(Photo By Flickr User lydia_shiningbrightly)
Former Fighting Illini men's basketball assistant coach Wayne McClain died Wednesday at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, Il at the age of 60 (according to Williams Memorial Services in Champaign).
McClain, the boys' basketball coach at Champaign Central, was hospitalized last week in the intensive-care unit, suffering from pneumonia and a lung infection according to reports.
McClain is one of the state’s most successful high school coaches of all time, leading Peoria Manual to three consecutive Class AA State Championships in his first three seasons as a head coach, posting a record of 94-5 from 1994-1997. His third title completed Manual’s four-peat, which was the first in Illinois basketball history.
He later joined Bill Self’s staff at Illinois in 2002-2003, then stayed on as an assistant when Bruce Weber replaced Self, who left for University Of Kansas. McClain was a member of staff during the entire Weber era, which ended following the 2011-2012 season.
During McClain’s 11 years at Illinois, the Illini reached the NCAA tournament nine times, including a trip to the National Championship game in 2005 when they lost to North Carolina.
He also was on staff for one season (2012-2013) with Weber as the director of Student-Athlete Development at Kansas State University. McClain was responsible for handling special projects and assisting with personnel development and recruiting. He was also involved in the Life Skills program and counseling players in career planning.
In the final year of his life, McClain would return the Central Illinois region to be a head coach at Champaign Central High School boys basketball program, with son Sergio as his assistant in 2013.
McClain would turn a 5-20 team (in '12-'13) to an 18-11 IHSA Sectional Title contender in 2013-2014.
Adding his 18-11 mark at Champaign Central to his 177-35 mark at Manual, numbers brought McClain’s all-time head coaching record to 195-46, a winning percentage of .809.
He is survived by his wife Robin, son Sergio, Sr. daughter Brindeshie, and grandson Sergio, Jr.
The "Godfather Of Peoria Basketball" Wayne McClain dead at the age of 60.
