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OGDEN — Weber State basketball coach Randy Rahe has gotten used to a variety of praise and back-slapping since his team won the Big Sky Conference championship Saturday.
However, there is an entirely new reason for Rahe to be congratulated.
It was announced Monday that Rahe won the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year award for the fourth time. He also earned the award in 2006-07; 2008-09; and 2009-10.
Rahe is the only coach in the league’s history to win the award four times.
“This award is an honor and it’s very humbling,’’ Rahe said. “I really believe the coaches in the league can coach against anyone. I have tremendous respect for every coach in this league and the jobs they do.”
Weber State (19-11) is preparing for an NCAA tournament contest Friday when it faces No. 1-seed Arizona at 12:10 p.m. in San Diego.
The Wildcats finished the Big Sky regular season with a 14-6 record, and then beat Northern Colorado and North Dakota in the Big Sky tournament in Ogden to clinch the league’s automatic bid — the school’s first since 2007.
Rahe said much of the credit is due to the types of players that have played for him in his time at Weber.
“We want to bring these kids in, (and) we try to make them better players,” said Rahe, who has coached players like Damian Lillard, Scott Bamforth and current Big Sky MVP Davion Berry. “We try to make them better people and better students. And then, you love to see the maturation process happen. They come in as kids and they leave as men.”
This award is an honor and it's very humbling. I really believe the coaches in the league can coach against anyone. I have tremendous respect for every coach in this league and the jobs they do.
–Randy Rahe
Weber finished the season ranked first in the Big Sky in scoring defense; scoring margin; field-goal percentage defense; three-point field-goal percentage; three-point field-goal percentage defense; rebounding margin; and ranks second in free-throw percentage, field-goal percentage and blocked shots.
Rahe said his focus is on using basketball as metaphor for how to handle life.
“That’s what we’re really trying to do here is prepare them to be successful after the leave here,” he said. “Now, we’ve got to win games or I’m not going to be here, but that to me is the real joy of coaching. And you see (Weber players), and you know when they leave here, they’re going to be OK.”
Rahe is not the only Wildcat to win a postseason award this season, with Berry winning the MVP, forward Joel Bolomboy winning Defensive Player of the Year, and guard Jeremy Senglin winning the Freshman of the Year award. Additionally, center Kyle Tresnak was selected to the conference’s second team.
While the list of great Weber coaches is impressive (Dick Motta, Phil Johnson, Neil McCarthy, Ron Abegglen), Rahe sits among the impressive group in accomplishments. He is one of three coaches with at least 100 wins, and he has won 10 conference games or more in each of his seasons in Ogden.
Rahe is 0-1 (a loss to UCLA) in his only NCAA tournament appearance. The Wildcats have played in the postseason each year of his tenure in Ogden, earning a runner-up finish in last year’s CIT.
