Guenther wants to reward Weber

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NDIANAPOLIS — Illinois coach Bruce Weber would like to extend the Illini's stay at Conseco Fieldhouse until the Big Ten tournament championship game Sunday.

Athletic director Ron Guenther would like to extend Weber's contract.

Weber's current deal ties him to Illinois for three more years, Guenther said. The A.D. said he plans to discuss an extension after this season.

"We're going to sit down like I do every year. I'm hopeful that we can work something out and get him extended," Guenther said at halftime of Illinois' 60-50 win against Michigan in the quarterfinal round Friday. "He wants to do it, and I want to do it. It's just that I don't like doing it during the year, and he doesn't either. So we'll sit down when this thing's over."

Weber has a 152-55 record in five-plus seasons as the coach at Illinois.
Asked if he anticipates an extension, Guenther added, "Yes. We're at least going to talk about it. Sometimes guys don't feel like they want to. He's indicated that he wants to talk about it. I certainly want to do it as well."

Guenther said he was "very pleased" at the unexpected season Illinois has pieced together. The Illini entered the Big Ten tournament as the No. 2 seed and with an NCAA tournament berth safely in hand.

"You've got to look at the preseason pick and see where we ended up," Guenther said. "A couple things. I think Bruce did a great job with the kids in the offseason. The whole staff did. We developed some leadership, some guys stepped forward. Secondly, the young guys, those sophomores, they grew up a lot. I'm very proud of this team."

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