Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324
Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Press Release
June 3, 2025 - North Central College men's basketball's all-time scoring leader, the late Bill Warden '54, has been selected into the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2025. Warden was the first All-American in program history, earning NAIA national honors following his junior season.
Warden played for the Cardinals from 1951 to 1955 and remains one of the most dominant players in program history. He still holds several school records, including career points (2,249), points per game (28.5), and field goals made (847). During the 1953–54 season, he averaged a program-best 20.8 rebounds per game. A four-time All-College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin selection, Warden also made history as the first player in NAIA history to average more than 30 points per game in multiple seasons. In his final home game at North Central, his No. 14 jersey was retired as he led the Cardinals to a 91-71 win over Kalamazoo, scoring 39 points.
After graduating, Warden turned down a professional offer from the Minneapolis Lakers. Instead, he served two years in the U.S. Army before joining the National Industrial Basketball League, where he played for Caterpillar Tractor Co. Warden went on to a successful high school coaching career, highlighted by leading Morgan Park High School to the IHSA Class 2A Boys Basketball State Championship in 1976. He returned to North Central in 1981 as head coach, compiling a school-record 204 wins over 16 seasons and guiding the Cardinals to CCIW championships in 1985, 1989, and 1990.
Warden was inducted into the inaugural class of the North Central College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. He is also a member of the Basketball Museum of Illinois Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
To read his North Central Hall of Fame bio, click HERE.
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