Weber's honeymoon is over, but he still loves what he has at K-State
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Big 12 Coach Of The Year is skating on thin ice for the umpteenth time this spring, honeymooning with a flak jacket in one hand, rosary beads in the other.
And you wonder if Bruce Weber has this menu deal all wrong, always bringing out the dessert as the first course. Once they've tasted the peach cobbler, who has the stomach for broccoli?
"I mean, I think they were saying it last year, 'Could I coach?' They say it every year," the men's basketball coach at Kansas State tells FOXSportsKansasCity.com.
"We've won a lot of games. I'm very fortunate — 13 championships as an assistant and as a head coach. I think that's pretty good. I don't know. We're doing something right. A lot of my former guys are doing well. For somebody that's always going to look at the negative, whether it's the media or fans, that's part of it. If you follow it and worry about it, it's going to (overwhelm) you."
But sometimes, no matter how hard you try, that rain cloud goes all Eeyore and decides to follow you home. After 27 wins, a share of the program's first league title since 1977 and the most victories ever by a first-year Wildcat hoops coach, May and June should have been Weber's victory lap around the Flint Hills. Instead, he kicked around the Catbackers circuit having to answer direct questions about his point guards — or rather, the lack thereof.
"They've been fine," Weber says of the K-State fans. "How can they be unhappy? Football won (the league), basketball won (the league), baseball won (the league). It's like, one of the greatest years ever. … I mean, we've had great crowds. Great feedback, and everything like that. Obviously, you get the questions about Angel and stuff like that."
Ya think?
The S.S. Bramlage was sailing right along — bowed by the stunning first-round NCAA Tournament loss to LaSalle, but unbroken — when a shark rolled up in late April and decided to take a chunk out of the hull. Point guard Angel Rodriguez, one of the best floor generals in the league and Weber's top returning player, announced his intention to transfer out, eventually landing at Miami (Fla.).
Suddenly, the Wildcats' biggest strength had been twisted into a giant question mark. And one of the support beams that had been earmarked to bridge the Frank Martin Era to the Weber Era was instead taking his talents to South Beach.
Old fissures cropped up again. Those who had doubted the Weber hire since Day 1 hooted and howled. Weber's backers, a bandwagon that had been picking up steam since December, took a hard, collective swallow.
"I mean, I can't do anything about it," Weber says. "I wish I could. It's done and over with. We worked our butts off. We helped him get better … we created relationships. He made a decision to get closer to his family. You've got to respect it, and move on. And you've got to worry about the things you can control, and that's the guys in your program."
Every replacement comes with a condition or a caveat. Off-guard Will Spradling can handle the ball, but he's not a drive-and-kick type. Breakout wing man Shane Southwell has the hands, but he's been more effective as a "Stretch-4" or small forward. Point guard Nigel Johnson is a true freshman, which can be a bit like breaking in a wild colt. Another frosh option, Jevon Thomas, won't be eligible until after the fall semester.
"Whether it's injuries or whatever, you know there are coaches out there, man, you feel sorry for them," the coach says. "That's what I said in the beginning: it's the unpredictability of it all. It doesn't matter if you're in the NFL or Major League Baseball. … Again, you've got to control what you can control. That's all I can worry about. We'll be competitive, and I think I feel good about our young guys. Get a couple things to happen, and you never know."
That's just it. We don't know, do we? Weber has seven new bodies, five of them freshmen. He's moving on without his best scorer (Rodney McGruder), his best shot blocker (Jordan Henriquez), and the straw that stirred his motion offense (Rodriguez).
"Obviously, our goal is to try to keep getting better," the coach says. "I really feel good about our young class — I think our recruiting class is good. I wish we didn't have this many freshmen; that's why I took a couple of transfers at the end, because I've been through it before: You get five or six freshmen, it becomes tough, because you can't keep them all happy. They become more of the majority of the team, (and) practice isn't as intense, sometimes. That's why we kind of mixed it up at the end with some transfers. I think we're (going to be) very competitive."
What's done is done. As to what's coming …
Weber on Wichita State:
"If it works out in a year when it fits into our schedule, (fine), we'll look at it. But right now, I'm trying to make all ends meet and make sure we've got things (that) work for our team."
Weber on future schedules:
"Southern Illinois wants me to play. Missouri State, Paul Lusk, wants me to play. Greg McDermott (at Creighton) called, he wants me to play … we've looked at maybe playing (the Bluejays) in Kansas City. I don't know. Again, we've got to play who's best for your program."
Weber on Andrew Wiggins, the consensus No. 1 recruit in the country, heading to rival Kansas:
"Kansas always has good players. Oklahoma State has good players. I mean that's true whether you're in this league, or if you're in the Big Ten, you're going to go against good players. You need to recruit hard. We've got good players coming in. And now we've got to find a way to beat them. That's what you do."
Weber on detractors:
"We had question marks last year. What were we picked? Fifth? Sixth? New coach, new system …."
This time, new expectations. And there's the rub.
"It was interesting," Weber recalls. "(At) Illinois, I had always spoke at a journalism class; I'd go in each semester and they'd ask questions about dealing with the media, and all that stuff. And that professor wrote me a nice, long letter when I left Illinois.
"He said, 'Bruce, your biggest mistake was you won too much, too early.'"
Too much, too early.
Hoo, boy.
"It's fine," Weber says. "You always want to win. I would never trade winning the (Big 12) and doing the things we did for anything."
Not even the rosary beads.
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter @seankeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.
