An overzealous and misinformed Illini fan sent basketball coach Bruce Weber a letter last week.

Weber said the letter outlined how he had "ruined" the development of the returning Illini players.

This Illini fan wasn't the first Weber critic/Self supporter and he certainly won't be the last. But on Saturday night, Weber had enough.

King Bruce finally let his court know he's the undisputed ruler.

It was refreshing. It was about time.

"I wore a black tie and black pants and black sport coat and I told them before the (Maryland-Eastern Shore) game: 'This is a funeral. I'm going to throw a funeral. It's the end of Bill Self,'" Weber said. "It's over. There's no more comparing. He's gone. No more talking about it. I'll be honest, I'm fed up with it.

"I had one guy say if (Self) was coaching here, you would have beat Providence by 10. Well, when I faced Bill (when Self was at Tulsa and Weber at SIU), he had one NBA guy, Ruffin, and with 13 minutes left in the game at SIU we were up 27 points.

"Then, when we faced Bill at Illinois (in Las Vegas) we had them down the stretch and he had three NBA guys and we had two NBDL (NBA development league) guys.

"I don't know. Unless he's a miracle worker, I kicked his butt in both games."

Weber's frustration with the Selfish comparisons have been nagging him since he accepted the Illini job last April. And this week, those emotions boiled over.

His players responded Saturday night with an emotional 74-64 comeback win over Memphis (4-2).

"It's been building up," Weber said. "Even after the Providence game, you know: 'They didn't lose any double-figure games (under Self).' That's horsesh**. They did!

"You guys have bad memories."

There were four double-digit losses in the Era of Selfishness. Weber suffered 10 in his final three seasons with an inferior Southern Illinois team. Weber's point is clear: Self wasn't perfect and Weber shouldn't be judged against a false perfection. A 19-point loss to Providence is nothing. In January 2002, Self's Illini lost by 31 points to Indiana who, like Providence, was unranked.

Why the blow-up Saturday night, Bruce?

"I was waiting for someone to say something about my tie," Weber said. "No one did so I waited. We won tonight so I can say anything."

Weber said Friday's practice resembled the funeral he spoke of the night before, except for different reasons. Deron Williams walked in after jaw surgery unable to speak. James Augustine went down with a bruised shoulder that almost kept him out of Saturday's game (he recovered to score 21 points). And the criticism kept pouring in.

Weber started his defense by getting back to basics. He removed his sportcoat at the start of Saturday's game — something he hasn't done all season — to allow him to move freely up and down the sideline.

"I was going to coach," he said. "I've been nice, too patient with them. In a game like this, you have to will them to win. And I was going to do my best to will them to win."

Weber's coaching paid off. And it silenced his critics.

He needed Dee Brown to truly play like the leader he rants that he is. Brown showed up, finally. Not in the stat box, mind you, but in the box labeled gut-check. Dee only found the three once in five tries, scoring only five points.

Brown let the Illini ride his cornrows and inspired the uninspired Illini. He rebounded, grabbing a career-best seven. He shared the ball, dishing a season-high seven assists. And he was the last Illini to leave the court. Brown played all 40 minutes for the first time of his career.

"He wasn't our leader (before), but tonight he was," Weber said. "Coach McClain said that might have been the best game Dee's played here. He did all the little things that make you win. He played 40 minutes. He was cramping but he fought through it."

And Weber fought through his critics Saturday night. Weber prides himself on being honest. And on Saturday he was. He deserved it.

He's been at the helm of the Illini for eight games. He's won six. He's battled more adversity than Self encountered in three years. Suspensions, implementing a new offense and dealing with an injury to a star player has plagued Weber's start.

Critics of Weber have had camouflaged vision. They must have been staring at the Memphis jerseys for the past two months.

Too bad the Illini have to wait a week to play Mizzou. It's the benchmark game of Weber's tenure.

His team is ready now. It's an agitated, confident and explosive bunch. They showed that to Memphis. They showed that to the more than capacity Assembly Hall crowd of 16,618. They showed that to the national audience watching on ESPN2.

Weber critics: It's time for you to bite your tongues, because Weber won't anymore.

Chris Neubauer is a senior in communications. He can be reached at sports@dailyillini.com.