Bruce Weber emotionally stated his case to return. But Kansas State needs a change
The monologue stretched six minutes without interruption, and before long, a 65-year-old basketball coach was no longer providing a game or season recap but instead fighting for his job — all the while realizing the inevitability of unemployment that likely awaits.
The emotion came out of Kansas State coach Bruce Weber here at T-Mobile Center late Wednesday, after an opening-round loss in the men’s Big 12 Tournament spells not only the end of the Wildcats’ season but likely his 10-year tenure in Manhattan. He laughed. He cried. He deservedly provided commentary on the state of the game he’s called his livelihood since 1979. But most of all: He stated his case.
The two conference championships.
The Elite Eight run.
And the clean program — showcased by the long, gray locks he refuses to trim until those involved in an FBI case are punished.
But it’s what he didn’t mention that necessitates the end.
K-State just finished its third straight losing season — the Wildcats are 13-41 in conference play over that stretch. The program is in need of a jolt, the kind that comes with placing someone new in charge, even if Weber insisted during that monologue that he still has “some spunk.” It’s grown stale after his decade-long stint, which should prompt athletics director Gene Taylor to make the move no athletics director gets into the business to make.
The final three years render it necessary — but let’s spend some space too focusing on the initial seven. Or at least couple the two together.
Weber was never fully embraced upon his arrival nor fully appreciated upon his accomplishments. What seemed like something of a natural fit on the surface — a blue-collar guy who coaches better than he recruits — never really connected. He didn’t possess the fiery personality of his predecessor or the high-profile recruits of the man before that.
The calls for his job preceded this three-year nosedive, perhaps quieter in volume than presently but still plenty loud enough to reverberate through a fan base. The last three years have not been good enough, by any standards, but if the first seven weren’t either, there’s something wrong with the evaluation.
He won. He produced championships Kansas State had not enjoyed in a half-century. If this is the end, he will leave having led the program to a share of two Big 12 regular season titles, a claim only Kansas and Baylor can make over the past decade. And Baylor just joined that group last week.
It feels apt to point out Kansas State had not won a men’s basketball conference championship since 1977. He brought them a share of two. And still, after the initial one...
“The funny part — the sad part — I didn’t get much credit for that,” he said. “They all said it wasn’t my guys.”
So he won with his guys five years later, and wouldn’t you know it, that wasn’t good enough, either. The souring ending to that season — a first-round NCAA Tournament upset — ignited the beginning of the end in Manhattan.
“It’s a crazy business,” Weber said. “I loved it. I hope I get to continue. We’ll see what happens.”
The expectations were off from the jump, established from the tease of Bob Huggins and Frank Martin, who, by the way, has reached the NCAA Tournament just once since bolting for South Carolina a decade ago.
Weber proved that when he had Big 12 talent — whether given to him by previous regimes or when he assembled his own group that included Dean Wade, Xavier Sneed, Kamau Stokes and Barry Brown — his teams could compete among the very best in the conference. He did not suddenly forget how to coach three years ago, but he did not recruit well enough or not consistently well enough.
This is all relevant, of course, not only because it has defined this program for the past 10 years but also because it will define what comes next.
The reality: The reasonable expectations at Kansas State should match the historical output. The Wildcats rank 57th in KenPom’s program rankings, which combine a variety of data since 1997 to measure the quality of a head coaching vacancy.
Look, it’s time for a change. We can acknowledge that but still take a moment to appreciate the entire 10-year package. Weber demonstrated his ceiling, or at minimum had ample time to reach it, and fans and administration alike earn the privilege to aspire for more. To see what else is out there.
Just know it’s not a lock to be better.
Weber’s final moments might be a six-minute monologue Wednesday. It was perfectly Bruce Weber. Compassionate. Emotional. Convincing. Perhaps it was more of an epilogue to a prideful 10 seasons or even a commentary on what the game has provided a 65-year-old coach. At its conclusion, Weber turned toward a moderator and nodded his head.
“OK, Coach,” the voice rang out. “We’re out of time.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.