COLLEGE BASKETBALL * Weber fills staff. After receiving more than 180 phone calls and resumes, Illinois coach Bruce Weber is expected to mix his past at Southern Illinois and Purdue when he officially fills two assistant coaching positions as early as today.

Former Southern Illinois point guard Chris Lowery, who served under Weber for the past two seasons with the Salukis, arrived in the basketball office Thursday. Jay Price, who spent the past 10 years on the staff at Purdue, will also jump to Illinois. They will join Wayne McClain, the only holdover from Bill Self''s staff.

Lowery, 33, helped Weber during individual workouts last week. A former assistant at Southeast Missouri State, Division II Missouri Southern and Rend Lake Community College, Lowery delivered by recruiting St. Louis and Missouri for the Salukis. Southern Illinois signed three prep recruits from Missouri last fall.

Price, 34, is a native of Oklahoma who worked two seasons at Oklahoma before arriving at Purdue. He served as recruiting coordinator for the Boilermakers while also overseeing summer camps, team travel, scheduling and scouting. While earning his bachelor''s degree in journalism at Kansas, Price served as student manager under Larry Brown and Roy Williams.