By TIM BISEL
TopSports.news
The only Kansas State men’s basketball coach to win a conference championship in four-plus decades now has a losing conference record during his Manhattan tenure.
That isn’t a surprise. That’s Bruce Weber.
Weber knows how to succeed. He just doesn’t know how to sustain. His track record is clear: He has rises and falls, dips and spikes that are as drastic and expected as temperature fluctuations in Kansas.
When he followed Bill Self at Illinois, Weber was wildly successful his first two seasons, winning back-to-back Big Ten championships in 2004 and 2005 and reaching the NCAA championship game in ’05. Three years later, his Illini had gradually slipped to 16-19 overall and 5-13 in the Big Ten.
Weber rebounded, of course, going 24-10 and finishing second in the conference in 2008-09 before starting another slide that culminated with his 2012 dismissal following a 17-15 season.
The Weber roller-coaster rides have only intensified since the frenetic coach arrived at K-State to replace Frank Martin. The highs have been among the highest in program history, featuring Big 12 championships in 2013 and 2019 as well as that memorable run to the Elite Eight in 2018. The lows have included two losing seasons and four campaigns that saw the Wildcats finish in the bottom half of the Big 12, including last year’s unsightly 11-21, 3-15 scar.
And those results don’t include this year’s horrifying experience. As the Wildcats prepare for Tuesday night’s Sunflower Showdown at Kansas, they find themselves in the midst of an eight-game losing streak that has plummeted them to 5-13 overall and 1-8 in the league. The eyesores are too numerous to list, but among them are an 81-68 setback to Division II Fort Hays State, two 30-plus-point thrashings at the hands of No. 2 Baylor and a 26-point loss at Oklahoma.
With a roster featuring underclassmen Nijel Pack, Dajuan Gordon, Selton Miguel and others, some hoops pundits believe the Wildcats have enough young talent to turn around their misfortunes rather quickly.
While that certainly may breed hope among a few K-State supporters, it nevertheless seems unfathomable that the team finds itself in this sorry state in the first place. How did we go from Barry Brown leaping over an Atlanta media table to a program faceplant in less than three years?
The answer, of course, is Weber. The man knows how to scale a summit, but he also knows how to zipline to the bottom as fast as anyone. Weber, with a career record of 479-278, is too nice a man to be compared to Sisyphus, but there’s no denying that his rock keeps tumbling down the hill.
Despite Weber’s impeccable character and his standing as the third-winningest coach in K-State history (166-123, 73-80 Big 12), he has been a controversial figure in Manhattan from the moment he arrived. Early on, he struggled to escape the large shadow cast by Martin, his predecessor. He later was criticized for his handling of Marcus Foster and Co. — as well as the dysfunctional 2014-15 season and roster overhaul that ensued — and for offering explanations that sounded more like excuses.
For all of Weber’s difficulties, he and his Wildcats have stooped to historic lows these past two seasons. K-State could conceivably finish this current campaign with a record of 5-22, which would be its worst since the 1945-46 squad went 4-20. It also is on pace for its worst two-year stretch since the Wildcats went 8-30 from 1933-35.
As restless as the fan base is growing, however, it appears Weber will return for his 10th season in 2021-22. Athletic director Gene Taylor recently told the Manhattan Mercury’s Ryan Black that K-State intends to bring Weber back regardless of how the Wildcats finish this season.
Finances certainly play a part in the decision. The pandemic forced K-State to trim an estimated $2 million from its operating expenses, meaning this isn’t the best time to start shelling out million-dollar contracts or buyouts.
Still, Taylor understands the rising discontent among those who want Weber removed.
“I’m not sticking my head in the sand,” he told the Mercury. “I know how frustrating this is.”
The frustration is amplified because Weber gave Wildcat fans a peek at the penthouse only to escort them back to the poorhouse. But again, we must remember, that’s what he does.
Weber has proven, time and again, that he can win at a high level. He’s also proven, time and again, that his success doesn’t have staying power.
If he doesn’t start another climb soon — as in next year — Weber himself won’t have much staying power, either.
