Bruce Weber hopes fans are less negative toward Kansas State’s next basketball coach
Bruce Weber never felt he received the respect he deserved from Kansas State fans during his 10-year run coaching men’s basketball for the Wildcats.
He is no longer afraid to say it now that he has chosen to resign and collect a $1 million buyout.
To illustrate his point, he shared a story with reporters on Thursday morning about the day he was hired in 2012. When he arrived on campus for his introductory news conference, a small group of fans held a protest to express their displeasure. They wanted Doug Gottlieb, a former Oklahoma State basketball player and current radio personality, to get the job.
“It was,” Weber said, “the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.”
Weber was coming off a mostly successful 10-year stint at Illinois, where he guided the Fighting Illini to the national championship game before some down seasons cost him his job. But he quickly showed he had plenty of good coaching days ahead of him when he led K-State to 27 victories and a shared Big 12 championship in his first season with the Wildcats. He went on to share another league title in 2019 and reached the Elite Eight in 2018.
Once again, a string of bad seasons led to his expiration date in Manhattan. K-State announced Weber’s decision to resign Thursday morning when it became abundantly clear that it was time for a change following his third consecutive losing season.
Weber is at peace with his decision. He realized this was coming when the Wildcats dropped their final six games and bowed out of the Big 12 Tournament in the first round.
Still, he doesn’t understand why some K-State fans refused to celebrate his accomplishments and focused solely on his shortcomings. He ranks third all-time in victories (184) and conference championships (two) among K-State coaches, but he says you wouldn’t realize that based on what you find on social media.
“The negativity that surrounds K State sports at times, is really, really sad to me,” Weber said. “This is the only school that I’ve been associated with that I am afraid to give our recruits and have them connected with our social media because of what they will hear and see. I know other coaches in our department feel the same way.”
Weber shared those comments shortly after news broke that he would not return as K-State’s coach.
Some K-State fans will understandably bristle at those comments. Attendance cratered at Bramlage Coliseum over the past three seasons as the Wildcats won a grand total of 34 games. If Weber wanted more fans and less negativity surrounding the program, they may say he should have spent more time winning.
From Weber’s perspective, he followed Bob Huggins and Frank Martin at K-State. Fans were still bitter about Martin voluntarily leaving for South Carolina when Weber arrived. Many chalked up Weber’s first conference title with the Wildcats to coaching Martin’s players. Fans seemed hesitant to unite around Weber afterward, even when he posted impressive results in his first seven seasons.
K-State athletics director Gene Taylor thinks that is a shame. He said Thursday that fans should remember Weber’s time “very fondly.
“For whatever reason, Bruce just wasn’t enamored by the fan base,” Taylor said. “They didn’t hug him right out of the gate from day one. He’s done nothing but do it the right way. He’s a classy guy. Like I said, he treats our athletes tremendously well, and he’s been very successful.”
In any case, Weber said he would recommend K-State to just about any potential new coach who will be interviewed.
He called it “a hard job but a great job.” Recruiting to Manhattan isn’t always the easiest of tasks, but when you find players who work hard and want to wear purple he has proven you can win.
Whatever happens next, Weber wants fans to show more love to his replacement.
“Hopefully that can change with the new coach,” Weber said, “and everybody can be positive about K-State.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Bruce Weber hopes fans are less negative toward Kansas State’s next basketball coach."