sentences:  They won the Big Ten title five years later in 1942, their first unanimous Big Ten title since 1915.Prior to World War II breaking out, the Fighting Illini men's basketball program had achieved a status which it had never seen prior.Under the direction of head coach and athletic director Douglas R. Mills, the Illini grouped a team of players, all around 6' 3", into a nearly undefeatable lineup later to be known as "The Whiz Kids".