.... Skip Thoren .... 
One of the best ABA players to come out of Illinois, and one of the best prep players in IHSA History, Duane Thoren played for Rockford East's 1961 state qualifying team under coach Art Sadler. The center played at the University of Illinois before joining the ABA in 1968. In 1969, he was the ABA's leader in offensive rebounds with 391 and third in defensive rebounds with 655 for a total of 1,046 which ranked second. He had 13.4 rebounds per game that year as well. Drafted by the Baltimore Bullets (now Washington Wizards) in 1965, his American career started with the Minnesota Muskies in 1968 before the team became the Miami Floridans (known for their skin-clad ball girls) in 1969, where he became an all-star for the ABA Eastern Division. His career ended in 1970 with the Floridans. In 170 games, he scored 2,239 points and had a field goal precentage of 47%. Thoren was named to the Illini All-Century Basketball team in 2005 (he's ranked 25th on the all-time scoring list) and was a first-team All-American his senior year at Champana. Thoren turned down the Bullets $6,500 offer to play for Olympia Milan in Italy, where he was a teammate of future NBA star and congressman Bill Bradley. The duo helped Olympia Milan win the European Cup of Champions.
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Men's Basketball All-Americans
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