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Time not on Weber's side at Illinois

Illinois fans will remember Wednesday as the night Bruce Weber got himself fired.

It will be thought of as the final straw, the nail in the coffin, the concession speech you're not supposed to give until all precincts have reported.

“Instead of creating toughness and developing a team, I coach not to lose all year, and that's really sad,” Weber said Wednesday. “The last three years all I did was worry about winning instead of developing a culture and a toughness.

“We're always mollycoddling them.”

If it sounds like Weber has had enough, he probably has. If he sounds exhausted, he probably is. But if he sounds like he was being truthful, let's not criticize an NCAA coach for committing the crime of honesty.

“I spoke out of frustration following another difficult loss,” Weber said in a statement issued Thursday. “We have a young group that has now been involved in 13 games decided by 5 points or less, which I believe is the most of any program in the country this season.

“Our players, our staff, and I know our fans are frustrated because we are so close to putting it together.

“As I told our team last night, we have a lot to play for over these last five regular-season games as well as the Big Ten tournament. We still have an opportunity to make the NCAA Tournament.”

No doubt those closest to Weber encouraged him to expand and clarify his comments Thursday, but Weber didn't get himself in trouble Wednesday night for the heinous act of self-criticism. He's been in trouble since Aug. 10, 2011, the day Mike Thomas took over as athletic director.

That was the day Ron Zook was terminated, though he didn't get the memo until Nov. 27.

Weber's dispatch has probably been typed up and proofed, attached to emails and readied for delivery next month, barring some sort of miraculous Illinois turnaround.

The Illini started this season 15-3 (4-1), have gone 1-7 in the Big Ten since, and have lost four straight after a 67-62 loss to Purdue at Assembly Hall on Wednesday.

That's when Weber sounded like a man just too tired to fight the riptide any longer.

Besides, what could Weber possibly think after the interview Thomas gave on a Champaign radio show last weekend?

Given the opportunity to support Weber or hand him a vote of confidence, Thomas told WDWS 1400-AM, “Obviously, that's something that people are paying attention to. I will assess the situation, no different than I do with the other 18 sports. No different than I did with the football program.”

Yeah, how'd that work out for Zook?

“You need,” Thomas said, “to look at the total body of work.”

The “body of work” says Illinois is 49-52 in the Big Ten the last six years.

For those who believe the Illini possess better talent than that record, or think Chicago should deliver more to Illinois, or that it should be a destination campus for the best coaches, that body of work isn't good enough.

How much of that expectation is realistic is a question eternally unanswered in Champaign, but Bruce Weber's record has not pacified the townsfolk, and he already knows that.

Barring a miracle run through the conference tournament and into a couple of rounds of the NCAAs, Weber probably has written his own epitaph.

So let him rest now. The man's exhausted.

Next victim

Fans continue to believe that Illinois should be a destination university for a great college basketball coach, but that's probably never going to be true.

So even if you make the next great find, that guy is likely to move on within a couple of years. Someone intending to stay is probably going to be a lot like, well, Bruce Weber.

In other words, a coach who's better than the average, but not as good as the best of the best.

Jeremy Lin

In an unwatchable NBA season filled with blowouts and wretched teams, the Jeremy Lin story has been nothing but fun and a welcome respite.

But the funniest part of the story is watching the network media argue about why Lin is a big story and whether he deserves the hype, after the very same media helped create the big story and the hype.

The good cause

Winning a $10,000 seat at the World Series of Poker is just one of many prizes up for grabs at the 2012 Charity Poker Championship on March 1 at the River East Arts Center in Chicago.

The evening benefits Children's Oncology Services, Inc. (COSI), which provides important programs for kids with cancer. The $275 entry fee ($75 for spectators) includes a buffet and premium bar. Tournament seating will be random via draw, and all proceeds go to COSI.

For more info, visit onestepcamp.org, click on events and check out the poker championship.

The quote

Phil Mickelson on Tiger Woods: “I'm just very appreciative of what he's meant to the game of golf over the years. As I've said over the years, I don't believe anybody has benefited more from what he's done for the game than myself.”

Best line

Tony Campana to MLB.com on Anthony Rizzo: “He's huge. It's hard to imagine we're the same species.”

And finally …

CBS' Craig Ferguson: “The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue came out on Valentine's Day. It's like handing out free bacon on Passover.''

brozner@dailyherald.com

#376;Hear Barry Rozner on WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.

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