Illini’s Henson Reveals Plans To Step Down

Confirming longstanding rumors about his retirement, Illinois coach Lou Henson announced Saturday that this season will be his last.

Members of the Assembly Hall crowd gasped as Henson, 63, made the announcement just after his team’s 91-86 victory over No. 18 Iowa. Henson said he would remain at Illinois as a part-time assistant athletic director after the season’s end.

Henson said he had wanted to stay on for another season, but decided to retire this year to end the speculation about his future.

“I’ve been thinking about it (retiring), and when we started losing, I wanted to go another year,” Henson said, adding that he finally decided it would hurt recruiting to stay on.

“I did what was best for the university, rather than what I want personally,” he said.

Players were just as shocked as the fans when Henson told them about his decision after the game.

“None of the players had any idea. He caught us by surprise,” said guard Richard Keene.

The players’ first clue that something was up was when the normally reserved Henson hugged them after the game.

Henson has a record of 422-220 at Illinois and 213-161 in the Big Ten.