Bruce Weber (basketball)

For other people named Bruce Weber, see Bruce Weber (disambiguation).

Bruce Weber

Bruce Weber (born October 19, 1956 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is the head coach of the University of Illinois men's basketball team. Weber has led the program to two outright Big Ten Conference championships and and four trips to the NCAA Tournament, including an appearance in the championship game of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

Coaching

Weber began his coaching career with a brief stint as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky University during the 1979-80 season under head coach Gene Keady. In 1980, Weber moved to Purdue University along with Keady. He would remain an assistant coach at Purdue for eighteen seasons before becoming the head coach at Southern Illinois University in 1998. In his five seasons at Southern Illinois, Weber led the Salukis to consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances, including an NCAA Sweet Sixteen finish in 2002.

In 2003, Roy Williams, after much speculation, left the University of Kansas to take his "dream job" at the University of North Carolina. Subsequently, Bill Self, the head coach at the University of Illinois at the time, departed the Illini to coach the Jayhawks. After a nation-wide search, Illinois Athletic Director Ron Guenther selected the regionally-known Weber to replace Self on April 30, 2003.

The Illini played a tough early season game against North Carolina on December 2nd in Greensboro, and was tied at 69 with just six minutes to go. Illinois eventually lost the game 88-81, but it proved to be a good test for the young team with no seniors in the starting lineup. Weber faced his toughest test after starting the conference schedule with an even 3-3 mark. Many fans doubted the coaching changes he introduced to the team, and some skeptics questioned his strategy since all of the starters had been recruited by coach Self. He changed many doubters' minds by winning the remaining ten games on the conference schedule, winning the Big Ten title outright for the first time since 1952. In post-season play, the Illini finished second, losing to Wisconsin in the championship game. They received a bid for a fifth seed in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, defeating Murray State and Cincinnati in the first two rounds. A 72-62 loss to top seeded Duke ended their tournament run, but capped a solid first season for coach Weber.

2004-05 season

The 2005 season opened with high expectations. All of the starters were returning, and some magazines were picking Illinois as the preseason favorite. Weber himself had set going to the Final Four as the team's goal before the first game was played. On December 1st, the Illini crushed the number one ranked team Wake Forest University 91-73 at Assembly Hall. Weber sported a glowing orange blazer for the game, and Assembly Hall was painted orange by the 16,618 fans wearing school colors. The pressure grew for Weber as the victory vaulted the Illini to the top spot in the polls the following week, a spot they would carry for the rest of the season. Regular season perfection ended on the last game of the regular season. Illinois lost a 12 point, second-half lead to Ohio State and lost to the Thad Matta-coached Buckeyes 65-64.

In the post-season tournaments, they quickly regained form - winning the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. In the 2005 NCAA Tournament, the team received the overall top seed and top seed in the Midwestern Regional, and defeated Farleigh Dickinson and Nevada in the first two rounds in Indianapolis. In the Sweet Sixteen, Weber led the Illini to victories over Milwaukee and Arizona. Weber could not deliver the Fighting Illini their first national championship, reaching the NCAA Final Four but falling 75-70 to North Carolina in the national championship game.

Weber coached the team to the best record in school history, finishing 37-2 and tying the NCAA record for most wins in a season. Weber won many coaching awards after the season, including the Naismith Award and Henry Iba Award.

2005 and beyond

After the spectacular 2004-05 season, Weber lost three starters to the NBA. The Illini did not have a significant dropoff, as they compiled a 26-7 record including another trip to the 2006 NCAA Tournament. His team just missed making the sweet-sixteen, losing to Washington in the second round.

The 2006-2007 season had a disappointing start, with losses to ranked opponents Arizona, Maryland, and Ohio State, the latter two adding blemishes to Illinois' superb 5-year home record. Consecutive losses to Xavier, Michigan, and Ohio State constituted the first 3-game losing streak in Weber's tenure. However, the Illini rebounded to finish 23-11 and qualify for the NCAA tournament.

The 2006-07 season also brought disappointment off of the court, as high school basketball star Eric Gordon reneged on a verbal commitment to Illinois and announced his intention to play at Indiana University. Additionally, guard Jamar Smith was the driver in an accident that left center Brian Carlwell with a severe concussion. [1] Smith eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI and received a 15-day jail sentence. [2] By February 2007, some columnists had begun to predict Weber’s demise. [3]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley Conference) (1998–2003)
1998–1999	Southern Illinois	15-12	10-8	T-5th
1999–2000	Southern Illinois	20-13	12-6	3rd	NIT 2nd Round
2000–2001	Southern Illinois	16-14	10-8	T-4th
2001–2002	Southern Illinois	28-8	14-4	T-1st	NCAA Sweet 16
2002–2003	Southern Illinois	24-7	16-2	1st	NCAA 1st Round
Southern Illinois:		103-54	62-28
Illinois (Big Ten Conference) (2003–present)
2003–2004	Illinois	26-7	13-3	1st	NCAA Sweet 16
2004–2005	Illinois	37-2	15-1	1st	NCAA Runner-Up
2005–2006	Illinois	26-7	11-5	T-2nd	NCAA 2nd Round
2006–2007	Illinois	23-12	9-7	T-4th	NCAA 1st Round
2007–2008	Illinois	10-14	2-9	9th
Illinois:		122-42	50-25
Total:		225-96
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Personal

Weber was born in Milwaukee to Louis and Dawn Weber, growing up with two sisters and two brothers. Weber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in education. He was the catcher for Milwaukee's varsity baseball team, and also attempted to walk-on to the Panthers basketball team, but was subsequently cut. Weber added a master's degree in education administration and physical education from Western Kentucky University in 1981. He is married to Megan Weber, and has three daughters - Hannah, Christy and Emily. In 2006, Weber signed a deal with Illinois to extend his contract through 2010. His current base salary is $750,009.32, but including endorsements, he earns around 1.5 million dollars per year.

External links

• Bruce Weber Official Bio
• Illinois Fighting Illini: The Official Athletic Site
• 2005 Henry Iba Award Winner
• Grilling Weber (The Chicago Sports Review - September 2005)