K-State Q&A: Bruce Weber’s future, NIT odds, Northern Illinois game and the NFL Draft
One of the things I love about college basketball in March is that everyone gets a second chance.
A team like K-State can totally make up for a mediocre season by winning its conference tournament. Meanwhile, a coach like Bruce Weber is theoretically nine wins away from a national championship but one loss away getting fired at the exact same time.
Kevin Garnett must really love it. Anything is possible ... literally.
No other sport offers such a wide spectrum of possibilities over such a brief period.
With that in mind, let’s go ahead and dive into your questions, which touch on, well, a wide spectrum of possibilities. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Bruce Weber thinks playing Northern Illinois on Monday will help the Wildcats end the season with a winning record and boost their chances of reaching the NIT.
I understand why that may sound silly to some, but that is why K-State is still considering a replacement game even though its odds of receiving an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament have evaporated.
For the record, I would not schedule a replacement game against one of the worst teams in the MAC at this stage of the season. The only priority should be winning the Big 12 Tournament.
But I also think some fans have overreacted to the possibility of this game. It’s not embarrassing or some sort of black eye for the team. It’s no different than if the K-State football team was 5-6 and wanted to play a replacement game in order to achieve bowl eligibility.
More basketball is better than less basketball, right?
If K-State players want to play a game against Northern Illinois (8-21 with a KenPom ranking of 301), and it sounds like they do, who are we to say they shouldn’t.
Nijel Pack said the entire team took a vote and agreed to play the extra game.
“Every game is a blessing,” Pack said. “If we love to play basketball like we say we do we will enjoy playing another game. It’s just another opportunity for us.”
Mike McGuirl had this to say about it: “One win just puts us above .500. There are a lot of teams out there that have good records, just because they had some easy games. We have a tough schedule, and it would be nice to add another one to the win column just to fall back on in case we don’t make the NCAA Tournament.”
As I wrote earlier this week, the game will only likely be played if K-State defeats Oklahoma on Saturday. It would be unwise to play a replacement game if they fall to the No. 8 seed in Kansas City.
K-State is 14-15 and 6-11 in the Big 12. There is no win requirement to reach the NIT, but no team has been invited to the tournament with a losing record before.
Simply put: K-State stands a better chance of reaching the NIT by winning an extra game.
The way I see it, the Wildcats can earn an invitation by beating Oklahoma, Northern Illinois and their first opponent at the Big 12 Tournament. Even if they lose in the Big 12 semifinals, their final record would be 17-16. That would give them a shot.
Most of the players on this team have never played in a postseason tournament. Reaching one this year, even the NIT, could be a beneficial experience.
Let’s just hope if K-State ends up playing a replacement game that no one gets injured.
Not really.
Maybe if he went out and landed commitments from the top three prospects in the 2022 recruiting class, that would make K-State administrators consider giving him a contract extension.
The nation’s best recruiting class would be hard to ignore.
Otherwise, there is nothing short of an improbable March Madness run that could save his job at this point. Even then, I think he may need more than just a Big 12 Tournament championship. Nothing less than a Sweet 16 would truly fire up an apathetic fan base.
Even then, I’m guessing many would still want a change.
No one is opposed to the idea of playing in the NIT (at least within the athletic department) but winning games in a consolation tournament won’t make Weber’s hot seat any cooler, even if the Wildcats hoist a trophy at Madison Square Garden.
The odds of Weber returning as coach next season are extremely low. It would take something big to change that.
I promise that we will publish a list of potential replacements if/when Weber is no longer employed as the K-State men’s basketball coach.
Until then, I don’t feel comfortable discussing names. It’s not fair to anyone.
How about I throw out a few names that definitely won’t succeed Weber as basketball coach, whenever that time comes, instead?
I can tell you with confidence that it won’t be anyone on the current staff. An internal promotion wouldn’t make any sense.
I can also tell you it won’t be Gregg Marshall. Not really sure why anyone brings up his name in these conversations.
Can we also cross Doug Gottlieb off the list? Boy, I sure hope so.
The answer to this question depends on what kind of individual numbers Pack puts up over the course of his career.
If he stays at K-State for two more years and breaks Jacob Pullen’s all-time scoring record, then he would have to be considered one of the all-time greats ... even if he never plays in the NCAA Tournament. An accomplishment like that is impossible to ignore.
But few will remember him more fondly than Barry Brown, Rodney McGruder or Pullen if he isn’t on a winning team.
There is a delicate balance between individual and team success. The more a team wins, the less a player on said team needs to accomplish to go down in history. The more a team loses, the more that same player needs to pile up stats.
Cartier Martin and Askia Jones were incredible players for the Wildcats, but few compare them to the other guards mentioned above because they were on mediocre teams.
Unfortunately, that is where Pack is stuck at the moment. He has scored 30 points in three games with the Wildcats, and none of them were victories.
Joe’s Kansas City is my favorite spot.
Here’s hoping I can grab a Z-Man sandwich and some fries while I’m in town next week.
Sadly, I don’t have many other places to recommend. I’ve had bad experiences at most of the other iconic spots in town.
I should honestly be asking you where to eat. Please send me some dining options!
I haven’t tested this theory yet. I dug down a few feet to install a basketball goal next to my driveway a few months back. I can’t imagine digging much deeper than that.
But I hope it’s all the way to the earth’s core.
Just make sure you call 811 before you dig!
This is a coin flip in my eyes.
Josh Rivas, Skylar Thompson and Russ Yeast will all have a shot at getting selected in the NFL Draft. Each former K-State football player is good enough to be a late-round selection or to catch on with a team as an undrafted free agent.
It all really depends on how well they perform at K-State’s pro day.
For now, I will say it’s slightly more likely that the team’s draft streak continues. I think a NFL team will use a pick on Yeast after his lone season with the Wildcats. Thompson also obviously has a shot. Any quarterback who gets invited to the NFL Draft Scouting Combine is on the pro radar.
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Bruce Weber’s future, NIT odds, Northern Illinois game and the NFL Draft."