Bruce Weber (basketball)

Bruce Brett Weber (born October 19, 1956) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the men's basketball head coach at Kansas State University.^[1] Weber was formerly head coach at Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois.^[2]

Weber has won conference championships and conference coach of the year awards at each of the three schools where he has served as head coach. He has guided his teams to a combined total of ten NCAA Tournaments, including an appearance with Illinois in the championship game of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Weber was the consensus national coach of the year in 2005.

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.

Southern Illinois

In his five seasons at Southern Illinois, Weber led the Salukis to consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003, including a Sweet Sixteen finish in 2002.

University of Illinois

On April 30, 2003, Weber was hired by Illinois to replace Bill Self, who had departed from Illinois to take the head coaching job at Kansas.

2003–04 season

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. The Illini finished second losing to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. They received a bid as a #5 seed in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, defeating Murray State and Cincinnati in the first two rounds to reach the Sweet Sixteen. 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 and the return of all the team's starters. On December, 1 the Illini defeated the number-one ranked team, Wake Forest, 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 on a last second shot to the Thad Matta-coached Buckeyes, 65–64. The Illini won the Big Ten regular season and Tournament titles.

In the 2005 NCAA Tournament the team received the overall #1 seed, and top seed in the Midwest 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 Arizona in an amazing comeback to advance to the Final Four.^[3] 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 the Henry Iba Award.

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 NCAA Tournament.

The 2006–07 season had a disappointing start, including the first three-game losing streak in Weber's tenure. However, the Illini rebounded to finish 23–11 and again qualify for the NCAA tournament.

The 2007–08 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.^[4]

The team improved markedly the following year, however, finishing 24–10, 11–7 in the Big Ten and returning to NCAA Tournament.

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 Tournament opening-round game to Iowa, Weber was relieved of his duties.^[5] During his nine-year tenure as Illinois coach, Weber amassed a Big Ten record of 89–64, and an overall record of 210–101. His overall win percentage with Illinois (67.5%) stands as second only to Bill Self in the modern era.

Kansas State University

On March 31, 2012, Weber was hired as head coach at Kansas State University, a school that was coming off three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.^[1] In his first season at K-State, Weber led the Wildcats to 27–8 record and tied for the Big 12 Conference title with a 14–4 conference mark. The title was K-State's first regular season conference championship since 1977. Weber was named the 2012–13 Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year. His first season at KSU ended with an upset loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to LaSalle 63-61, in Kansas City's Sprint Center.^[6]

Shortly after the end of Weber's first season, starting point guard Angel Rodriquez and reserve forward Adrian Diaz announced their intentions to transfer.^[7][8] Also, freshman guard Michael Orris, a member of Weber's original recruiting class, left the team to join Northern Illinois.^[9] Kansas State's roster was further thinned when incoming freshman Neville Fincher was declared ineligible for the 2013–14 season, and incoming point guard Jevon Thomas was declared ineligible for the fall semester.^[10][11]

Weber started his second season at Kansas State 0–1 after losing at home to the Big Sky Conference's Northern Colorado Bears, but finished the non-conference schedule with an 8-game winning streak and a 10–3 record. In its first conference game, Kansas State upset #6 Oklahoma State and earned a #25 ranking in the following week's AP Poll. The team finished the regular season with a 20–12 record, 10–8 in the Big 12 and returned to the NCAA Tournament for a school-record fifth straight season.

Weber's third season at Kansas State ended with a 15–17 record (8–10 in Big 12 play). The school did not advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. The losing record was just the second for Weber in his 17 seasons as a head coach. Following the season, Weber's squad saw the transfer and departure of six scholarship players, including Marcus Foster, Jevon Thomas, Nigel Johnson, Tre Harris and Malek Harris.^[12]

As a result of the departure of those players, the 2015–16 season was difficult. The Wildcats finished 17–15, 5–13 in Big 12 play.

Professional players coached

Head coaching record

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. Weber added a master's degree in education administration and physical education from Western Kentucky University in 1981.^[1] He is married to Megan Weber, and has three daughters – Christy, Emily, and Hannah.^[1]

References