Illinois Fires Bruce Weber

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 9, 2012 4:40PM

The University of Illinois has scheduled a press conference for 11 a.m. where athletic director Mike Thomas is expected to announce the firing of men's basketball coach Bruce Weber and the future of the men's basketball program.

Weber coach the Illini to a 17-15 record this season, a mediocre mark highlighted by a complete collapse of the team after roaring to a 15-3 start. There's been much criticism of Weber's inability to motivate his players during the free fall, and it seemed as though the speculation over his future had an adverse effect on both Weber and the team.

Weber coached nine seasons at Illinois after replacing Bill Self, who moved on to Kansas. Coming from Southern Illinois University, Weber had a reputation as a coach who brought out the best in his players who managed to fit them into a system that best brought out their abilities. In his first two seasons at Urbana-Champaign, Weber led the Illini to a Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA tournament and a second-place finish in the tourney in the 2005 tournament. But he was dogged by niggling criticisms that he was a good coach succeeding with Self's recruits.

Weber's subsequent attempts at recruiting blue chip players led to further criticism that he wasn't bringing in the right players for his system and that maybe he's best suited for a mid-major program where players stay three or four years and develop. He leaves Illinois with a 210-101 overall record; 89-66 in Big Ten play.

Thomas has quickly put his stamp on Illinois' athletic program. He also fired Ron Zook as head football coach and replaced him with Toledo's Tim Beckman, who apparently uses porridge as a punishment tool. ESPN reports a possible candidate to succeed Weber is Virgina Commonwealth's Shaka Smart. Smart coached VCU to last year's Final Four, and he and Thomas worked together at Akron.

If Illinois receives an invitation to the NIT or a lesser tournament, Weber will not coach the team.