Kansas State didn’t waste any time finding its replacement for Frank Martin, hiring former Illinois coach Bruce Weber. Weber’s record (210-101 in nine seasons, including a spot in the 2005 national title game) makes him one of the most accomplished coaches the school’s ever hired.
Not that it impressed the school’s career scoring leader.
Jacob Pullen, a 2011 K-State grad and a Chicago native who wasn’t recruited by Weber to play at Illinois, took to Twitter this morning to rip the hire.
Weber, who signed a five-year, $8.5 million contract, also heard catcalls from various fans who’d been hoping to support another guy. Not one recently fired from another job.
“Give me a chance,” Weber said at his press conference. “It doesn’t matter where you go or which coach you hired, there was always going to be a question mark. There’s no doubt about that. That’s part of college sports.”
Weber’s coaching credentials are solid, but there are questions about his recruiting ability – he never fully tapped the Chicago area – and his final season at Illinois – 17-15 overall, 6-12 in the Big Ten, including a mess of a final month.
He won’t need to come in and pull a Frank Haith and be the national coach of the year, but there’s little doubt K-State expects Weber to continue where Martin left off. He never won less than 21 games and always had a winning record in the Big 12.
You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.