K-State Q&A: Bruce Weber’s hot seat, low basketball attendance, Collin Klein and more
I never feel comfortable pointing out empty seats at a sporting event.
Doing something as simple as posting a picture of a sparse crowd on social media with the words “kickoff has arrived” or “let’s play some basketball” is enough to make some fans think you’re personally criticizing them for watching the game from home.
Alas, I reluctantly think it is worth pointing out that an announced crowd of only 5,623 showed up to watch the K-State men’s basketball team take on TCU on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum. It seems like a sign of apathy within the fan base.
Yes, there were reasons to explain the low attendance. It was a midweek game at 8 p.m. Students aren’t currently on campus. Some fans might not want to attend games inside a basketball arena as COVID cases spike across the country. I get all that.
Attendance dropped at football games this season despite the Wildcats winning eight games. There are unusual factors at play.
But the K-State men’s basketball team also hasn’t had a winning season since 2019. Perhaps that is the cause for the low attendance.
In any case, that crowd seemed awfully small for a home game against a Big 12 opponent, regardless of circumstances. It was among the smallest crowds I can recall at Bramlage for a conference game.
Many of you want to know if this will be Bruce Weber’s final season with the Wildcats.
It almost certainly will be if things keep going the way they are with K-State (8-7, 0-4) currently in last place of the Big 12 standings. The Wildcats need to reach the postseason for Weber to sell optimism moving forward. And that seems unlikely to happen. But it’s too early to say anything definitively. Fifteen games remain on the schedule. There’s still time for K-State to go on a winning streak and reach the NCAA Tournament, even though that seems incredibly unlikely at the moment.
Problem is, even if that happens, Weber also needs to recapture some of the fan excitement that used to turn Bramlage into the Octagon of Doom. Right now it’s more like the Octagon of Room.
One more thing before I get to your questions: I am not criticizing anyone for staying home. I’m not here to tell you how to spend your money or your time. K-State fans long ago proved they are passionate about basketball. I don’t think that has changed.
Without further ado, it’s time to dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
At this moment, the odds of Kansas State and Bruce Weber “mutually agreeing to part ways” at the end of the season seem rather high.
After going 150-89 in his first seven seasons while also guiding the Wildcats to a pair of shared Big 12 championships and one Elite Eight, the wheels have fallen off.
Weber’s record has dipped to 28-48 over the past three seasons and that’s simply not good enough. K-State is 7-33 in its past 40 Big 12 games. That is dreadful.
Time is running out for him to turn things around. At absolute minimum, he needs to guide K-State back to the postseason this year to justify an extension on his contract, which is up in 2023. The Wildcats probably need eight more wins to reach the NIT and 10 more wins to reach the NCAA Tournament. Time is running out.
Still, the odds of K-State relieving Weber of his duties at any point during the season seem rather low.
That isn’t Gene Taylor’s style. It also seems like K-State players are still giving their all for Weber. Two of them went out of their way to defend him earlier this week after the Wildcats lost to TCU, saying it isn’t his fault that the team is losing. They want to win for Weber.
If K-State was losing games by 50 points, maybe a mid-season dismissal would be worth discussing. But the Wildcats have been competitive in all four of their conference games. With a few fixes, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they start winning.
Dismissing Weber before the end of the season doesn’t seem like the smart move if you’re trying to keep the locker room motivated until the end of the year. This very well could be his final season in Manhattan, but I am expecting him to coach until at least the end of the Big 12 Tournament.
Here are Weber’s contract details.
He is making $2.8 million this season and is set to make $2.9 million next season during the final year of his deal.
Let’s say the Wildcats decide to make a change.
If K-State chooses to fire him without cause before April 30, his buyout is $1 million. If K-State waits until after April 30 to fire him without cause, his buyout drops to $500,000.
A decision is coming one way or another. K-State needs to move on after this season or offer him a new contract. There’s no way he returns with just one year left on his deal.
You’re going to be waiting a long time on that one.
As the K-State beat writer, it would be incredibly unprofessional for me to call for anyone’s job.
I’m willing to analyze the situation and report on the possibility of a coaching change. Nothing more. This question would be better suited for our sports columnist, Vahe Gregorian.
Fans don’t want to hear it, because it just sounds like an excuse. But the Wildcats aren’t that far off.
They were tied late against Oklahoma before losing 71-69. They led Texas by six at halftime. They led West Virginia by 17. They had to do everything wrong down the stretch to lose against TCU.
Change a thing here or there and the Wildcats are 2-2 or 3-1 in conference play instead of 0-4.
K-State also missed at least one key player in each of its first four conference games. Fans like to gloss over that, too.
Bad teams find ways to lose games. That is exactly what the Wildcats have done thus far. It’s totally understandable to write them off. But it’s not that far fetched to think they could start winning a few games once they get totally healthy, if they can figure out a way to finish.
Also: K-State started conference play 2-5 in 2011 and then ended the regular season by winning eight of their final nine games. Unexpected turnarounds have happened before.
K-State runs hot and cold at the four.
When Ismael Massoud makes shots from the outside and Selton Miguel is on top of his game, the Wildcats look pretty good at that position. But when they go cold, it’s not pretty.
The five has been a huge weak spot for K-State lately.
Davion Bradford is a shell of his former self. I’ve never seen a player regress so much as a sophomore after looking so good as a freshman. Kaosi Ezeagu had one really good game against Wichita State, but otherwise he hasn’t been much more than a defender. Logan Landers and Carlton Linguard rarely play.
Bradford is averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Ezeagu is averaging 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
It’s telling that Mark Smith, a 6-foot-4 guard, is killing both of them on the glass by averaging 10.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
If you count Smith as the four, I suppose the Wildcats are getting solid production at the position.
K-State is best on defense when Bradford or Ezeagu is on the floor, but I don’t hate the idea of moving Massoud to the five spot and going small for an influx of offense.
Oh man.
My answer to this question probably changes daily based on what kind of laughs I’m looking for when I pull up Disney+. There are so many classic episodes to choose from.
Homer at Bat is probably my favorite, though.
The whole premise of the episode is hilarious. It’s funny before Mr. Burns recruits his beloved ringers to play for the power plant’s softball team. It’s funny after eight of his beloved ringers suffer separate misfortunes and can’t play in the championship game against Shelbyville. And it’s really funny in between ... with Roger Clemens clucking all the while.
10. Cactus Bowl in 2017: UCLA didn’t put up much of a fight without its head coach or its starting quarterback. K-State won 35-17.
9. Texas Bowl in 2022: It’s a shame the Tigers didn’t have more of their usual starters in Houston, because the Wildcats played well enough to beat them at full strength.
8. Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in 2013: Beating a traditional power like the Wolverines looks good in the record books, but Michigan wasn’t very good that year. This game gets bonus points because it broke a long winless streak in bowls for K-State.
7. Texas Bowl in 2016: The Aggies had lots of star power on their team. Just not enough to beat Jesse Ertz, Byron Pringle and Jordan Willis.
6. Holiday Bowl in 1999: Trips, and wins, in San Diego are always fun. The Wildcats beat Washington 24-20 that year.
5. Holiday Bowl in 2002: Beating Arizona State 34-27 set the table for a Big 12 championship run behind Ell Roberson and Darren Sproles the following year.
4. Holiday Bowl in 1995: Bill Snyder was considering leaving K-State for UCLA before this game. Not after. Beating Colorado State 54-21 probably helped him make that decision.
3. Cotton Bowl in 2001: The Wildcats whipped a solid Tennessee team 35-21 on a chilly day in Dallas.
2. Fiesta Bowl in 1997: K-State fans will never forget the night Michael Bishop out shined Donovan McNabb and the Wildcats won their first major bowl game 35-18.
1. Copper Bowl in 1993: The bowl that started it all. K-State’s first bowl victory, a 52-17 romp over Wyoming, remains the most lopsided postseason win in school history. It also helped Snyder transform the Wildcats into consistent winners.
I’m guessing Collin Klein will keep calling plays the way he did against LSU at the Texas Bowl.
Putting up 42 points on the Tigers with an aggressive approach that included taking the opening kickoff is a big reason why he got the job full time, right? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I would expect more complex changes next season, given that he will have all spring and summer to install new packages. But he’s not going to change anything drastically. Chris Klieman likes a methodical pace and a ground-oriented attack. Klein is smart enough to keep giving the ball to Deuce Vaughn and hopefully complement him with Adrian Martinez next season.
He also played under Bill Snyder.
Klein isn’t going to switch to the Air Raid just because.
My personal hope for him is that he calls a few trick plays every game. We didn’t see anything crazier than a reverse under Courtney Messingham, and that only happened once.
E-MAIL QUESTION: While supporters are pleased that Collin Klein was promoted to OC are there updates on the other coordinators, in particular retaining our DC Joe Klanderman? By the way are we still looking for another QB outside Martinez? - Tyler M.
I am not expecting any other coaching changes with the football team.
Joe Klanderman and all of Klieman’s returning assistants are expected to stay on staff and receive new contracts.
The Wildcats do have two openings to fill on the offensive side, though. I suspect Brian Lepak will get strong consideration for the fullbacks/tight ends coaching position. He is well liked and helped K-State this past season as an analyst.
I’m not sure who K-State will target to bring in to coach receivers. That seems like the only assistant coaching mystery to me.
K-State is looking for another high school quarterback to add during this recruiting cycle for depth purposes, but I wouldn’t expect the Wildcats to explore the transfer portal for any other passers this off season.
This story was originally published January 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Bruce Weber’s hot seat, low basketball attendance, Collin Klein and more."