Playing home games on the smallish gymnasium that remains on the UIS campus in what is known now as the Student Life Building, the Prairie Stars played one NAIA season as an independent before joining the American Midwest Conference for the 2003-04 season. Gamble and his Stars wasted little time finding success, winning the first game in program history, an 84-83 overtime victory over Goshen (Ind.) in Milwaukee, and the first home game, topping Cardinal Stritch, 79-69, in Springfield. The Stars finished with 13 wins in a 33-game schedule in that first season.
Not unexpectedly, the program had losing records in its first two years in the AMC and then found its rhythm in the 2005-06 season. UIS won 20 games for the first time in program history and finished tied with Columbia for the top spot in the AMC at 9-3. Freshman Kelvin Johnson was UIS's first AMC major award winner when he was named the AMC Freshman of the Year. Curtis Collins joined Johnson as AMC First-Team selections while Anthony Puckett and Michael Griffin were named Honorable Mention All-AMC. Plus, UIS led the GLVC in AMC Academic All-Conference honorees with nine, making a statement about the on and off court leadership for Gamble and his coaching staff.
"It was impressive how Coach Gamble led the team, said assistant coach Aaron Boettcher. "He allowed players to be their unique selves and trusted coaches on the staff in ways that I had never seen before or since. The fun this team had both on and off the court allowed them to play confidently and trust one another in all situations. That confidence and trust Gamble built, led the program to win so many close games and come up big in critical moments is something I will always remember about this special season and our amazing time at UIS."
The Stars had a bye to the AMC semifinals where they dispatched Missouri Baptist, 101-89, and then, in a packed home gym that was reached capacity and had standing room only seating 90 minutes before tipoff, UIS beat McKendree 83-76, to capture the program's first conference championship. In four short years, UIS had overtaken multiple NAIA powers to reach its first national tournament.
At that time, the NAIA held a 32-team Division I national tournament in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City as there were no regional sites. UIS dropped an 86-70 contest to Oklahoma Baptist, who made it to the final four, in the opening round.
Johnson later identified that season as the one that changed the culture of the program. "The year before I came, the team's record was 8-20. My freshman year, we won the conference and had a winning record. To see where UIS is now is impressive."
UIS captured another AMC title at the end of the 2006-07 season, following the same blueprint, finishing first in the regular season, knocking off Missouri Baptist in the semifinals, 100-78, and besting McKendree in the title game for the second year, 86-82.
The wins over McKendree were significant, not only for starting a key rivalry between the two schools, but because of the contrast in coaches. Harry Statham, who was amid his 52-year career where he became the all-time wins leader in college basketball history at the four-year level with more than 1,100 wins, faced off against this coaching newcomer. It was a shift in conference powers as UIS rose to the top of the conference in five short seasons. One year after UIS left the AMC for NCAA DII and the GLVC, McKendree followed.
Eddie Smith was the AMC Newcomer of the Year and AMC Player of the Year in 2006-07, and he joined Johson and Cory Famer on the AMC First Team along with UIS also having AMC's Freshman of the Year Matt Reynolds. Cory Farmer was also an Honorable Mention NAIA All-American. Returning to the NAIA Tournament for a second year, the Stars beat Lambeth, 104-89 in the opening round before falling to Oklahoma City, 90-78, in a battle of Stars. Oklahoma City won its first of two consecutive titles in 2007. Smith, a transfer from Texas A&M, played just one season at UIS and set the scoring mark at 22.0 points per game. Smith, who scotched the nets for 40 points in the opening round win over Lambeth, which remains the UIS single-game record, was named First-Team NAIA All-American.
Gamble was named AMC Coach of the Year after the 2005-06 and the 2006-07 seasons. Following the 2007 season, the program moved into a new arena, playing in The Recreation and Athletics Center (TRAC) on campus.
UIS played two more seasons in the NAIA and AMC, finishing tied for second in the conference both years, with an 11-3 mark in 2007-08 and 104 in 2008-09. Gamble's squads were 41-11 over the last four years in the AMC. The Stars advanced to the AMC semifinals both years but lost to Columbia each time. Kelvin Johnson continued to earn notoriety as he was named AMC First-Team four times, one of four AMC players ever to achieve that mark. He was the program's all-time leading scorer until Jack Weber passed him last season.
UIS made the move to NCAA Division II for the 2009-10 season, competing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, a 15-team league competing in three divisions. The league included three programs that are now Division I – Southern Indiana, Bellarmine and Northern Kentucky.
Assigned to the North Division, Coach Gamble and the Stars finished 11-13 with a 7-11 GLVC mark in that first season. Senior Richard Oruche was the first UIS player named to an All-GLVC squad when he earned second-team honors. From Illinois but of Nigerian descent, Oruche became the first UIS athlete to play in the Olympics, representing Nigeria in the 2012 games in London.
After that season, Gamble made the move to Division I, joining the coaching staff at Providence, working for Keno Davis, the son of Gamble's college coach, Tom Davis.
Gamble finished with a record of 130-79 on the sidelines in his hometown. He developed the program quickly so it would be attractive to a DII conference as UIS planned the transition to NCAA.
Gamble spent two years on the Providence staff before moving with head coach Davis to Central Michigan where he served as an assistant for six seasons. Since 2018, Gamble has been working with NBA teams as a scout and is currently the advance scout for the Houston Rockets.
"UIS was a great place for me to learn on the job," Gamble said shortly after arriving at Providence. "I was able to build my own program, learn on the job and make some mistake along the way."
At the same time, it put UIS firmly on the college basketball map, with success at both the NAIA and Division II level in its first decade, setting the foundation for today's program.
Editor's Note: Former players have been invited back to campus for the Saturday, Jan. 31 doubleheader. The 2005-06 team, which was the first basketball team to win a conference title and play in a national tournament, will receive special recognition.
