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SAN DIEGO — Now that the season is over for Weber State men’s basketball, it’s almost tough to imagine that the Wildcats made good on their preseason hype.
When looking at the season, consider that Weber State started the season 1-4; went 10 days without playing a game; lost 53-51 to Utah Valley in a game that must surely be considered the low point of the season; and was on the precipice of losing a chance at the Big Dance when Northern Colorado had the final possession in a tie game during the Big Sky tournament.
Still, coaches and media predicted that Weber State would be the best team in the Big Sky, and they were right. The Wildcats finished with a 19-12 record — nothing outstanding in the world of college basketball. But along the way, Weber earned the respect of one of college basketball’s traditional powers after maintaining a strong effort in a 68-59 loss to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
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While the loss is disappointing for Weber State, there is a great deal to look forward to in the future for the Wildcats. First, sophomore forward Joel Bolomboy gave notice to the country on why he is considered to be in contention for a potential professional future, scoring 11 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.
Arizona coach Sean Miller said he expects Bolomboy’s future to be bright.
“I feel like he’s an NBA player,” said Miller, who has coached NBA players like Sacramento’s Derrick Williams. “We have not faced a player who is a better offensive rebounder than him. … Someone said moving forward it’s only going to get tougher in the post. I don’t believe that.”
Indeed, Bolomboy made a splash with the national media, but Weber State’s comeback was fueled as much by backup freshman guard Richaud Gittens as anybody. Gittens had 12 points in the game, including a 6-0 run that brought Weber back into the game.
Weber State coach Randy Rahe said Gittens’ performance is a testament to his talent.
“(Gittens) has the type of athleticism that can play with high-level athletes and we knew he had a chance to make an impact because of that,” said Rahe, who is 0-2 in his NCAA tournament career. “He got aggressive, and when he’s like that he’s a pretty good player. “
Weber State returns a young core of players next season, including Bolomboy, Gittens, Big Sky Freshman of the Year Jeremy Senglin and reserve small forward Kyndahl Hill. In the game against Arizona, those four players scored 26 points.
For those reasons, Rahe said he expects Weber’s future to be bright.
“I’m excited about our young kids,” he said. “If you look out there tonight, we played quite a few minutes with three freshmen and a sophomore. They’re going to be really great and good leaders in our program because they’re all made of the right stuff, not just as players but the character, the toughness, the unselfishness they have, they’re going to be obviously the foundation of our program.”
Now the offseason begins for Weber State, and the recruiting war goes on as Rahe and his staff attempt to bring more top-flight talent like Bolomboy and Gittens to Ogden. Certainly the strength of the name of Weber alumnus Damian Lillard will continue to pay dividends in recruiting, and a resume with a closer-than-expected game against Arizona on it will also pay off.
