Bruce Weber (coach)

College coach infobox
Name = Bruce Weber
Sport = Basketball


ImageWidth = 150px
Caption =
DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1956|10|19
Birthplace = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
DateOfDeath =
Deathplace =
College = Illinois
Title = Head coach
Awards = Naismith College Coach of the Year (2005)
Associated Press National Coach of the Year (2005)
Big Ten Coach of the Year (2005)
MVC Coach of the Year (2003)
Championships = Big Ten Regular Season Championship (2004, 2005)
Big Ten Tournament Championship (2005)
MVC Regular Season Championship (2002, 2003)
CurrentRecord = 16-19(.457) Conference play: 5-13 (.278)
OverallRecord = 231-101(.696)
Player =
Years =
Team =
Position =
Coach = *
CoachYears = 1979–1980
1980–1998
1998–2003
2003–present
CoachTeams = Western Kentucky (asst.)
Purdue (asst.)
Southern Illinois
Illinois
CollegeHOFID =
BBallHOF =

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 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. 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.Fact|date=March 2008 Weber himself had set going to the Final Four as the team's goal before the first game was played.Fact|date=March 2008 On December 1st, the Illini defeated 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 a victory over Milwaukee and then the Arizona to advance to the Final Four. After leading Illinois to a win over Louisville in the Final Four, Weber could not deliver the Fighting Illini their first national championship, 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.Fact|date=March 2008

2005 and beyond

Despite losing three starters to the NBA. The Illini finished the 2005-2006 season with a 26-7 and reached the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The 2006-2007 season had a disappointing start, including the first 3-game losing streak in Weber's tenure. However, the Illini rebounded to finish 23-11 and again qualify for the NCAA tournament. The 2006-07 season did, however, bring some disappointment off of the court, as guard Jamar Smith was the driver in an accident that left center Brian Carlwell injured. [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2772512] Smith eventually pled guilty to aggravated DUI and received a 15-day jail sentence. [http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/05/25/sports/doc46560c233163c389906344.txt] The 2007-2008 season marks the first time during Weber's tenure that the Illini did not qualify for a postseason tournament. [http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/859113,CST-SPT-ill25.article]

Head coaching record

CBB Yearly Record Start
type=coach
conference=
postseason=
poll=noCBB Yearly Record Subhead
name=Southern Illinois
startyear=1998
conference=Missouri Valley Conference
endyear=2003|CBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 1998–1999
name = Southern Illinois
overall = 15-12
conference = 10-8
confstanding = T-5th
postseason = CBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 1999–2000
name = Southern Illinois
overall = 20-13
conference = 12-6
confstanding = 3rd
postseason = NIT 2nd RoundCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2000–2001
name = Southern Illinois
overall = 16-14
conference = 10-8
confstanding = T-4th
postseason = CBB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
season = 2001–2002
name = Southern Illinois
overall = 28-8
conference = 14-4
confstanding = T-1st
postseason = NCAA Sweet 16CBB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
season = 2002–2003
name = Southern Illinois
overall = 24-7
conference = 16-2
confstanding = 1st
postseason = NCAA 1st RoundCBB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Southern Illinois
overall = 103-54
confrecord = 62-28CBB Yearly Record Subhead
name=Illinois
startyear=2003
conference=Big Ten Conference
endyear=|CBB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
season = 2003–2004
name = Illinois
overall = 26-7
conference = 13-3
confstanding = 1st
postseason = NCAA Sweet 16CBB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
season = 2004–2005
name = Illinois
overall = 37-2
conference = 15-1
confstanding = 1st
postseason = NCAA Runner-UpCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2005–2006
name = Illinois
overall = 26-7
conference = 11-5
confstanding = T-2nd
postseason = NCAA 2nd RoundCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2006–2007
name = Illinois
overall = 23-12
conference = 9-7
confstanding = T-4th
postseason = NCAA 1st RoundCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2007–2008
name = Illinois
overall = 16-19
conference = 5-13
confstanding = T-9th
postseason = CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Illinois
overall = 128-47
confrecord = 53-29CBB Yearly Record End
overall=231-101

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.Fact|date=March 2008

External links

* [http://fightingillini.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/weber_bruce00.html Bruce Weber Official Bio]
* [http://fightingillini.com/ Illinois Fighting Illini: The Official Athletic Site]
* 2005 [http://www.oscarrobertsontrophy.org/content/view/21/18/ Henry Iba Award Winner]
* [http://www.chicagosportsreview.com/redesign/inprint/contentview.asp?c=167873 Grilling Weber] (The Chicago Sports Review - September 2005)