Douglas R. Mills

Douglas R. Mills
Biographical details

Sport(s)	Basketball
Born	(1907-04-09)April 9, 1907 Elgin, Illinois
Died	August 12, 1993(1993-08-12) (aged 85) Urbana, Illinois
Playing career
1927–1930	Illinois
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1931–1935	Joliet Central HS
1936–1947	Illinois
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1941–1966	Illinois
Head coaching record
Overall	151–66 (college) 68–36 (high school)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
3 Big Ten (1937, 1942, 1943)
Awards
100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament (2007)

Douglas R. "Gaga" Mills (April 9, 1907 – August 12, 1993), a native of Elgin, Illinois, was a high school and college basketball player and coach in the state of Illinois. During high school, Mills was the first player in the state to lead his team to back-to-back titles in 1924 and 1925. He totaled 32 points in four state tournament games for Elgin High School during an era of low-scoring play. Mills played for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team from 1927 to 1930^[1] followed by a five-year coaching stint at Joliet Township High School. It was at Joliet where he led his team to the state tournament in 1935. He returned to the U of I as head men's basketball coach between 1936 and 1947. It was during this time where he coached the famous "Whiz Kids" and later served as the Fighting Illini's athletic director. Mills died in 1993.

While coaching at Illinois, Mills compiled a record of 151 wins and 66 losses, winning three conference titles during his tenure. Mills served as Athletic Director for the University of Illinois from 1941 to 1966, responsible for football coaches Ray Eliot and Pete Elliott and basketball coach Harry Combes. In 2007, the Illinois High School Association named Mills one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament.^[2]

Head coaching record

High school

School	Season	Record	Postseason
Joliet Township HS	1930-31	12-10
Joliet Township HS	1931-32	16-3
Joliet Township HS	1932-33	10-9
Joliet Township HS	1933-34	18-4	District Champions
Joliet Township HS	1934-35	12-10	State Quarterfinalist
Coaching totals	1930-35	68-36

College

Season	Team	Season Record	Conf. Record	Place
1936-37	Illinois	14-4	10-2	T-1st
1937-38	Illinois	9-9	4-8	T-8th
1938-39	Illinois	14-5	8-4	3rd
1939-40	Illinois	14-6	7-5	T-4th
1940-41	Illinois	13-7	7-5	T-3rd
1941-42	Illinois	18-5	13-2	1st
1942-43	Illinois	17-1	12-0	1st
1943-44	Illinois	11-9	5-7	6th
1944-45	Illinois	13-7	7-5	3rd
1945-46	Illinois	14-7	7-5	T-5th
1946-47	Illinois	14-6	8-4	T-2nd
Total	Illinois	151-66	88-47

References

External links

Douglas R. Mills at Find a Grave

Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball head coaches

Elwood Brown (1905–1906)
Frank L. Pinckney (1906–1907)
Fletcher Lane (1907–1908)
Herb Juul (1908–1910)
Thomas E. Thompson (1910–1912)
Ralph Jones (1912–1920)
Frank Winters (1920–1922)
J. Craig Ruby (1922–1936)
Douglas R. Mills (1936–1947)
Harry Combes (1947–1967)
Harv Schmidt (1967–1974)
Gene Bartow (1974–1975)
Lou Henson (1975–1996)
Lon Kruger (1996–2000)
Bill Self (2000–2003)
Bruce Weber (2003–2012)
John Groce (2012– )

Illinois Fighting Illini athletic directors

Edward K. Hall (1892–1894)
Fred H. Dodge (1894–1895)
Henry H. Everett (1895–1898)
Jacob K. Shell (1898–1901)
George Huff (1901–1936)
Wendell S. Wilson (1936–1941)
Douglas R. Mills (1941–1966)
Leslie Bryan # (1966–1967)
Gene Vance (1967–1972)
Charles E. Flynn # (1972)
Cecil Coleman (1972–1979)
Ray Eliot # (1979)
Neale Stoner (1980–1988)
Ron Guenther # (1988)
John Mackovic (1988–1991)
Robert Todd # (1991–1992)
Ron Guenther (1992–2011)
Mike Thomas (2011–2015)
Paul Kowalczyk # (2015–2016)
Josh Whitman (2016– )

Pound sign (#) denotes interim athletic director.

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