Illini Football vs. Basketball: Who produces better talent?

In recent memory Illinois has been known for its basketball prowess. Some of the greatest teams in history, legendary coaches like Lou Henson, and a few big-name players in the NBA.

Football, in that same recent memory, has had quite the opposite reputation.

That is not the question here, however. Throwing all of that out, which program has been better at producing talent to play at the next level?

Basketball Historically

Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images

Biggest Names: Deron Williams, Eddie Johnson, Nick Anderson, Kendall Gill, Don Ohl, Andy Phillip

Several All-Stars on this list and it’s just scratching the surface. The 2004-05 Illini team alone had five different players play in the NBA in some capacity, and that’s just one team.

Looking at just numbers, of course football has more pros overall, but that’s just because football teams have much…