Bruce Weber (basketball)
 |
| File:Weber,Bruce 20 JRB.jpg Bruce Weber at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010. | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Record | 0-0 (–) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 19, 1956 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 313–155 (.669) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Big Ten Regular Season Championship (2004, 2005) Big Ten Tournament Championship (2005) MVC Regular Season Championship (2002, 2003) | |
| 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) | |
Bruce Brett Weber (born October 19, 1956) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at Kansas State University. Weber is the former head coach of the University of Illinois men's basketball team.[1] Weber led the program to two outright Big Ten Conference championships and six trips to the NCAA Tournament, including an appearance in the championship game of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Coaching
Early career
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 remained an assistant coach at Purdue for 18 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.
On April 30, 2003, after a nation-wide search, Illinois Athletic Director Ron Guenther selected Bruce Weber to fill the men's basketball head coach position at the University of Illinois.
The Illini played a tough early season game against North Carolina on December 2 in Greensboro, and were 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.
Illinois
2004–05 season
The 2005 season opened with high expectations and the return of all the team's starters. On December 1 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, however, as 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, however, by 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. Illinois defeated Farleigh Dickinson and Nevada in the first two rounds in Indianapolis. In the Sweet Sixteen Weber led the Illini to a victory over his alma-mater Milwaukee, then defeated 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]
2005–2012
Despite losing three starters to the NBA, the Illini finished the 2005–06 season with a 26–7 record and reached the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The 2006–07 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 2006–2007 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 marked the first time during Weber's tenure that the Illini did not qualify for a postseason tournament, finishing the season with an overall record of 16–19, 5–13 in the Big Ten Conference. [3] The team improved markedly the following year, however, finishing 24–10 (11–7 in the Big Ten) and returning to NCAA Tournament.
The 2007 campaign saw Weber's first absence in a post-season tournament while at Illinois, and the first time since 1998 that the Illini failed to qualify. Weber subsequently came under fire for his recruiting. During the first seven years of his tenure, the Illini signed only three consensus top 100 student athletes. Subsequent years saw what was considered to be improved recruiting, with nine consensus top 100 players in Weber's final three classes to enter the university; however, subsequent events did not indicate that Weber's rebuild had been entirely successful. After a 10-0 start to the 2011-12 season, Weber's Illini went 7-15, finishing the season with a 17-15 record. On March 9, 2012, one day after the Illini lost its Big Ten Conference Tournament opening-round game to Iowa, Weber was fired.
During his nine-year tenure as Illinois coach, Weber amassed a Big Ten Conference record of 89-64, and an overall record of 210-101. However, in Weber's last 6 seasons as Illinois coach, both the overall and Big 10 conference results were among the worst in the history of Illinois basketball. Conference performance, especially, was pathetic, as the 6 year period.
On March 31, 2012, Weber was hired as head coach at Kansas State University, a school that had been to four NCAA tournaments in five seasons prior to Weber's arrival.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois Salukis (Missouri Valley Conference) (1998–2003) | |||||||||
| 1998–99 | Southern Illinois | 15–12 | 10–8 | T–5th | |||||
| 1999–00 | Southern Illinois | 20–13 | 12–6 | 3rd | NIT 2nd Round | ||||
| 2000–01 | Southern Illinois | 16–14 | 10–8 | T–4th | |||||
| 2001–02 | Southern Illinois | 28–8 | 14–4 | T–1st | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2002–03 | Southern Illinois | 24–7 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| Southern Illinois: | 103–54 (.656) | 62–28 (.689) | |||||||
| Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (2003–2012) | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | Illinois | 26–7 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2004–05 | Illinois | 37–2 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Runner–up | ||||
| 2005–06 | Illinois | 26–7 | 11–5 | T–2nd | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 2006–07 | Illinois | 23–12 | 9–7 | T–4th | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 2007–08 | Illinois | 16–19 | 5–13 | T–9th | |||||
| 2008–09 | Illinois | 24–10 | 11–7 | T–2nd | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 2009–10 | Illinois | 21–15 | 10–8 | 5th | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2010–11 | Illinois | 20–14 | 9–9 | T–4th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 2011–12 | Illinois | 17–15 | 6–12 | 9th | |||||
| Illinois: | 210–101 (.675) | 89–65 (.578) | |||||||
| Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12 Conference) (2012–present) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Kansas State | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Kansas State: | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | |||||||
| Total: | 313–155 (.669) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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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 UW–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.
References
External links
- 1956 births
- Living people
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- People from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball coaches
- Milwaukee Panthers baseball players
- WKU Hilltoppers basketball coaches
- Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball coaches
- Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coaches
- Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball coaches