COLLEGE BASKETBALL Weber will become Illinois' new coach

Bruce Weber will leave Southern Illinois to succeed Kansas-bound Bill Self.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Bruce Weber, who coached Southern Illinois to NCAA tournament appearances the past two seasons, confirmed that he will be the new basketball coach at Illinois.
"Yes," Weber responded Tuesday evening when asked by a reporter if he will be taking the Illinois job. He declined to say anything more and closed the door to his home.
At Illinois, Sports Information Director Kent Brown would neither confirm nor deny Weber's hiring, and said Tuesday night that no news conference had been scheduled.
Weber, 46, told his players of his decision Tuesday night. He will replace Bill Self, who left Illinois 10 days ago to become head coach at Kansas.
Weber has Big Ten roots. He spent 18 seasons as an assistant under Gene Keady at Purdue before going to SIU in 1998. In the next five seasons, he compiled a record of 103-54 and took the Salukis to the NCAA tournament the past two seasons, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2002.
The Salukis were 24-7 last season and won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship before losing to Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tourney.
Iowa State
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa State's players went to the university president and athletic director Tuesday, urging them to keep embattled coach Larry Eustachy.
They also said Eustachy apologized by telephone for any embarrassment he had caused them from the publication of photographs that show him partying with college students in Missouri.
"I'm behind Coach Eustachy 100 percent, as I know he would be for each and every one of us," forward Jackson Vroman said.
The photographs, printed in The Des Moines Register on Monday, have drawn national attention and prompted calls for Eustachy's dismissal or resignation.
Eustachy's behavior was a hot topic on radio talk shows, both local and national. The Register said in an editorial that Eustachy "has to go." The father of Iowa State player Jake Sullivan agreed, but an ISU booster said Eustachy has indicated a willingness to change his behavior and should be given that chance.
Iowa State officials are considering disciplinary action against Eustachy, who is under contract through the 2010-11 season and is paid more than $1 million a year, but nothing has been decided.
St. Bonaventure
NEW YORK -- Former St. Bonaventure basketball coach Jan van Breda Kolff began fighting to restore his reputation Tuesday, accusing the school of keeping him in the dark about a player's eligibility problems.
The ex-coach also insisted he tried to dissuade his players from boycotting their final two games, a decision that brought widespread ridicule to the team and the school.
"I just said, 'Your responsibility as a player is to play these games.' They said, 'Well, we just have a hard time putting on a uniform and representing the university right now,"' he said during a news conference at Mickey Mantle's restaurant in Manhattan.
Van Breda Kolff held a similar gathering later Tuesday in Buffalo, about 70 miles north of Olean, where St. Bonaventure is located.