was the type of person that would give you the shirt off his back. He was an extremely loyal person, a great friend and he was like a brother to me and I know I am going to miss him a lot."

Donn Deputy (Illinois forward, 1973-1974)
"In a shoot-around before a game at Ohio State, I got into a dunking contest with Nick. I matched him dunk for dunk for a series of four dunks, but then he proceeded to take two balls--one on each hand--climbed above the rim and throw down each separately. When he came down he just looked at me and smiled, and I bowed in recognition of the winner."

Jeff Dawson (Illinois guard: 1973-1974)
"I will never forget some of the great moments and memories of Nick Conner (who nicknamed me Mickey Rooney) while we were teammates. He outplayed the great Bill Walton in the 1973 Sugar Bowl Classic (the same year UCLA was undefeated and Walton was MVP of everything). He was an incredible athlete and a good guy to be around."

Harv Schmidt (Illinois head coach, 1967-1974)
"Nick was just a phenomenal athlete, and I only wish I could run up and down the court as fast as he could. He was an incredible leaper and there were some games where he could control the game with his quickness and ability to go and get the ball off the boards. He had all the talent in the world, and I think if the times were different and he could have put it all together, he could have played in the NBA."

Jim Wright (Illinois assistant coach, 1958-1972)
"I will always remember Nick Conner for his great leaping ability and the way that he was able to time those jumps to make himself just a ferocious rebounder. At only 6-6, he played inside and more than held his own with the bigger players."

Ed Ratliff (former high school teammate at Columbus East)
"Nick was the glue to our team because he was our center, and he did all the grunt work and tough work. He was a great competitor, and here was a guy that was 6-5 who was going up against guys consistently who were 6-8, 6-9, 6-10,and they had a hard time beating him---if they ever beat him.

"We didn't think about how high he jumped back then, but he could dunk the ball with such ease. The thing that separated him from everybody else was that he had great timing. The ball would go up and it didn't know matter how high it went or where it went, he had the great timing to be able to get up and get his hands on it.

"Nick was an absolute character, and he was probably the most liked guy at the entire high school. His nickname was "Nasty Nick," but he would be smiling and laughing the whole time. He just had that personality that attracted people to him and he was one of the nicest guys you would ever know."