Bruce Weber (coach)
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| Bruce Weber | ||
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| Title | Head coach | |
| College | Illinois | |
| Sport | Basketball | |
| Team record | 16-19(.457) Conference play: 5-13 (.278) | |
| Born | October 19, 1956 | |
| Place of birth | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 231-101(.696) | |
| Championships | ||
| Big Ten Regular Season Championship (2004, 2005) Big Ten Tournament Championship (2005) MVC Regular Season Championship (2002, 2003) |
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| 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) |
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| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1979–1980 1980–1998 1998–2003 2003–present |
Western Kentucky (asst.) Purdue (asst.) Southern Illinois Illinois |
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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.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.[citation needed] Weber himself had set going to the Final Four as the team's goal before the first game was played.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
[edit] 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. [1] Smith eventually pled guilty to aggravated DUI and received a 15-day jail sentence. [2] The 2007-2008 season marks the first time during Weber's tenure that the Illini did not qualify for a postseason tournament. [3]
[edit] Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
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| 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 | 16-19 | 5-13 | T-9th | |||||
| Illinois: | 128-47 | 53-29 | |||||||
| Total: | 231-101 | ||||||||
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National Champion Conference Champion Conference Tournament Champion |
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[edit] 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.[citation needed]
[edit] 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)
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