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Comparison to the 1999 - 2000 Season

W

Webergrad02

Active member
After our upset win over North Carolina in 1999, hopes were high going into the next season with Gill and the show returning as seniors. The OOC schedule was tough out of the gate and we never really realized our full potential. I heard the phrase just wait until conference starts that year. We finished the OOC schedule 5-3. This year we will likely finish 3-5. That year we beat Utah and USU. I remember Stew saying in the post game that Weber was the one of the most talented teams he had ever played and promised that two players from that team would be playing in the NBA. In conference the team under performed to a 10-6 record and a first round Big Sky Tournament exit at the hands of Northridge.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/weber-state/2000-schedule.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That team had three seniors in Gill, Arcenuex and Shawn Moore. Bachman was a freshman and logged big minutes. I also believe that Ivan Gatto JC'd in that season and contributed. The hopes were very high for that bunch too. The team had a hard time finding an identity under Joe Cravens and that offense looked regressed. I remember wondering what happened to the team concept we saw a year earlier. Joe decided to turn his frustrations into possibly the most laughable ejection march from the floor in NCAA history. Hopes were so high for our Wildcats that ESPN2 picked up some conference games featuring Weber. In the end 2000 was a disappointment.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/weber-state/1999.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This year we have four seniors and some guys new to the program making contributions. We have lost to worse teams than that squad in 2000 and are still searching for an offensive identity. I believe the Big Sky was better in 2000 than it is today. I believe that Gill and Harold had a little more upside than Berry and Tres, but pretty comparable in talent level. That year Gill was running the show. This year we don't have a real identity at point guard. It seams like the guy forced to play 2 guard struggles out of position. We have a much better coach than we had then and aren't trying to run a goofy version of the Princeton offense. I think that 6 conference losses is about right for this Weber team. It may be a few more.

I am trying to excited about watching us play the little, little, little sidters of the poor tomorrow night, but am having a hard time getting motivated.
 
I enjoyed that write up. I think really time will tell. Randy has his flaws but he can corral a team together (aka when Dame broke his foot and we went to the Big sky tourney still). It WILL take someone stepping up and taking charge. Maybe if Mook comes back home for christmas (if I remember correct his girlfriend or wife is still here) he can talk some sense into them.
Also maybe a high school team will be good for us before UCLA. Look at good ole utes. Stomp BYU. Who saw that coming. It will be intersting to see if Rahe plays guys he wants to gel more together like our starting 5 or if he goes with back ups most the game.
 
We were spoiled rotten with Ron A as the coach. He was the best X & Os coach we have ever had, and a great motivator. He was only an average recruiter and was helped a lot by Joe's ability in that arena. Joe took his own recruits and ruined them.

Randy is a very good recruiter, a good X & Os guy, but just an average motivator. If Ron had the players we have had recently, we would have been in the sweet 16 several times. Ron really knew how to get the best out of everyone, and how to design plays for our strengths and weaknesses. I really wish that Randy could have been around Ron for a while. Getting the best out of others is a true art form. :coffee:
 
The biggest difference between the 1999 - 2000 scenario and the current situation is that the 99-98 team lost some pretty solid players in Noel Jackson, Damian Baskerville, Andy Jensen, Eric Ketchum, and Marc Lawson. Yes, having the Thrill and Show back was pretty important tot he success of the 99-00 team, but an entire nucleus of supporting, role, and starting players was gone. Probably most importantly, Weber lost Coach A and he was replaced by Jumpin Joe. Nothing against Jumpin Joe, he had his moments. I relish my memories from the 02-03 campaign, but that was another giant factor why the Cats weren't as successful in 99-00 as they had been in 98-99.

Weber lost two starters and a bunch of role players. Zaid never played, Bradford played sparingly, and Wheels was our sixth man. Maybe they contributed to the success of the team more than what we ever saw or would like to admit. Bam and Mook were awesome players and leaders. Mook was a tough SOB on the floor and really got the most out of his teammates. He is a natural leader and caused some serious match-up problems for opposing teams with his speed, skills, and inside shooting. We all know how great Scotty B was. He was a huge headache for every team. Both guys were big losses, but I think the comparison between the two teams is the loss of role players who helped get the team ready and were instrumental in team success on the court and in practice.
 
Olds,
Doesn't it kind of feel a little similar to that season? Hopefully it will come together for us. One thing I forgot to mention in the original post was the backlash from the community after Ron A. was sent away. I know several long term season ticket holders and Wildcat Club members that bailed on the program. There is a few that still have not returned. Correct me if I am wrong Olds, but I remember that Guy Beach was our connection to Gill and Arcenuex in Texas. In fact, I remember hearing that they were majorly opposed to Joe becoming the HC and wanted it to be coach Beach.
 
oldrunner said:
We were spoiled rotten with Ron A as the coach. He was the best X & Os coach we have ever had, and a great motivator. He was only an average recruiter and was helped a lot by Joe's ability in that arena. Joe took his own recruits and ruined them.

Randy is a very good recruiter, a good X & Os guy, but just an average motivator. If Ron had the players we have had recently, we would have been in the sweet 16 several times. Ron really knew how to get the best out of everyone, and how to design plays for our strengths and weaknesses. I really wish that Randy could have been around Ron for a while. Getting the best out of others is a true art form. :coffee:
Click to expand...

I would argue that Rahe is a good X & Os game planner but just an average X & Os in-game guy, whereas, Coach A excelled in-game, if that distinction is worth noting.
 
webergrad02 said:
Olds,
Doesn't it kind of feel a little similar to that season? Hopefully it will come together for us. One thing I forgot to mention in the original post was the backlash from the community after Ron A. was sent away. I know several long term season ticket holders and Wildcat Club members that bailed on the program. There is a few that still have not returned. Correct me if I am wrong Olds, but I remember that Guy Beach was our connection to Gill and Arcenuex in Texas. In fact, I remember hearing that they were majorly opposed to Joe becoming the HC and wanted it to be coach Beach.
Click to expand...

I, too, enjoyed this read. You can count me as a non-"cheap-seats" season tickets holder at the time who was sorely disappointed with the Joe over Guy hire. I can't say that was ultimately the reason I bring my binoculars with me to my current seats or that Guy would have done anything special but I sure wanted him to have that chance to show what he could do.
 
Okay, I am just having to much fun looking at Old SI stuff. At the beginning of the 99-00 season, SI picked us as the 36th best team in the nation, ahead of Michigan, Alabama and Mizzu. By the end of January we had 3 conference losses.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1017684/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
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