New Illini men's basketball head coach John Groce

The press conference actually happened, and as of 1pm today the drama is over and the Fighting Illini have a brand-new head coach for the men’s basketball team: John Groce.

You could tell that AD Mike Thomas was also relieved at the press conference, and he had a much more jovial vibe than yesterday during the introduction of women’s coach Matt Bollant. Thomas cracked a nice little joke that he will only hire coaches with less hair than he has (40-year-old Groce has no hair, Bollant’s is going quickly).

The Assembly Hall had the band playing and was set up more like a concert or political rally than a presser when Groce arrived with his lovely wife Allison and sons Camden and Connor. Allison was sporting the cutest orange dress on the planet, and I wonder if she had that in her wardrobe or did some quick shopping at Marketplace Mall. Groce had a nice orange and blue striped tie, and soon after taking the stage Thomas handed him an Illini baseball cap.

I can’t say Groce has the same energy level as someone like Tim Beckman, but he was clearly excited and said all the right things. He referenced the 1989 Flying Illini and the half-court shot by Nick Anderson to beat the Hoosiers. To quote @jjhparker, “He had me at Flying Illini.” Groce grew up between Danville and Indianapolis, and admitted growing up a Hoosier. He also said he’s a Big Ten guy, and that this was the first and only job he considered taking. That’s the perfect thing to say to us wounded fans who fear our program isn’t as attractive as we thought.

Also during the presser, Groce got a little teary as he introduced his parents. That kind of true emotion is a beautiful thing. I’m not afraid of a man who might cry, as long as it is for the right reasons. Then, as the questions came his way, Groce stayed poised and said all the right things. He isn’t afraid to recruit in Chicago, and mentioned he worked with Evan Turner. Someone “went there” and asked how he felt about people who are skeptical due to his conference record. He said he’s a glass half full kind of guy and optimistic about what’s up next. As for whether he’s going to talk to Meyers Leonard about staying, he said he’s going to talk to ALL the guys and looks forward to getting to know them.

My one fear? Jerrance Howard didn’t seem to be a priority. I know Groce can’t comment on the details of anything, but I would’ve liked some reassurance that they’re going to do all they can to get Howard to stay. Thomas did comment at the start of the presser that Howard has done a great job so far, so maybe that was the effort to give him a shoutout? Sounds like Groce wants to bring in his guys, which is fine, but we NEED Howard to continue to get those Chicago guys. Also, though he said the right things, Groce did look just a wee bit uncomfortable at times. But then again, who wouldn’t?

The whole Groce fam. Check out Allison's dress!

Aside from that small blip, Groce did a great job. I’m excited to have a coach and can’t wait until the season starts in November. Thomas and Groce stressed that there were no snafus in the process, and there was never a presser scheduled for Tuesday, so perhaps we’ll never know the whole truth. Final deal: $1.4 million over 5 years.

What Groce had to say: “I am thrilled to be the basketball coach here and feel like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our family. The Midwest background and values we share makes the University of Illinois a perfect for us and we’re looking forward to making an impact on the basketball court as well as in the Champaign-Urbana community.”

The Scoop on Groce from the official release:

• Four seasons as HC of Ohio University with overall record of 85-56
• Mid-American Conference Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2012.
• Ohio went to the Sweet 16 this year after beating No. 4 Michigan and No. 12 South Florida, and then lost in overtime to No. 1 UNC.
• This year was the second time in Ohio’s school history and first since 1964 that the Bobcats won multiple games in the NCAA Tournament.
• Ohio was ranked second nationally in turnover percentage and third in steals percentage.
• With wins in 2010 and 2012 Tourneys, Ohio became just the sixth school ever to win Tournament games as both a 13 and 14 seed.
• 19 years experience coaching, and his teams have made 16 postseason appearances.
• His overall coaching record is 434-212.
• Spent four seasons with Thad Matta at OSU from 2005-2008.
• Groce played a key role in recruiting many of the top players at Ohio State and was named Rivals.com’s 2006 National Recruiter of the Year.
• From 2002-2004 was on Matta’s staff at Xavier.
• Assisted at Butler from 2000-2001.
• First D1 Coaching job under Herb Sendek at North Carolina State from 1997-2000.
• Started coaching career as an assistant at Taylor University in Upland, Ind.
• Earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Taylor in 1994.

When I went to bed last night, Illinois had a women’s basketball coach, and it seemed we were still in negotiations with our third (fourth, fifth?) choice for a men’s basketball coach. This morning, those buzzy “sources” are saying that it’s pretty official, John Groce (pronounced Gross) will be the new head coach of the Illini men’s basketball team.

As soon as the presser is scheduled and the press release with all his accolades is in my inbox I’ll relay them to you along with a spiffy pic, but for now all you need to know is that he comes from being the head coach of the Ohio Bobcats, who almost beat UNC in the Sweet 16 to head to the Elite Eight in this year’s Tournament. Again, I’ll present deeper stats on a platter when they come from his glowing press release, because like many, I don’t know too much about the guy.

Now that the coaching search mess is probably over, let’s take a quick look back at what went down, according to “sources” of course. One day after losing to Iowa in the first game in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, Bruce Weber was fired as the head coach. This was on March 9, and now on March 28 we may have a replacement. Not for nothing, the South Carolina head coach was fired on March 13 and Frank Martin was hired on the 19th, also on March 9 Nebraska fired Doc Sadler, and they hired on the 23rd.

Anyway, after firing Weber, the first thing AD Mike Thomas did was go at VCU coach Shaka Smart – hard. We had to wait until he finished the Tourney, but after that it was full-court press no holds barred – with everyone and their mother aware of every detail of the attack and the contract. And then he turned us down.

Shortly after, strange rumors were swirling about Brad Stevens, who is in the exact same category as Smart in vowing to never leave his mid-major for a bigger school because he’s happy where he is thank you very much. I’m surprised Gonzaga’s Mark Few wasn’t the next guy on the list.  Twitter exploded with reports of Stevens making the jump, only to find out he’d been fishing all day. Stevens politely turned down the job, but it’s not clear if it was every really officially offered.

Then came the Groce rumors. Fans were disappointed that it wasn’t a flashy hire, though he seemed to be a good guy with a nice track record. Having worked under Thad Matta at OSU and Xavier, Groce is credited as bringing in Greg Oden and Mike Connelly Jr. to the Buckeyes. Evan Turner, a Chicago guy, has been praising Groce on Twitter as well.

He isn’t splashy, but he is going to be cheaper. So then we were convinced and ready for the drama to end, but there seemed to be a snafu. Rumors now circulated that members of the Board of Trustees (BOT) were pissed he wasn’t a minority. A presser was announced and rescinded, the negotiations halted, and fans who didn’t know who Groce was a few days prior were outraged.

Throughout all this, yesterday we hired Matt Bollant as the women’s basketball coach! The BOTs claimed they had no part in anything, and then Ohio was reportedly doing their best to woo Groce back. Which would put Illinois back at square one with everyone already afraid to touch the job with a ten-foot poll.

If the rumors are in fact true this time, welcome to Illinois John Groce! I admire your tenacity in terms of not being afraid of our rabid fan base, and I hear you might be able to conquer Chicago. Just make sure Jerrance Howard is on the staff, and I think you’ll do fine. More than anything else, we’re just happy that it’s over and that we have a coach. Now let’s put the mess behind us and win some games!

Oh, and if you want to hire that Simeon guy so we can get Jabari Parker, that would be swell. Best of luck!

Matt Bollant, the new Illinois Women's Basketball Coach

Finally! The search for an Illini basketball coach has ended – for a women’s coach that is. For the last few weeks, Athletic Director Mike Thomas and the board of trustees seem to have been publicly making a mess of the men’s coaching situation, though they did find time to land what seems like a great catch for the women’s job.

Matt Bollant of University of Wisconsin – Green Bay will be the second male coach to take over the helm of the Fighting Illini women’s basketball team in the history of the program. The UWGB head coach for the last five years, Bollant’s impressive overall record there of 148-19 (.886 winning percentage) and 85-5  in the Horizon league. Green Bay was ranked as high as No. 9 in the national polls each of the past two seasons, finishing the 2011 season with that ranking.

Last year, Green Bay went 4-0 against the Big Ten Conference, defeating Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State. This season the Phoenix downed Illinois 82-62 at the San Juan Shootout and had triumphs over No. 25 Georgia Tech, a team that reached the Sweet 16, Marquette and Wisconsin. As for this year’s Tourney,  Green Bay entered the tournament as the No. 10 seed, and defeated the No. 7 seed Cyclones on the their home floor, 71-57, before seeing a comeback fall short against No. 2 seed Kentucky (65-62) in the second round.

“It’s hard to find a coach in the country with a better reputation for winning than Matt Bollant,” said AD Mike Thomas. “He has a proven track record of tremendous success both at the conference and at the national level. He is truly one of the best and brightest young coaches in the women’s game today and I consider it an honor to have him at the University of Illinois. I have no doubt that he has the experience and intangibles to duplicate that success in Champaign.”

Bollant was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year for the fourth time in 2012, guiding Green Bay to a 31-2 record despite losing Horizon League co-Players of the Year Kayla Tetschlag and Celeste Hoewisch. Senior Julie Wojta was a finalist for the Wade Trophy and earned WBCA Second Team All-America honors.

Bollant has an .837 winning percentage as a collegiate coach, including a 134-36 record at Bryan (Tenn.) College from the NAIA level. He guided the Lady Lions to four straight NAIA Tournaments, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2005-06. Bryan reached the top 25 rankings each of his last four years, reaching as high as No. 11 at the end of the 2006-07 season. Bollant coached four Appalachian Athletic Conference Players of the Year.

Bollant was as an assistant coach under Kathi Bennett, the daughter of former Wisconsin men’s coach Dick Bennett, for five seasons before becoming a collegiate head coach. He served three years under Bennett at the University of Evansville, helping the Purple Aces to the 1999 NCAA Tournament, then followed her to Indiana, where the Hoosiers became the lowest seed (5) to win the Big Ten Tournament in 2002.

A 1994 graduate of Winona State University with a degree in business education, Bollant received a master’s degree in education from American Intercontinental University. He served as both the varsity and junior varsity head coach of Depper Life Academy in the Philippines and spent three years as the head coach at Tigerton (Wis.) High School, guiding the Tigers to a 63-10 record and to three Central Wisconsin Conference Small School titles from 1994-97.

He and his wife, Kari, have two daughters, Abi and Regan.

In his press conference this morning, of course Bollant said all the right things, as that’s what coaches tend to do. He seems eager, friendly and also realistic. The women’s basketball team hasn’t been very successful as of late, and it’s hard to fill that stadium. Bollant boasted impressive attendance numbers at UWGB, and plans to do the same for Illinois. Promising to work hard, and participate in the community as much as possible, his stated his motto as this: “Find a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

While it’s exciting to have a new women’s coach, the presser did have some crickets. Bollant seems like an impressive grab for Illinois, but everyone is too focused on the whole men’s coaching issue, making it difficult to get truly invested in this “other” new guy. Topping out at 20 minutes, reporters didn’t have too many questions for Mr. Bollant. Any success for the Illini is great for the school and the athletic department, so I hope that Bollant can do as promised and turn this struggling women’s program around.

If nothing else, it was nice to have a slight distraction from the chaos for a short period of time.

After days of speculation (well, weeks for some) Shaka Watch has officially ended, and not the way we wanted: Shaka Smart has turned down the job at Illinois.

The latest news comes from the The Chicago Sun Times, who reports that “multiple sources” have told them he has officially refused the offer. I’ve been getting really tired of all these “sources” every where with different reports, but I doubt the Sun Times would print something so definitive without some sort of real confirmation.

On the plus side, we can all get back to work. The decision has been made, we can exhale. And of course we’re disappointed, but I’ve said it all along: if he doesn’t want to come here, then we don’t want him.

I wish Shaka Smart nothing but the best of luck in his future career with VCU in in whichever conference it is they play in because I always forget. I’m also pleased to know that all of this hulabaloo has surely given him additional confidence, and I hope that VCU shelled out a pretty penny to keep him on board. Will the students’ tuition go up yet again?

Here we are back at square one, with the world as our oyster. We have no way of knowing what Smart would’ve done at Illinois, so let’s not speculate. No reason to mourn something if we don’t really know what it was.

It’s by no means the fault of AD Mike Thomas that Smart didn’t pick Illinois,  because if the guy made up his mind he made up his mind. However, did the entire world need to know how badly we wanted him?

All eyes on you now, Thomas. Make your move.

Listen, Illini fans have had a tough year. We’ve been through a lot with the football team imploding, and now our basketball team followed suit. And, while we realize that it was time for a change in the basketball arena, many of us are still mourning the loss of a standup guy like Bruce Weber.

We’ve been salivating at the thought of Shaka Smart leaving VCU for what we consider the greener (monetarily and in terms of national TV exposure) horse-covered pastures found at the University of Illinois. VCU was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, which in our minds meant that Shaka got a call either on the plane or first thing Sunday morning.

More official reports have pinpointed the in-person talks to have taken place on Monday. However, we have no idea what’s going on. Here are some of the things we’ve heard:

Mike Thomas will do anything it takes to get him, no holds barred

• Shaka is afraid to recruit in Chicago
• He’s worried about fan expectations
• He’s been recruiting all day in North Carolina
• He’s not going to take the job unless something drastically changes in 24 hours

The problem is, all of this information has come from “sources.” If all of these things are true, then we’ve got to assume that Shaka Smart just isn’t ready for a job like Illinois. You can’t blame a guy for feeling this way, and if that’s the truth, then I wish him the best of luck remaining at VCU, as he’s not the one to be running a major Big Ten program; it’s not for everyone.

That being said, fans actually DO believe that Shaka can do it. With Jerrance Howard helping out with recruiting and his charismatic personality, I feel like he’d be fine. And, with more rumors swarming that Robert Smith of Simoen High School is being considered as an assistant coach, it’s a slam dunk. As for the fans, holy cow we are already in love with him. Fans around the country have been glued to Twitter, message boards, what have you waiting with bated breath to see what he’s going to say.

The problem is, we’d like you to just say it already, Shaka. This thing has blown WAY out of proportion. Even though it’s only really been a few days, Shaka Smart pretty much knew that before Weber was let go this was his job to turn down. I find it hard to believe he is just hearing about this for the first time. The longer he waits, the worse it will be.

Also, it’s not making Illinois look great. If Shaka Smart turns down the job, we might never know the REAL reason. And, the next guy is going to feel slighted if he doesn’t receive the same offer – rumored to be $2.5+ million over 6 years. Not to mention the fact that fans are going to feel a little let down about the second choice.

Though if the second choice leads the team to success, we’ll soon be saying Shaka, who?

Will he take the job?

Way before the ink was dry on Bruce Weber’s pink slip (we’re talking February), experts and fans were speculating about who would be the next coach of Illinois. The job was ranked anywhere from top 25 to top 10, with Seth Davis even saying the job was better than a position at Duke.

The list grew longer and longer and ebbed and flow. We knew that the board had their eye closer on African-American candidate, after the hiring of a Caucasian Tim Beckman to coach football. No matter what names fell on and off the list, Shaka Smart from VCU was always squarely at the top.

At first I wasn’t convinced. He’s young, and he hasn’t been the head coach at a major program. However, he coached his gang to the Final Four last  year, and for the second year in a row he led the Rams to win the Colonial Conference to earn an invite to the Tournament. If that’s what he can do with those guys, imagine what he can do with Brandon Paul and DJ Richardson, not to mention mold=able youngsters like Tracy Abrams and Myke Henry.

Since the rumors were flying, I’ve started to pay attention. Shaka is energetic, excited and knows how to motivate. He’d bring in a curious crowd, and maybe he could do more than I thought. Then this video came out of Shaka before a game, and I got fully on board the bandwagon:

How could you not want this guy to coach your team?

So now, we wait. Obviously, he couldn’t start talking to AD Mike Thomas while he is getting ready for the Tourney. And when he accidentally wore an orange tie with a blue shirt against Wichita State, we all freaked out. It was a secret sign to Illini fans, or it was just the same outfit he wore in last year’s Elite 8 game. You want him to win and be successful, but you also want him to sign the papers ASAP.

After beating Wichita State, he faced Indiana. This one is tough, again, you certainly want him to beat one of our biggest rivals and make Tom Crean look silly, but then again he’s just getting more expensive with each win and we have to wait another week. In the end, the Hoosiers won by just 2 points, which is the perfect scenario. We can imagine with larger more athletic players Shaka could’ve steam rolled over the Hoosiers, and now Crean will have a soft place in his heart for that little guy who he beat to get to the Sweet Sixteen. Just wait until next year when you might have to face Shaka in Champaign.

So there you have it, we’re all ready for Shaka Smart to take the job, because it is his to turn down. Of course I haven’t forgotten about my dear Bruce Weber, who’s press conference brought tears to my eyes. But, I think Weber would be happy with the pick.

I just spent the last 15 minutes nervously watching the NIT Selection Show, only to not see Illinois appear in any bracket.  It’s a tough day when you have to feel depressed that your team can’t even get into the NIT.

In a way, I guess it isn’t a bad thing, because now this dreaded, horrible season has officially ended. Coach Bruce Weber was just let go on Friday, and AD Mike Thomas named Jerrance Howard the interim head coach. It is very possible that the guys would have simply lost in the first round had a bid been extended, and maybe it’s less embarrassing to end the team’s misery immediately: kind of like ripping off a bandage.

After Northwestern, Minnesota and Iowa were named, it seemed like it would be a mistake not to allow Illinois to have a shot as well, although only so many teams from each conference are going to get a chance at the NIT. The very last team announced to play in the NIT was Illinois State, which almost seemed like a little slap in the face.

There is a chance that the NIT reached out to Illinois, who indicated that they would not accept a bid. Former player Mike Davis tweeted something this week about Illinois rejecting a bid, but the Illinois SID was quick to refute the statement, and said that Illinois would for sure accept a bid if one were to be extended. So you have to slightly wonder if something went on behind the scenes, or if they just didn’t get a bid.

Now that the season is over, I will gather my thoughts and present a season wrapup. That’s not going to happen right now, because I’m a little too devastated. Again, on the bright side, I am 100% confident that next year can only get better. We’ll have a brand-new coach, which means if nothing else there will be no “will they or won’t they fire him” drama surrounding the season. Reports have said that all of the freshmen are staying, and our 1 recruit for next year PG Michael Orris has also stated he will stay with Illinois.

At this point, I am free to just sit back and relax and enjoy watching some good basketball. Oh, and now I don’t have to watch the NIT.

At this year's B1G Media Day

According to multiple sources, Illini head coach Bruce Weber has been fired from his position at Illinois following a disappointing first-round loss to Iowa at the start of the Big Ten Conference Tournament yesterday.

After finishing off the season 17-15 and 6-12 in the Big Ten, it was simply a matter of when this could happen, rather than if. The official press conference will occur at 11AM, but reports from ESPN.com indicate that he will not coach any post-season games should Illinois be invited to the NIT- which is by no means a guarantee.

Athletic Director Mike Thomas hasn’t even been on the job for a year, and as expected, he has fired the head coaches of the football team, women’s basketball team, and now the men’s basketball team.

Even though I knew this was coming, it is still a sad day. Bruce Weber was a great coach and a great guy, but in the end it just wasn’t the kind of fit that could lead to the championships that we desire as fans. I wish him nothing but luck in the future, and I believe that he will be just fine. If nothing else, he gets to cash a fat check for about $3.9 million. His old job at Southern Illinois is open, and even if that doesn’t work out I’m sure he will find another program with a little less pressure we he can shine again.

To see more about Weber’s career with Illinois, take a look at last week’s open love letter that I penned.

That’s it folks, aside from a possible invite to the NIT, the Illini basketballs season is officially over after today’s 64-61 loss to Iowa in the very first game of the very first round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament in Indianapolis.

The loss today truly represents the season as a whole, because Illinois started out strong (18-3 to start the season), fizzled out (losses at PSU and Minny, home against Wiscy), had a few shining moments (OSU and MSU wins) and then in the end couldn’t pull off the win.

Up at halftime 31-27, Iowa had the fight in the second half and got the win. Down by 4 points with 3 minutes to go, neither team scored until Matt Gatens made a free throw with 37 seconds left in the game. Illinois had about 3 minutes to do something, but instead missed shots and turned the ball over. A rare 3-pointer from Joseph Bertrand put the Illini down by just 1 point with 20 seconds to go, but it was too little too late.  Gatens made two more free throws, DJ Richardson missed a 3, and poof the game – and any hopes of getting a Tourney bid – vanished.

Meyers Leonard led the Illini with 18 points, and added 6 rebounds. Richardson had a nice game with 11 points and 6 rebounds, but Brandon Paul scored a measly 4 points and had a whopping 7 turnovers. Illinois only had 12 total, which means more than half came from Paul. It is by no means his fault, but when we really needed that Brandon boost, he didn’t show up.

Gatens, who has been strong for Iowa all year, had a game-high 20 points, while Aaron White had 13 points and 9 rebounds. Iowa had just 6 turnovers (less than Paul alone) and outrebounded the Illini 34-32. Also notable, Iowa had 19 free throw attempts, while Illinois had 0. Since I had to watch the game updates online while pretending to work, I didn’t get to see why on earth they weren’t able to force at least one foul that would lead to a free throw.

I know that had Illinois won this game they would have simply gotten squashed by Michigan State in the next round, but it still stings. There is zero chance at the Tournament, and now they are teetering on perhaps not even getting and invite to the NIT. Also, this most surely means that Bruce Weber’s career at Illinois is officially over. I have already heard rumblings that AD Mike Thomas could meet with Weber as early as tonight.

While this time of year when the season ends for Illinois is always depressing, in a way I am kind of happy that this disappointing season is finally over. After losing 12 of the last 14 games, a gal can only take so much pain. From my recent love letter to Coach Weber you’ll see I’m very sad to see him go, but at this point I fear it is the right decision to make. I wish him the best, but I want my team to WIN.

Now it’s time for me to just sit back and relax while others get to watch their team take the season to the next level.

Tomorrow could be the last day that Leonard, and Weber, are part of the Illini; Photo by Cary Frye

Tomorrow morning, Illinois will play the first game in the B1G Ten Tournament, which could end being the last game of the season, as well as the last game under Coach Bruce Weber.

At 10:30AM, Illinois will go up against Iowa, one of just two teams they were able to beat in the last 13 games of the season. It’s certainly a winnable game, but let’s face it, the guy are rundown, exhausted, and simply ready for this season to be over.

Neither team has any chance of making it into the tournament, and neither really has chance of beating Michigan State in the next round, so this game is pointless. I feel like I’ve been pretty supportive of the team throughout this abysmal downward spiral, but like watching the football team implode earlier this year, I’ve had just about enough. Nothing makes me sadder than watching the basketball season come to a close, but then I can start being hopeful about what will arise next year. So I guess what I’m saying is I don’t really care what happens in this game.

Oh, who am I kidding? I still have a teeny tiny shred of hope that Illinois will zoom past Iowa, and then squeeze past Michigan State who will have had a nice long break and recently lost Brandon Dawson to injury. But, then there will be yet another game involving most likely Wisconsin or Indiana, and then there is yet another game after that.

The Illini usually fair pretty well in the conference tournament, and in 2008 when their only chance of an NCAA Bid rested on the conference tournament they actually managed to sneak into the championship game. Sadly, they were overpowered by Wisconsin and thus were not even invited to the NIT.

Since we have no seniors – well, aside from a walk-on and Sam Maniscalco who only spent one year on the team – there isn’t too much riding on tomorrow’s game. With all the noise surrounding the impending firing of Coach Weber and the rumors that kids want to transfer due to lack of PT (Myke Henry and Mike Shaw for example), I don’t see them coming out with a lot of energy. The only guys who have anything riding on the game are Weber and maybe Meyers Leonard, who will have just one last shot to show NBA scouts what he can do.

Will This Be Weber’s Last Game?

The next question is whether or not AD Mike Thomas will fire Weber if Illinois loses tomorrow. I am of the opinion that he should be allowed to take the guys to the NIT and officially finish out the season, but I can see the advantages to turning down an NIT bid and just letting this season die.

Since the Assembly Hall is booked, Illinois will have to travel (ie pay) to go to the first round of the NIT, and it may not be worth it. Illinois is already going to have to shell out $3.9 million when they let Bruce go (which is now really a “when” rather than an “if”), so why spend more money on something like the NIT?

Additionally, why drag out the inevitable for both the players and the coaches? Thomas fired Zook before the bowl game, so that means he’s not messing around. Women’s basketball coach Jolette Law also got the boot the same day she lost in the first round of the conference tournament. It is very likely that Illinois will lose tomorrow morning, and Weber will be fired by the afternoon. Then, we can really start focusing on who will be the next coach, and what Illinois can do next year.