Illinois head coach Bruce Weber received his much anticipated two-year extension today form the Illinois Board of Trustees.
The University just better hope it knows what its doing.
The deal puts Weber under contract through the 2010-11 season. The new deal raises Weber’s current pay from $550,000 per year to $700,000 per year.
The school will also provide upgrades to the team’s practice facility in an effort to make it among the best nationwide.
"Of course I am pleased to receive a contract that has long-term security, but I'm even more excited about the other commitments that have been made to our," Weber said.
As Weber lead the Illini to a 37-2 record and its first national title game appearance, he expelled all doubts about his coaching abilities. However, being atop the polls for 15 straight months should correlate to a much better recruiting class.
All but one active player (seldom-used freshman Shaun Pruitt) on Illinois’ national runner up squad was recruited by current Kansas head coach Bill Self.
Weber needs to show he can take advantage of the school’s recent publicity and capitalize on the recruiting aspect of college basketball. So far, he has done none of that.
In the fall, Weber actively wooed Illinois’ Mr. Basketball and Top 10 recruit Julian Wright. Only days after Wright’s visit to Illinois, Self made a personal visit to Wright’s home.
Wright committed to Kansas although the Jayhawks weren’t on his “final” list of schools.
Luck has not gone his way since.
If recruiting doesn’t improve, how will the Broad of Trustees feel about that state-of-the-art practice facility if only a .500 ballclub is using it?
A coach is only as good as his players. Failure to capitalize on the recruiting scene now should have been a warning flag for the future. Bruce Weber may look deserving for a raise and extension today but will the Board of Trustees be shaking its head in a couple years?
