Mar 9, 2022; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bruce Weber reacts to a play during the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Big 12 lost one of its good guys today.
Following Wednesday night’s Big 12 Tournament opening loss to West Virginia, longtime Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber signed off, and dropped his mic on the way out.
At the time of his press conference, we didn’t know Weber was planning to announce his resignation the next day. But that’s generally the best time to talk, when you have nothing to lose and a heck of a lot to say. A seven-minute clip of an emotional Weber giving us all a look into his big heart has gone viral on social media. He said so much within it, but nothing is getting more pub than this apparent shot at KSU’s Sunflower State rival, Bill Self.
“We did it the right way,” Weber said of his tenure in Manhattan. “We did it with our guys graduating. I’m on the NCAA ethics committee. And on the meetings, I was told that they were going to take care of the people in the FBI stuff. So I told somebody, ‘I’m going to grow my hair until something happens.’”
Weber’s long silver locks are just more proof that nobody trusts the very toothless NCAA, even a guy on the damn committee. I’m glad he got that off of his chest because his comments echo the thoughts of hundreds of coaches across the country.
Because it is no longer a sexy story, the media has basically quit paying attention to the college basketball FBI probe from 2017-18. Fans don’t hear enough about the injustices of how it has played out.
(I’d encourage everybody to pick up a copy of this book, by former Adidas rep Merl Code.)
“Lon Kruger told me the other day, think about all the guys in the FBI thing. They are all in the NCAA Tournament except one. So I’m just proud of what I’ve done,” Weber said.
As he should be. Weber’s career dates back to 1979, when he started as a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky. Following an 18 year (!!!) stint as an assistant at Purdue, Weber won conference championships at the Missouri Valley, Big Ten and Big 12 during head coaching stops at Southern Illinois, Illinois and Kansas State. In 2005, he was awarded as the Naismith College Coach of the Year.
