H E A D
C O A C HEADLINE H B R U C E
Weber’s 2008-09 squad was one of the most improved teams in the country, as the Fighting Illini posted a 24-10 record, including a tie for second place in the Big Ten with an 11-7 mark, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in six seasons. With 10 more regular season victories than it achieved the year before, Illinois tallied the third-biggest turnaround in NCAA Division I and the second-largest turnaround among BCS programs on the year. The team earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA West Regional in Portland, Ore., where they lost to upstart Western Kentucky before finishing the year ranked 24th in the Pomeroy rankings.
W E B E R
■ Weber
Coaching Record
Weber recorded his seventh 20-win season at Illinois in 2010-11 with a 20-14 record, as the squad spent more than of the season in the Top 25 and finished a tie for fourth place in a competitive Big Ten race that resulted in the conference having a then record-tying seven teams in the NCAA Tournament. With its NCAA second-round victory over UNLV, Illinois defeated a higher-seeded team for the second time in school history and recorded its first tournament win since 2006 before falling to top-seed Kansas in the second round. The team finished the year ranked 18th in the Ken Pomeroy’s rankings and 25th in Jeff Sagarin’s ratings. A team loaded with six freshmen, Weber guided the Fighting Illini to a 17-15 overall record in 2011-12, including a tie for ninth in the Big Ten with a 6-12 mark. The squad jumped out to a 15-3 record, which included wins over NCAA Tournament teams Gonzaga, St. Bonaventure, UNLV and No. 5 Ohio State, before the youthful Illini dropped 12 of their last 14 games. Two players were named to the All-Big Ten team, including sophomore Meyers Leonard, who opted to forgo his final two college seasons for the NBA Draft and was selected with the No. 11 pick by the Portland Trail Blazers. Weber has earned a solid reputation as a coach who stresses player development and fosters an unselfish brand of basketball where the most important facet is chemistry. His teams strive for up-tempo motion offense to go with hard-nosed man-to-man defense. Offensively, Weber’s teams have proven to be efficient with the ball in averaging 70 or more points in five of his nine seasons with Illinois, while leading the Big Ten in scoring in 2004 (72.8 ppg.) and ranking second in 2005. (77.0 ppg.). His teams at Southern Illinois also scored the ball well with averages of 75.5 (2002) and 74.5 (2003) points per game in his final two seasons. In 2009, Weber’s Illini led the nation in assist rate with an impressive 69.3 percent of Illinois’ baskets scored off of an assist, while the squad led the Big Ten and ranked seventh nationally with 17.5 assists per game average. In 2012-13, K-State ranked among the Top 20 nationally in assists (16th, 15.9 apg.) and assist-to-turnover ratio (11th, 1.38), while setting school records in both categories. A trademark of Weber-led teams are its fundamentally sound defense, holding opponents to less than 43 percent shooting each of the last 12 seasons, including a K-State squad which held foes to 41.8 percent from the field in 2012-13. The Wildcats, who led the Big 12 in scoring defense and ranked 36th nationally, posted the lowest opponent scoring average (60.4 ppg.) since 1982-83 and ninthlowest in school history. It marked the fourth time since 2006 that a Weber-coached squad paced a league in scoring defense and ranked among the Top 20 nationally in the category, including third in 2009 (57.2 ppg.) and fourth (57.1 ppg.) in 2007. ■ Southern Illinois Years (1998-2003)
Prior to his time at Illinois, Weber spent five seasons at Southern Illinois, where he led the Salukis to the top of the Missouri Valley, including league titles in 2002 and 2003, while collecting a 103-54 (.656) record from 1998 to 2003. His teams were a combined 52-15 (.776) those last two seasons, including consecutive MVC regular-season titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. His 2001-02 squad collected 28 wins, including 14 in league play, and made a run to the Sweet 16 with wins over Texas Tech and Georgia. He once again led the Salukis to the NCAA Tournament in 2002-03, where his team tallied 24 wins, including an impressive 16-2 mark in MVC play, before losing in the first round to No. 23 Missouri. Named head coach in April 1998, Weber led the Salukis to its first winning season in four years with a 15-12 record in 1998-99, including a tie for fifth-place in the Missouri Valley. He followed with the school’s first 20win season since 1994-95 in year two, which included a trip to the 2000 NIT. He led SIU to its first postseason victory since 1990-91 with a 94-92 win at Colorado in the first round before losing at BYU in the second round. ■ Western Kentucky and Purdue Years (1980-98)
Weber has a long association with Gene Keady for whom he spent 19 years an assistant coach, first at Western Kentucky (1979-80) and then at Purdue (1980-98). After helping the Hilltoppers to a 21-8 overall record, an Ohio Valley Conference title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1979-80, Weber followed Keady to West Lafayette, Ind., where for the next 18 seasons, he helped build the Boilermaker program into one of the best in the nation. During his stint, Purdue advanced to the postseason play 17 times, including 14 trips to the NCAA Tournament and three appearances in the NIT. The squad averaged nearly 22 wins with Keady-Weber at the controls, including six Big Ten titles, and a 394-168 (.701) overall record. ■ USA
Basketball Experience Weber is also actively involved in USA Basketball, where he serves on the Men’s Junior National Committee with Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Washington’s Lorenzo Romar, which selects coaches and athletes for USA Basketball college-aged competitions, including the World University Games, FIBA U19 World Championships, FIBA Americas U18 Championships and Pan American Games. He also served as an assistant coach for the USA Team at the World University Games in 1989 and head court coach for the Pan American team trials in 1991. Weber assisted Gene Keady in preparation for the Jones Cup, World University Game and Pan American Games while an assistant at Purdue.
■ Coaches vs. Cancer
Weber is involved in a number of charities, most notably Coaches vs. Cancer. He has been one of the nation’s most active coaches in the program, currently serving on the organization’s Council, and was the recipient of the 2007 Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award. ■ Personal
Weber, 57, began his coaching career in his hometown of Milwaukee, where he started as a volunteer assistant at Madison (Wis.) High School before becoming a varsity assistant at Marquette University (Wis.) High School. Weber earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1978 and a master’s degree in education adminstration and physical education from Western Kentucky in 1981. He and his wife, Megan, of 33 years, have three daughters: Hannah, Christy and Emily.
Assistant Coach Western Kentucky (1979-80) Year 1979-80
Overall 21-8
Conf. Finish 10-2 (t-1st)
Postseason NCAA First Round
Conf. Finish 10-8 (4th) 11-7 (5th) 11-7 (t-2nd) 15-3 (t-1st) 11-7 (3rd) 11-7 (t-4th) 15-3 (t-1st) 16-2 (1st) 8-10 (t-6th) 13-5 (2nd) 9-9 (t-5th) 8-10 (t-6th) 9-9 (t-5th) 14-4 (1st) 15-3 (1st) 15-3 (1st) 12-6 (t-2nd) 12-4 (3rd)
Postseason NIT Third Place NIT Runner-Up NCAA Second Round NCAA First Round NCAA First Round NCAA First Round NCAA Second Round NCAA Sweet 16
Assistant Coach Purdue (1980-98) Year 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98
Overall 21-11 18-14 21-9 22-7 20-9 22-10 25-5 29-4 15-16 22-8 17-12 18-15 18-10 29-5 25-7 26-6 18-12 28-8
NCAA Second Round NCAA First Round NIT Final Eight NCAA First Round NCAA Elite Eight NCAA Second Round NCAA Second Round NCAA Second Round NCAA Sweet 16
Overall Record As An Assistant Coach: 415-176 (.702)
Head Coach Southern Illinois (1999-2003) Year 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03
Overall 15-12 20-13 16-14 28-8 24-7
Conf. Finish 10-8 (t-5th) 12-6 (3rd) 10-8 (t-4th) 14-4 (t-1st) 16-2 (1st)
Postseason NIT Second Round NCAA Sweet 16 NCAA First Round
Head Coach Illinois (2003-12) Year 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
Overall 26-7 37-2 26-7 23-12 16-19 24-10 21-15 20-14 17-15
Conf. Finish 13-3 (1st) 15-1 (1st) 11-5 (t-2nd) 9-7 (t-4th) 5-13 (t-9th) 11-7 (t-2nd) 10-8 (5th) 9-9 (t-4th) 6-12 (t-9th)
Postseason NCAA Sweet 16 NCAA Runner-Up NCAA Second Round NCAA First Round NCAA First Round NIT Quarterfinals NCAA Third Round
Head Coach Kansas State (2013-present) Year 2012-13 Total
■
Overall 27-8 340-163
Conf. Finish 14-4 (t-1st) 165-97
Postseason NCAA Second Round 9 NCAAs, 2 NITs
By the Number
Overall: 340-163 (.676) Conference Play: 165-97 (.630) ■ Non-Conference: 175-66 (.726) Home: 197-38 ■ Away: 79-80 ■ Neutral: 64-45 Conference Championship: 20-13 (.606) Postseason: 14-11 [11-9 in NCAAs] Overtime: 13-8
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PREVIEW STAFF PLAYERS OPPONENTS REVIEW RECORDS HISTORY UNIVERSITY
Weber’s seventh Illini squad in 2009-10 tallied 21 victories - including six wins over Top 25 opponents - a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten with a 10-8 mark and a trip to the quarterfinals of the NIT. Led by junior Demetri McCamey and Big Ten Freshman of the Year D.J. Richardson, the team knocked off No. 5 Michigan State and No. 11 Wisconsin in back-to-back games during the regular season before earning the team’s sixth postseason appearances in seven years under Weber and the first in the NIT.