I've been very vocal of my criticism of Coach Weber of the past two years. While I have also tried to give him credit when I felt it was due, no doubt that voicing my concerns far outweighed my compliments.
One of my main concerns has been the culture of the program. I did not feel that the program had a great culture that fostered success and lacked things such as toughness and discipline. This year has been a breath of fresh air. Yes, there have been lapses, but those are expected and have been fewer and fewer. But overall, this team has continued to show a resiliency on the defensive end that few teams possess. While history will not remember this team as an offensive juggernaut, they have found a way to get it done. In other words, this team finds ways to win. That is a character trait of a winning program and is a credit to Bruce, his staff and his kids.
With everyone back and the emergence of some key players late, there are pieces that could make next season a very special one in Manhattan. And I'm not just talking B12 contenders. If we can get more consistency from our bench and X and continued high level of play from Brown and Wade, next year has the make-up of a team that can reach the Final Four. Yes, those are high expectations and I'm not predicting it. But there's no reason to think this team will not be able to play with anyone. That will create a new set of challenges to schedule the OOC in a way that will help get an NCAA seed to make such a run and to keep kids hungry when people will be saying how good they will be. But those are nice problems to have.
It's great to be viewed as contenders again. Good job Coach, staff and players. Now go get one against the dogs.
One of my main concerns has been the culture of the program. I did not feel that the program had a great culture that fostered success and lacked things such as toughness and discipline. This year has been a breath of fresh air. Yes, there have been lapses, but those are expected and have been fewer and fewer. But overall, this team has continued to show a resiliency on the defensive end that few teams possess. While history will not remember this team as an offensive juggernaut, they have found a way to get it done. In other words, this team finds ways to win. That is a character trait of a winning program and is a credit to Bruce, his staff and his kids.
With everyone back and the emergence of some key players late, there are pieces that could make next season a very special one in Manhattan. And I'm not just talking B12 contenders. If we can get more consistency from our bench and X and continued high level of play from Brown and Wade, next year has the make-up of a team that can reach the Final Four. Yes, those are high expectations and I'm not predicting it. But there's no reason to think this team will not be able to play with anyone. That will create a new set of challenges to schedule the OOC in a way that will help get an NCAA seed to make such a run and to keep kids hungry when people will be saying how good they will be. But those are nice problems to have.
It's great to be viewed as contenders again. Good job Coach, staff and players. Now go get one against the dogs.
