Ellis Eugene "Gene" Vance (February 25, 1923 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Chicago Stags and a collegiate athlete for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team. He was most famous for leading Illinois as a member of the famed "Whiz Kids" of the 1940s. He was drafted into the NBA in 1948, and played for the Chicago Stags, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and the Milwaukee Hawks.