Bruce Weber Calls Alex Legion 'Kobe,' Says 'Indiana Will Suck'

Oh, this was waaaayyyy to droll not to share.

I think we now see why Legion and Gillispie clashed.

Good luck, ~~Alex~~ Bruce.

6 months ago Truzenzuzex Comment 36 comments 0 recs |

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I suppose

Weber comes from the Pitino school of player encouragement.

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by TheFakeGimelMartinez on Jun 20, 2008 2:46 PM EDT 0 recs

Tom Crean now has a motivator in the person of vile Bruce Weber.

by Ken Howlett on Jun 20, 2008 3:29 PM EDT 0 recs

The problem is, Weber is right

Indiana probably will suck next year. But as a coach, you don’t say that. If he wanted to get that out there, you do two things:

a) Use coach speak
b) Talk about more teams
c) BONUS: Don’t acknowledge it’s bulletin board material and say “Don’t put that on the internet.”

Here’s what Weber should have said: “It’s going to be wide open. Wisconsin is always there, Michigan State is going to be good, Ohio State is good. Indiana, Michigan, they’re going to struggle, but I like what those coaches are doing. We expect to be right in the hunt though.”

Weber comes off instead like a guy who still cannot let the Gordon thing go.

Cannot Falter

by tacojohn on Jun 20, 2008 8:21 PM EDT up 0 recs

And probably ...

... he just can’t.

Well, Indiana won’t “suck” for long, I expect.

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by Truzenzuzex on Jun 21, 2008 10:34 AM EDT up 0 recs

I must say...

I value being polite and having good manners very highly. And Weber may well be a jerk, and he does come off as a bit sour grapes about Indiana. HOWEVER, it is highly refreshing to me to read any statement, even one that is probably inadvisable, by a person in the public eye that does not sound totally rehearsed and insincere, like it was carefully crafted by a PR firm rather than uttered by actual human being. I am so over coach-speak. Yes, yes, you’re concentrating so hard on the game against the Ladies of Mercy School of the Blind that you haven’t given one thought to the game after that against your top 5-ranked bitter rival, sure, sure we believe you. It gets so that the offend-no-one comments by coaches really say nothing at all—maybe Rupp or Al McGuire or Dale Brown back in the old days said controversial things at time, but at least they SAID something.

It may just be because I’m the kind of person who tends stick her foot in her mouth and say inappropriate things sometimes…but I thought Weber’s comments were honest and funny. And Indiana surely WILL suck this year. Thank god. I don’t really fancy another beat-down.

by blue kentucky girl on Jun 21, 2008 3:14 PM EDT up 0 recs

I agree ...

... naked honesty is sometimes refreshing.

Indiana fans may not find it particularly endearing, however. :-)

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by Truzenzuzex on Jun 21, 2008 3:54 PM EDT up 0 recs

Only when they agree with it

I would say I’m probably (easily?) the strongest critic of IU fans, and they just want to be told what they want to hear, and they’ll justify anything they agree with. So whatever Bob Knight says, you’ll get a group of people who agree with it and are trying to justify it. When Mike Davis suggested things like other jobs being attractive (like the NBA), he got hammered. When he had a bad team and asked for tempered expectations and patience, he got hammered. When he had a good team and said the sky was the limit and he welcomed the pressure, he got hammered.

Cannot Falter

by tacojohn on Jun 22, 2008 10:27 PM EDT up 0 recs

True ...

... I really felt bad for Mike Davis. He was opposed from the moment he got the job, but that does happen.

He’s much happier where he is now, I expect.

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Truzenzuzex on Jun 23, 2008 6:42 AM EDT up 0 recs

I Think UAB = Minnesota

The coaches at those 2 schools will have a chance to show what they can do (or not).

by FortyYearCatFan on Jun 23, 2008 10:01 AM EDT up 0 recs

Agree

Fans can be hostile, especially to a coach who replaced a legend who was pushed out the door in a historically unpopular move, i.e. Joe B. Hall.

I’ve stated before here at ASoB that I always liked Mike Davis, even though he shot his mouth off about UK more than once. I think he is a good coach who was placed in a bad situation.

When Indiana beat Duke in Rupp in the NCAA’s I became a big fan of Davis’, and I thought at that moment that he may last quite a while at IU.

He had a tremendous year at UAB last year ( in a moderately weak conference ), and he has a Top 10 recruiting class coming in. It looks like he’s going to do well in Birmingham.

by Ken Howlett on Jun 24, 2008 12:06 AM EDT up 0 recs

You are right Taco

I can’t recall a coach speaking in such a manner about a conference opponent.

Also, it was Wisconsin who “sucked” last year, and they didn’t have a coaching change.

by Ken Howlett on Jun 21, 2008 9:28 PM EDT up 0 recs

Sounds like something I would say...

Kudos for saying what we all were thinking Bruce!

Still not a crook!

by TrickyD26 on Jun 20, 2008 3:34 PM EDT 0 recs

"Kobe"

Doesn’t play defense… doesn’t pass… yeah, I guess I can see why he and Billy G didn’t see eye-to-eye.

Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."

by chirop1 on Jun 20, 2008 3:43 PM EDT 0 recs

Actually Kobe is a great defender.

That was my only issue with his comments. Kobe has been 1st team all defense in the NBA several times and has repeatedly said he wants to guard the other team’s best player during the olympics this year.

Still not a crook!

by TrickyD26 on Jun 20, 2008 3:46 PM EDT up 0 recs

Title of my comment a little off

I wasn’t necessarily passing on tacit agreement with the comment… more pointing out that a lack of defense and the inability to pass would certainly be a “no no” on a Gillispie team.

Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."

by chirop1 on Jun 20, 2008 4:02 PM EDT up 0 recs

Defense

Kobe’s D really gets kicked up a notch during summer ball as his offense is not needed nearly as much as it is during the regular season since he is playing with so many other great players.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Jun 20, 2008 4:17 PM EDT up 0 recs

I am utterly amazed....

at your lack of knowledge. As another poster pointed out, Kobe has been a 1st team all defense player many times. A lot of people hate Kobe and will not give him any credit even when the facts are totally against them. Kobe is the best player on the planet! Get over yourself!

by SevenRings on Jun 22, 2008 1:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

kobe, is that you?

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jun 22, 2008 6:14 PM EDT up 0 recs

You Misunderstood Him

By “Kobe” he meant Alex Legion, not actually Kobe Bryant.

by FortyYearCatFan on Jun 22, 2008 8:04 PM EDT up 0 recs

I am also utterly amazed...

At your lack of reading comprehension.

I wasn’t the one to make the Kobe comparison… that would be Bruce Weber, Alex Legion’s coach. I put the Kobe in parenthesis to identify it as Alex Legion.

Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."

by chirop1 on Jun 23, 2008 8:16 AM EDT up 0 recs

LOL!

I think SevenRings didn’t understand who you were referring to. But that was a funny exchange.

by Ken Howlett on Jun 23, 2008 11:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

The Bruce Weber Monthly Throw a Player Under the Bus Foundation

Wow. Weber couldn’t even wait until the season started to crucify Legion. Not that I disagree with his statement, but…. Weber has, for the last year, continually used the media as the gallows for his players. Seems like he usually waits until they’re seniors trying to make their way into the NBA, though. Nice work, Bruce. Better to get a head start and make the fans hate him before they ever see him, I suppose. And… I have seen Legion pass. Once. When he used to play for Oak Hill Academy.

by whitechocolateshizzle on Jun 20, 2008 5:49 PM EDT 0 recs

I despise Weber. Have for a long time.

by Ken Howlett on Jun 24, 2008 12:09 AM EDT up 0 recs

Just a hunch....

... but I wonder if Indiana will have anything to put on their bulliten board to motivate them for the Illinois game?

by Crow on Jun 20, 2008 9:15 PM EDT 0 recs

maybe, but...

will there be any players left sitting there to read the bulletin board?

UK has the greatest fans in the world!

by GoCats on Jun 20, 2008 10:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

Bwahaha ...

... I think maybe they will.

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Truzenzuzex on Jun 21, 2008 10:35 AM EDT up 0 recs

Never underestimate anyone

If there is one thing sportspeople should have learned by now, it is to never underestimate any opponent. Otherwise, you might end up on the wrong end of a big upset, a la Michigan football. (Deliberately avoids mentioning another big upset from last year.)

On paper, IU is gonna have a tough year. But Weber just made beating Illinois the equivalent of winning the national championship for the brave souls who wear the cream and crimson next year. Everyone expects them to be bad; do NOT give them something to play for! You might get your ugly mug replayed on Sportscenter a couple billion times and make a few “Stupidest things ever said in sports” lists in the process. I’ve never been much of an IU fan (mostly out of dislike for the disgraceful antics of former coach Knight), but I know one game where I’ll be pulling for them next season.

by Acdixon on Jun 20, 2008 10:48 PM EDT 0 recs

Acdixon = Point of the Day!

Weber must be out of his mind to say such a thing. You and I know it’s probably true, but a smart coach would never say something so offensive about a future opponent, from the same freakin’ conference. Especially a coach coming off of a losing season, himself.

He’s slowly becoming the Rick Pitino of the Big 10.

by Ken Howlett on Jun 24, 2008 12:13 AM EDT up 0 recs