Belief here is that Illini should strive for more

This is where I’m supposed to fire Bruce Weber again.

You know, shout that someone like prodigy Shaka Smart should replace Weber as Illinois’ basketball coach.

Smith’s Virginia Commonwealth team eliminated Purdue from the NCAA Tournament on Sunday after the Boilermakers beat Illinois twice this season.

Meanwhile, Kansas disposed of Illinois 73-59, meaning former Fighting Illini head coach Bill Self eliminated Weber.

Can’t bang my head against the wall over Weber just now. The wall is too hard because Illinois shows no inclination to get rid of him.

So let’s go in another direction. Let’s explore why Weber is retained despite good cases made against him.

What we have here is the dilemma faced all around big-time college sports: A conflict between winning and virtue.

Weber hasn’t won enough the past five seasons. Illinois’ victory Friday night over UNLV — technically from a midmajor conference — was its first in the NCAA Tournament since 2006.

The Illini went four years without a victory in the tournament after the longest it had gone winless the previous three decades was two years.

OK, so that’s the case against Bruce Weber.

Why, then, Illinois’ reluctance to replace Weber? Why not embark on a new, fresh, more promising era?

Well, a couple of reasons come to mind, one being that Illinois still draws big crowds to the Assembly Hall.

Economics are precarious in college sports these days, and Illini athletic director Ron Guenther is obsessed with balancing the books.

Next comes an even more compelling argument for retaining Weber: Guenther, an Illinois graduate, is obsessed with running a clean program.

Since the 1960s, Illinois had a penchant for cheating its way onto probation until Guenther took over as AD a couple of decades ago.

So, Priority 1 is not cheating, which Weber hasn’t been caught doing. Priority 2 is graduating players, which Weber is doing a good job of. Priority 3 is finances, which Weber or the lack of other entertainment options down there is helping with.

OK, so that’s the case for Bruce Weber and it’s a good one.

Here, though, is my problem with weighing those achievements with an underachieving team.

The implication is that the University of Illinois can’t muster a basketball program that can’t win both on and off the court.

As an alumnus, I’m not willing to accept that Illinois can’t be among the nation’s basketball elite while also playing it straight, graduating players and staying financially solvent.

I’m not naive. The perception of college basketball is that it’s harder to find a clean program than one that’s filthy successful.

Maybe there are some exceptions among schools doing well in basketball. Duke appears to be one. I hope Notre Dame is. But you never know what’s going on beneath the bubbling surface of them or any other program.

Here’s my suggestion: If a quality university like Illinois can’t excel at basketball without compromising values, then it should get out of the business.

Keep Bruce Weber for now if someone like Shaka Smart couldn’t come to Champaign and win within the rules.

After awhile, though, drop out of intercollegiate athletics entirely.

mimrem@dailyherald.com