It isn’t often the Illinois beat writers are afforded an hour-long sitdown with athletics director Ron Guenther, in fact, Thursday morning marked the first such occasion during my three-plus seasons covering sports at the school.

But when Guenther talks, he offers plenty of fodder. And on this day he had much to say about his support of basketball coach Bruce Weber and what might happen when a decision is reached regarding the future of Assembly Hall.

The university has a ton of possible athletic construction in the next 10 years, from the current renovation of Memorial Stadium to Assembly Hall, a facility for the school’s Olympic sports and possible further renovation at Memorial Stadium. But the focus is on the aging basketball facility and whether it should be renovated or cast aside in favor of a new building for the Illini.

Whatever happens to Assembly Hall, Guenther indicated that Weber is in good standing and the upcoming season is not going to decide his fate after much grumbling among fans last season.

“I don’t think anyone is saying this is a critical year,” he said. “We’ll have a better basketball team this year than we had last year. We adjusted our recruiting. The staff understands how we got to where we are. … Every once in a while a program hits a down period. It had to do with recruiting and making reaches on some student-athletes that didn’t show up here for a variety of reasons. …

“I’ve been very supportive when you have a good coach and know you have a good program. The only time I’ve made  a change is when I’ve personally lost confidence that we can’t get it done and that certainly isn’t the case with coach Weber.”

Guenther said a decision should be made by January regarding plans for the basketball team’s home. Possibilities include a minor renovation, major renovation that could displace the Illini for a season, or construction of a new arena.

The key to renovation, he said, it to assure that the building can last another 45 to 50 years. At this point, it appears Assembly Hall can withstand that test of time. But Guenther didn’t discount any of the options.

“We’re just entering into financials,” he said. “There’s an economic climate that is challenging. I don’t like to stop any momentum in either direction until there’s a better understanding of how this thing is going to be financed and how costly it’s going to be.”

If the arena undergoes a major facelift, it could displace the team for a full season. Guenther said he would need “a lot of cooperative partners” to make it work. He mentioned Chicago, St. Louis and several locations in Illinois as possible game sites if the Illini are homeless.

After the arena issue is decided, the next project to be discussed is a facility for the Olympic sports such as volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics.

As renovation on Memorial Stadium comes to a close, Guenther looked ahead to future stadium changes. He said an alteration of the south end zone, known by some as “the horseshoe,” is likely within the next decade, calling that “a total guesstimate.”

Regarding the future of the football series with Missouri, Guenther said the schools have an agreement for 2011, which is the year after the current contract expires. He suggested that the schools might enter into a home-and-home series that year and plans to have discussions with Missouri athletics director Mike Alden next weekend in St. Louis.