When you think of college basketball blue bloods, Eastern Illinois shouldn’t come to mind – even if their primary color is blue. But tucked away in Charleston, Illinois, the program has produced some unforgettable players.
In 115 seasons of men’s basketball, EIU has seen its fair share of standout talent. Whether it was Kevin Duckworth’s All-Star NBA career or Henry Domercant’s prolific scoring that put him among the NCAA’s all-time greats, Eastern has built a rich basketball tradition.
The program holds a 1,241–1,205 record and has produced 41 players who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark, along with 10 conference player of the year winners across three conferences.
EIU joined its first conference, the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, then known as the Little Nineteen, in 1913, remaining there until the league disbanded in 1970. After nearly a decade as an independent, the Panthers joined the Mid-Continent Conference, now the Summit League, in 1978–79. They elevated to NCAA Division I in 1981-82 and moved to the Ohio Valley Conference in 1996-97, where they still compete today.
This list ranks the five greatest players from Eastern’s Division I era, though career statistics cited may include players from throughout the program’s history, dating back to 1908.
- Henry Domercant (1999-03)
Henry Domercant was one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball during his time at Eastern, and his numbers back it up.
He led the NCAA in total points during the 2002–03 season with 810. The year prior, he ranked second nationally with 817 points, just three shy of the national leader. He was also named the OVC Player of the Year.
In 2000–01, he finished seventh in total points and helped lead Eastern to its first and only OVC Tournament title and just its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. That same year, he earned a spot on the All-OVC Tournament Team.
In each of those three seasons, Domercant ranked in the top five nationally in points per game.
His scoring legacy is cemented in the NCAA record books. He finished his career with 2,602 points, placing him in the top 50 all-time in Division I history.
He remains the all-time leading scorer for both Eastern Illinois and the Ohio Valley Conference.
Domercant was named to the All-OVC First Team in all three of those dominant seasons and was also an Associated Press All-American honorable mention in 2001–02.
But Domercant wasn’t just a scorer.
He grabbed 798 career rebounds, third-most in EIU history, and ranked in the top 10 in the OVC in total rebounds for three straight seasons. He also made an impact defensively, finishing his career with 66 blocks, ranking 10th all-time at EIU, and 138 steals, which ranks eighth all-time.
Domercant’s all-around dominance on both ends of the floor makes him the greatest to ever rock a Panther jersey on the hardwood in Charleston.
- Jon Collins (1983-86)
He started his college career at Northern Illinois but transferred to Eastern, where he made an immediate impact, winning Mid-Continent Conference Rookie of the Year.
He followed that up with back-to-back conference Player of the Year honors.
During those years, he earned honorable mention recognition from Sporting News for their All-American team and, in the 1984-85 season, an honorable mention from the Associated Press as well.
In all three of his seasons at Eastern, he finished either first or second in the conference in total points and was named all-conference every single year.
In 1985, his junior year, he played a key role in leading the Panthers to a conference tournament title. He didn’t pick up any tournament honors that year, but the following season, when Eastern finished second, he earned a spot on the All-Conference Tournament Team.
By the time his career wrapped up, he had scored 1,702 points, fourth-most in Eastern history, and averaged 18.9 points per game, second-best all-time for the Panthers. He did it all while shooting with efficiency, too, ranking ninth in career field goal percentage at 52.3%.
He would go on to be drafted by the Denver Nuggets 110th overall in the 1986 NBA draft, but never play in an NBA game.
- Jay Taylor (1985-89)
He started his playing career as a teammate of Collins on the team that finished runner-up in the 1986 Mid-Continent Conference Tournament.
He’d go on to finish off his time at Eastern by being named the conference’s Player of the Year during the 1988–89 season. That same year, he earned honorable mention honors from Sporting News’ All-American team, something he also received the year before.
In his Player of the Year season, he led the conference with 748 points and ranked 12th in the NCAA.
That kind of scoring wasn’t just a one-year thing either. He did it at a high rate his entire career, finishing with the 19th-most career points in Mid-Continent Conference, now known as the Summit League, history.
In Eastern’s record book, he sits second all-time in scoring with 1,926 points.
And he didn’t just dominate the offensive end. He ranked top 20 in the conference in rebounds and assists three years in a row, and did the same twice for steals.
All three of those categories – rebounds, assists and steals – he ranks in the top 10 in EIU career history.
He also earned All-Conference honors twice and made the All-Tournament Team once during his Mid-Continent run.
- Kyle Hill (1997-2001)
Domercant’s teammate for two years takes the fourth spot on this list.
The same year Domercant ranked seventh in the NCAA in total points, Hill finished even higher, fifth, with 737. He was a major piece of Eastern’s OVC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament run, earning OVC Tournament MVP honors along the way.
That season, he also finished second in the nation in points per game.
And that wasn’t the only hardware he collected during his career. Hill was a two-time All-OVC First Team selection and made the All-OVC Tournament Team twice as well.
But he brought more to the court than just scoring.
Hill was a defensive presence and a playmaker, ranking in the OVC’s top 10 in steals and top 20 in assists three straight seasons.
In Eastern’s record books, he’s second all-time in steals with 162, fifth in assists with 310 and third in points with 1,819.
To finish off his phenomenal scoring career in their 2001 NCAA Tournament appearance, he dropped 32 points against the eventual runner-up Arizona Wildcats.
He would go on to be drafted by the Dallas Mavericks 44th overall in the 2001 NBA draft, but never play in an NBA game.
- Kevin Duckworth (1982-86)
Another key player from the 1985-86 Mid-Continent Conference Tournament runner-up team.
Duckworth is the most well-known name on this list, boasting the most successful NBA career of any former Panther. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and helped lead the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1992 NBA Finals.
During his college years, he dominated the boards and protected the rim, finishing top 10 in career rebounds in the Mid-Continent Conference, now known as the Summit League, with 867, and top 20 in career blocks with 123.
He holds the Panthers’ all-time records for career rebounds and blocks, ranks third in career field goal percentage at 57.7%, and sits sixth in career points with 1,569.
In his junior year, he won the Mid-Continent Conference tournament alongside Collins.
Then in his senior year, he led the conference in total rebounds and blocks, marking his third straight season leading in blocks. That same season, he was named conference tournament MVP and earned All-Conference First Team honors.
