CHAMPAIGN — Bruce Weber was greeted like an old friend. A ‘how you doin, coach’ here or a ‘welcome back, Bruce’ there.

There’s something about time and wounds, bridges and water; and on Friday night at the State Farm Center, it all culminated with a standing ovation for Weber, the only coach to lead Illinois to a national championship game.

After resigning as the head coach of Kansas State following last season, Weber took a job as a Big Ten Network analyst for men’s basketball games this season. That meant his first trip back to the State Farm Center since, well, it became the State Farm Center.

Weber returned Champaign in the days prior to No. 23 Illinois beating Kansas City 86-48 on Friday night. He made his trip to Jarling’s, which he partially owns, walked back into the State Farm Center — which was last called Assembly Hall when he roamed the Illini sidelines — toured the renovated Ubben Practice Facility and embraced the nostalgia that returning to Champaign-Urbana brought with it.

“There’s some emotion, there’s no doubt,” Weber told Illini Inquirer. “This was a special place. Coming up the tunnel, a lot of memories.”

When Weber walked up the tunnel for the first time, the memories hit back. The national championship run. The win over Arizona. The step forward his 2005 team took when it beat then No. 1 Wake Forest and star guard Chris Paul. It was all there, unearthed again.

“There’s lots of things,” Weber said about what came over him when he returned to the building. “Obviously going to the National Championship, going to the Final Four and the Arizona game. For the arena, just to win championships that we were a part of. The one game, Chris Paul, the Wake Forest game, I’ll always remember that because I thought we took a huge step after that. Those are all special memories for me. We loved it here, our family did. Our girls grew up here. It was a great opportunity for our whole family.”

At the second media timeout in the first half, Weber was honored by public address announcer Tim Sinclair, and the 2005 Big Ten Coach of the Year stood up to a standing ovation from the 15,331 fans in attendance. For old time's sake, Weber was met with a “Bruuuuuce” chant and stood up to wave to the crowd.

In nine seasons as the Illini head coach, Weber was 210-111 and 89-65 in the Big Ten with six NCAA Tournament appearances before he was fired at the conclusion of the 2012 season.

Still, Champaign was home for Weber and his family for nine years and the former head coach still lives in St. Louis. When he travels through O’Hare International Airport or Midway International Airport, he’s often tracked down for a photo or an autograph. Heck, Weber said, he watched someone in St. Louis stop traffic to shake his hand.

“He should (get that kind of reaction),” Brad Underwood said. “What he did here was remarkable. I mean, he’s a heck of a ball coach. He did an unbelievable job at my alma mater, one that I’m extremely proud and invested in terms of sweat equity. Always followed him. I’ve got tremendous respect for his success at every stop he’s made. To have him back in the Big Ten is a great thing. I think he’s extremely knowledgeable. I haven’t heard him yet on TV. They’re not going to find anybody anymore knowledgeable than him.

“My goodness. What he did here was really elite and something I’m chasing. I want to win the last one though. It’s pretty cool that, and again, it’s what makes this job great: our fans, our people. I’m happy for Bruce to be back. He got to go through Ubben (Friday). Great human being who is a terrific coach.”

There are so many ties that bind Weber to Champaign-Urbana it’s hard to pinpoint them and some have very little to do with basketball. Yes, the former head coach has made two stops to Jarling’s, one of which he was loosely recognized by the cashier as he purchased gift cards, enough for Weber to turn and point to his photo on the wall.

Weber caught up with Chester Frazier, the former guard he spotted in a gym on a recruiting trip more than a decade ago when Weber planned to scout someone else. Frazier went on to be a standout for Weber’s teams, a graduate assistant, an assistant under Weber at Kansas State and now an assistant at Illinois, his alma mater.

“I recruited Chester,” Weber said. “I still remember the first day I went to see him. I went to see somebody else. It was an early morning practice and this dude was in the worst gym you could imagine. He was diving on the floor. He was taking charges and doing all crazy things. I told our coaches, you always call back, and I said, ‘I don’t know about this kid, but this other guy I love.’ We brought him in and obviously we’ve had a special relationship: player, graduate assistant, my assistant for all those years. Watching him grow not only as a coach but as a dad and a husband, that’s the cool part. He deserves a head coaching job. Hopefully, he gets that sooner than later.”

Weber misses elements of coaching: the practices, the preparation, the interactions with players. He’s a coach at heart. Always will be. But the Big Ten Network and visits around the country in the spring help him get his fix. He knew the network needed a former coach and after conversations with other networks, landed with BTN because of the shared values of promoting basketball.

The network talked with him about returning to Champaign, stopping at Purdue, covering Michigan State. He was all on board and knew he could do it fairly.

The cherry on the cake was coming back to Champaign where he was well-received by fans and staffers. Weber made a stop on the pregame show on WDWS, caught up with sports information director Kent Brown and Fighting Illini Radio Network color commentator Doug Altenberger.

All throughout, Weber looked comfortable. And, of course, he’s kept a tab on Illinois.

“I was fine with it. I’m going to cover them all year because I’m going to be in studio,” Weber said on getting the draw to cover Illinois. “I don’t know if I’m going to get back for another game. We’ll see what happens. I guess it depends how bad I screw up tonight. It’s fun to be back here. It’s been a while. What Brad’s done and winning a championship last year, it’s great to see that. Illini fans are some of the best in the country. For them to be rewarded with another championship, it’s special.”