'We got Illinois going again': Legendary Illini basketball player dies at age of 61
Chicago native helped Illinois basketball to a Big Ten Conference title and national prominence in the mid-1980s.
www.pjstar.com
RIP Efrem Winters
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R.I.P. # 24 forever
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
Key member of 1984 B10 champs, elite 8 team.
Never lived up to McDAA MVP award but a great 4 year starter on very good Illini teams.
Douglas Richardson Altenberger Douglas and Montgomery. That was physical team.
en.wikipedia.org
Never lived up to McDAA MVP award but a great 4 year starter on very good Illini teams.
Douglas Richardson Altenberger Douglas and Montgomery. That was physical team.
1983–84 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team - Wikipedia
Absolutely ruined my day, seeing this news.
61 years old? Really? Why? How? Nuts - Just way too early to go.
Efrem was an all time great, and a joy to watch play for us.
RIP Efrem
61 years old? Really? Why? How? Nuts - Just way too early to go.
Efrem was an all time great, and a joy to watch play for us.
RIP Efrem
He always played with a stick of chewing gum in his sock. I can't remember why. RIP.
Bruce Douglas and Scott Meents lived right across the hall from me in Snyder Hall, '83-84. Efrem came over quite a bit. I can attest dude was super nice, in addition to being an all-time great Illini.
RIP Efrem, one of my earliest Illini Hoops heroes. 2025 sucks so far.
Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
He was one of my favorite Illini players, we were both on campus at the same time. RIP buddy. Forever I L L . . .
Great player and person. Same age as me. RIP Efrem.
Efrem will be missed - he was a big part of my early Illini fandom. His connection with Bruce Douglas on the alley-oops is what I remember the most. RIP
RIP Efrem. My best memory of him was when I accidentally bumped into him (literally). I was about a sophomore in high school and my friend and I had driven to Champaign to watch the IHSA state basketball championships. We had gone to the mall between sessions to walk around. We had bought a few Illini related things, including an Illini pennant. We were walking around a corner in the mall and all of a sudden, my face slams into a huge guys chest. I looked up and it was Efrem Winters. I was in awe and apologized to him. He was nice enough to come with my friend and I to find a marker. He autographed my pennant and it still hangs in the basement of my childhood home in Peoria to this day.
RIP buddy. You are and always will be an Illini basketball legend.
RIP buddy. You are and always will be an Illini basketball legend.
If anyone wants to see Efrem, Bruce Douglas, Doug Altenberger, Big George and Lou-do kick Indianas butt, here you go:
(Big ten championship year, Elite 8).
Rest Easy, Big Guy
(Big ten championship year, Elite 8).
Rest Easy, Big Guy
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They actually showed that in the game I posted in this thread! I was wondering what it was
Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
The first thing I noticed was look at the court spacing . . . 6-8 guys in the paint all the time!
Oh yeah.. and no shot clock. The game was way more plodding and deliberate
This particular team is My Team. Efrem and the boys will always have a place right in the middle of my Illini heart. Even Tom "Vanilla Thunder" Schafer. Thanks for the memories, Efrem.
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