After Illinois was upset by No. 8 seeded Iowa in the Big Ten tournament on Thursday, Bruce Weber -- their head coach of nine seasons -- was relieved of his duties. The move by first year Athletic Director Mike Thomas drew the ire of Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, who is a friend of Weber.
↵While Izzo did not mention Thomas by name, it was clear Izzo was not pleased with how the AD publicly questioned Weber in the middle of the season, putting added pressure on just a bunch of kids to save Weber's job:
↵↵↵"I think it's ridiculous the way that thing was handled. And if I take abuse for that, I really don't care, because I'm also president of our (coaches) association. This isn't about a friendship. This is about a profession. And whenever you're in an organization … the only way you can be successful is if the top to bottom, from the president to the trainer are all on the same page." [...]
↵"My wife and I shed a tear this morning over it and it was half for Bruce and half for my profession. But unless there are things that I don't know … but when I heard those comments back in (February) it made me sick. And I said 'There's a problem.'
In addition to lashing out during his post-game press conference after the Spartans defeated Iowa, Izzo invited Weber to Michigan State's win against Wisconsin on Saturday as his personal guest. Might Izzo find some room on his staff for Weber next year?