Bruce Weber was mid-drill and mid-yell when a gorilla in an Illini basketball uniform interrupted his preseason practice.

Women’s basketball head coach Theresa Grentz accompanied a person dressed as Illinois basketball’s most primitive fan into the men’s practice Thursday.

Grentz and the gorilla were on hand – along with Weber’s wife and daughters – to celebrate the head coach’s 50th birthday.

“It was a little bit embarrassing,” Weber said of the gorilla, which was sent by the coach’s sister in honor of the milestone birthday. “Practice went a little longer than anticipated and the gorilla had to leave, so I guess it had to come out in the middle of practice.”

One week after Illini Madness officially kicked off the program’s 102nd season, the team was all business, running drills and working on basic skills in preparation for the Orange and Blue Scrimmage this Friday.

“I guess coach doesn’t like being over the hill,” junior Brian Randle said, “because we had a rough practice today.”

Weber said celebrating his birthday was not reason enough to change the team’s pace.

“It’s just a regular work day,” Weber said. “We had Coaches Versus Cancer, Red Ribbon Day and then practice, so it’s just a regular day.”

Weber got intense, stopping practice several times to instruct players and demonstrate points. He raised his voice throughout, but said it’s all part of preseason preparation.

“It’s so important, they can’t go through the motions, they have to get better and pick up good habits,” Weber said.

“That’s why I have to yell and act stupid sometimes, and the coaches do, to just make them aware,” he added.

While players said last Saturday’s first real workout wore them down, and that practices have continued to be intense, Weber said this is just part of the drill.

While he focused on instruction during the first few sessions, the emphasis has now switched to maintaining focus.

“They’ve got to take it to another level and go hard,” Weber said. “The first few days they’re excited about practice, their bodies are fresh. But now there’s some soreness, it’s some of the old routine.”

Randle said the players are consciously working to improve their endurance and athleticism, knowing they will be expected to maintain a high level of speed and intensity once the season starts.

“It’s always physical, but I think now everybody has something to prove, so we’re in here battling it out,” Randle said. “As long as we can put the hurt on each other as long as possible and we can survive, we’ll be alright against any other team we come up against.”

Weber sees the players improving their chemistry each time they hit the gym as they learn to play off each other and react to each other’s tendencies. But he said one of the biggest focuses now is keeping players aware of the competition for playing time as coaches begin to figure out possible units and substitutions.

“There’s a lot on the line for those guys,” Weber said. “We’ll scrimmage a little Tuesday and Wednesday, then you’ve got Orange and Blue, then there’s a couple exhibitions. If they want playing time, they have to start now.”

Thursday the staff and players got cake after practice, but Randle said they’re getting more used to Weber’s tough practices than to his sweet rewards.

“Birthdays are supposed to be happy days,” Randle said. “I hope Mrs. Weber cheers him up a little bit, because he’s not in a good mood.”