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OGDEN — The 2014-15 season has been an interesting odyssey for Weber State basketball.
In the preseason, the Wildcats were voted to be the top team in the conference, and they returned several players from a squad that made the NCAA tourney.
However, there are no such things as free rides in life, and there especially aren’t in college sports. The Wildcats’ championship season from a year ago proved nothing, as Weber has to fight through more adversity than could be imagined since training camp began.
Obviously, replacing a conference player of the year is tough, and replacing an all-conference center isn’t easy, either. However, it was the blow the Wildcats were dealt on Feb. 12, when they lost point guard Jeremy Senglin to a broken jaw, that has affected the team the most.
Weber was having its growing pains with Senglin, but losing him meant the team lost 18 points-per-game in production while also losing an on-court leader.
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The Wildcats have had to reshuffle the deck, and have played the right cards to keep themselves in contention for a spot in the Big Sky tournament with the right scenarios playing out this weekend.
In essence, Weber has its back against the wall, which is exactly where Wildcats coach Randy Rahe likes his teams to be — with no way out but to fight out of a predicament.
“I’ve had a blast coaching this team,” he said. “We got into a rough stretch, we weren’t doing great, seems like we’d have some losses, but what those losses did is we grew a little bit tighter. I’m not the smartest coach in the world, but that’s what I try to know — we’re going to fight, be tougher, play harder and more together, and this team’s really doing that.”
Since Senglin left the lineup, a variety of different players have had to adjust their roles with the team to stay relevant. The sophomore point guard broke his jaw in a home loss to Southern Utah on a Thursday, with the Wildcats hosting Northern Arizona on Saturday.
Rahe said the process of reconfiguring the team in such a short period was hectic, but the hassle of that didn’t compare to how badly the team felt for its injured teammate.
“Everybody’s heart was broken for Jeremy,” he said. “Our first thought was here is our toughest competitor, and our best player, and he’s worked so hard.
“I think that next day in practice it kind of all hit, and everybody wondered what we were going to do. The next day in practice, we started moving guys to different positions, and we had one day to do it before we played Northern Arizona.
“We had a chance with our offense, and we had an hour and a half to do it. But the kids had a great attitude about it, and they were a little shocked but they weren’t down.”
The Wildcats have gone 2-2 since, but they have seen growth from a variety of players. Returners Joel Bolomoby, Richaud Gittens and Kyndahl Hill have all seen their roles change. However, the biggest change may have come for junior college transfer Chris Golden.
"I'm not the smartest coach in the world, but that's what I try to know- we're going to fight, be tougher, play harder and more together, and this team's really doing that," Weber coach Randy Rahe said.
Golden has started much of the season for the Wildcats but has had to develop a strong voice since Senglin went down.
The junior said he’s tried to become a stronger force.
“I’ve tried to be more of a leader,” he said. “Even though I’m a transfer, I’m still just a junior, so the team just has to hear my voice more on the court. I have to do other things than just score — play defense and not worry about minutes.”
Rahe said Golden has grown a great deal in his role.
“Chris has, overall, had a pretty difficult season at times,” said Rahe, who recruited Golden out of Otero Junior College. “(He’s tried) to figure out our system and trying to play for Weber State, and all the things that go with that. But I think the last two weeks he’s started to shoot the ball better. It’s good to finally see. We’ve been waiting for it.”
Of course, the lone senior on the Wildcats’ roster also provides strong leadership. James Hajek is in his fifth year with the team and has seen the recent success of the Weber program up close.
Weber State isn’t used to having to struggle to enter the Big Sky tournament, and the thought of missing it isn’t acceptable to Hajek and his teammates.
However, the senior center said the fact the team is still eligible to attend the postseason tourney, in spite of all the adversity it has faced, is a positive reflection on the team.
“I think we’ve shown that we’re a resilient team,” said Hajek, who will be honored as part of the Senior Day festivities Saturday against Eastern Washington. “Guys could have packed it in a long time ago, and nobody has. The practices we’ve had the last weeks have been really high energy, high intensity. Everybody is still fighting, scratching, clawing to get into (the Big Sky tourney), because we feel like we are playing some of our best basketball right now. If we can make the tournament, anything can happen.”
There is a definitely a silver lining to the struggles Weber has had this season. One of those is the amount of experience the team’s young players are receiving — something Rahe noted will pay dividends in the following seasons.
However, don’t expect him to put too many extra thoughts in the minds of his young players. Rahe said he wants the team to be focused on simpler things than future experience, or even tiebreaker scenarios for the Big Sky tournament. Instead, he wants them to focus on playing the right way.
“We really haven’t mentioned the tournament, or anything,” he said. “With a young team, you don’t want to put too much in their head. Veterans can take it; these guys, all I want them to focus on is fight — tough, grinding, physical — and just focus on that and then the results will come if they come.”
