After years of success, here’s how Kansas State coach Bruce Weber is handling defeat
Bruce Weber spoke softly as he tried to explain Kansas State’s latest loss on the basketball court.
The Wildcats (7-7, 0-2 Big 12) are off to their worst start in five years and are still searching for their first conference victory 14 games into a season that no longer features realistic NCAA Tournament aspirations. They have lost games because of youth, injuries, coaching and a group of veteran players that are still adjusting to starring roles. Their coach is frustrated.
“I hate being 0-2,” Weber said following a 59-57 loss to TCU on Tuesday. “I hate it. I hate it for our guys. We have been in both games.”
These are trying times for Weber. He knew K-State would take a step back this season without Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade, but he didn’t expect this.
Here’s how bad things have become: If the Wildcats don’t win their next game at Texas on Saturday, they will reach eight losses faster than any K-State team since the 2001-02 season, when Jim Wooldridge was coach.
“I thought it would be a little easier,” Weber said. “I really did.”
Nothing has come easily for this team. Even with Xavier Sneed, Makol Mawien, Cartier Diarra and Mike McGuirl back after helping K-State reach the Elite Eight and then share a Big 12 championship with Texas Tech over the past two seasons, the Wildcats appear stuck in rebuild mode.
Perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Weber is relying heavily on three freshmen and a junior-college transfer who arrived on campus a few months ago. Sneed, who is averaging 20.5 points in conference games, seems to have embraced his role as the team’s go-to scorer and locker room leader. But his teammates are wildly inconsistent.
Big 12 coaches picking K-State ninth in the preseason poll no longer seems like an outrage, even for loyal fans.
Still, this is a difficult situation for Weber to accept.
He is no longer on the hot seat like he was the last time K-State finished with a losing record. Making the NCAA Tournament three straight times and winning 71 games over the past three seasons has bought him some patience from most fans. But he’s grown accustomed to 20-win seasons. This isn’t fun.
He says there are times he gets so frustrated that he goes home after practice to “hit the wall and scream and stuff.”
Every day, it seems like another player is too injured to participate in drills or suit up for a game. He often relies on assistant coach Brad Korn to fill in as a player so the team can scrimmage between games.
Freshman forward Antonio Gordon missed the TCU game because of a shoulder sprain that Weber said happened during a Sunday walk through, and Diarra is unlikely to practice before the Texas game as he deals with various ailments.
Weber doesn’t mention that to make an excuse. He mentions it to explain how difficult things have been behind the scenes.
“You can blame it on youth, but nobody wants to hear that,” Weber said. “We have got to get better and be a little smarter and get consistent production out of guys every game. So far that just hasn’t happened.”
He hopes a sustained dose of positivity will help. That’s also why he’s trying his hardest to praise his players, regardless of the team’s record. He has asked his assistant coaches to be careful about scolding players for mistakes. Now, more than ever, he is trying to build up their confidence.
What’s his secret to staying positive at time like this? That’s easy. It’s his job.
“I have always said I am a miracle. I shouldn’t be here,” Weber said. “I was never a great player. It was a miracle to get to this position and have this opportunity. I worked hard and have done it because I feel like I have my heart and mind in the right place with the kids, helping them to be successful on the court and off the court and care about them later. If you do that, good things will happen.”
Weber is hopeful that K-State can turn a proverbial corner soon. Though the Wildcats have lost half their games, none of them have been lopsided defeats. A play here or a play there could have swung any of them in their favor.
The buttons Weber pushed to win close games the past three years are no longer resonating. That’s caused him to lose some sleep, but he’s still the same coach he has always been.
“That is the only way I know how to do it,” Weber said. “I’m not perfect by any means, but I care and I hope that work ethic and passion carries over. If I can give David (Sloan) a little passion that would be nice, give Levi (Stockard) a little passion that would be nice. I am going to keep trying and hopefully we can break through.”