Champaign to rename street for Henson

CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Jan. 27 (UPI) -- A section of a street near Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill., will be renamed for Lou Henson, longtime Illinois basketball coach who retired last week.

The idea was proposed by Mayor Jerry Schweighart and approved by the Champaign City Council. Part of First Street will be renamed Henson Court.

Henson, 73, will be honored at the university this weekend along with a group of former players.

Henson coached at Illinois for 21 years. He was coach at New Mexico State when he retired because of health problems, including a recent bout with pneumonia.

"People saw it as an opportunity to honor him as they haven't been able to do before," City Manager Steve Carter told the Chicago Tribune.

Henson's teams won 779 games. Only five other major college coaches have had more wins.