ST. LOUIS — It's a labor of love, this trek from arena to arena.
The Weber family has crisscrossed the Midwest for the last three weeks, watching one brother, David, win a state high school championship, while another, Bruce, takes his team to the NCAA Final Four. It's been a balm for their grief, a tribute to the mother whose greatest joy was watching her sons coach.
"We knew how important our lives and our careers were to my mom and my dad. We knew we had to go on with it, and there's no doubt they would be so excited, so proud," Bruce Weber said Friday, a day he was honored as The Associated Press coach of the year.
"They sacrificed so much for us to be where we are now. They wanted us to have a better life. They wanted us to be teachers and coaches," he said. "So we're living their dream."
Basketball is the thread that binds the Weber family together. Their father, Louis, taught all three of his boys to play when they were growing up in Milwaukee, and a favorite outing was going downtown to MECCA to watch Al McGuire and the Marquette Warriors.
As they got older, the Weber boys frequented McGuire's clinics, soaking up all the knowledge they could.
"We learned the game together," said Ron Weber, the oldest of the three. "All three of us fell in love with basketball."
So it came as no surprise that all three would choose coaching as their profession. Ron is the longtime coach at Waupaca High School in northern Wisconsin, Bruce is at Illinois, and David coaches at Glenbrook North in suburban Chicago.
Their sister, Jan Moeller, is a teacher.
Though her sons were spread throughout the Midwest, Dawn Weber kept a close eye on their careers — even getting a satellite system so she could see all the Illini games. And when Bruce and David both had games in Chicago on March 11, the 81-year-old widow made the trip south so she could watch them in person.
But when she went to the United Center to pick up her tickets for the Big Ten tournament, Dawn Weber complained of chest pains. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors discovered a tear in her aorta below the heart. Several hours into surgery, she died.
"We miss Mom tremendously," Ron Weber said. "I should be getting ready to take her down to St. Louis. But a real good thing has been we've been able to get involved in the success of Illinois and Glenbrook North. I guess that's kind of eased the pain a little bit."
Despite the grief, David and Bruce both stayed on the bench. Dawn Weber insisted upon it, telling Ron and Jan before she went into surgery that she wanted her sons to keep coaching and not worry about her.
"That's what she was all about, following her sons and their coaching, supporting them all the way," Ron Weber said. "We just hoped Bruce and David were going to be strong enough emotionally to coach."
They were, thanks to their mother.
"She's given us a lot of strength in her life," said David Weber, who even coached the night of his mother's funeral. "When she passed away, it made us stronger."
And it's drawn her children closer together. Ron and Jan and their families have put their lives on hold these last three weeks, getting to every Glenbrook North and Illinois game they can.
Everyone was at the United Center the day after Dawn died, sobbing in the stands as the arena fell silent in tribute.
The weekend that Glenbrook North played for the Class AA title in Peoria, Illinois was playing first- and second-round NCAA tournament games just a few hours away in Indianapolis. So Ron and his wife went to Peoria for Friday night's quarterfinals, then drove to Indianapolis. Jan and her family stayed behind in Peoria, calling Ron constantly with updates while he filled her in on Illinois' games.
Both Weber teams won. Illinois advanced to the regional finals, while Glenbrook North won its first Class AA title.
"I haven't been able to really, really enjoy what's happened," David Weber said. "I think someday I will. And every day it gets easier. But when I think of those games, I'll always have that thought of my mother."
After Glenbrook North's triumph, David joined Jan and Ron on Illinois' ride. They all brought their families to Chicago, where they watched Illinois advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1989.
To get to St. Louis, the Illini needed an almost miraculous comeback against Arizona, rallying from 15 points down with four minutes left. As the Illini partied on the floor, the Webers were there to celebrate with their brother.
"I think us making it to the Final Four, even though you can't take away from that loss, it's helped him get through it," guard Deron Williams said. "It's helped him have a bright spot in his days."
The Webers' travels are almost over now. The family has gathered in St. Louis this weekend, almost 2 dozen strong. Brothers, sister, nieces, nephews — all here to celebrate Bruce and David's success. And Dawn Weber's legacy.
Illini's Weber wins coach of year honor
Bruce Weber, who led Illinois to its winningest season, was an overwhelming choice Friday as The Associated Press national coach of the year. It was just the latest reward for a spectacular season for Weber, in only his second year at Champaign. Weber received 54 votes from the 72-member national media panel that selects the weekly AP Top 25. Mike Krzyzewski of Duke received six votes, while Al Skinner of Boston College had five and Lorenzo Romar of Washington had four.