K-State is starting over in backcourt, and pressure is on Weber to get it right

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Of course, you don't get the nuclear option without fallout. But lest we forget: Bruce Weber's backcourt was as comforting as a hand grenade, most nights, and that was before Marcus Foster went AWOL.

Kansas State turned the ball over an average of 13.2 times per game in 2014-15, making the Wildcats the 243rd-most ball-secure team out of the 351 schools in Division I. The Wildcats give the rock away on 18 percent of their plays (289th nationally) while accounting for 4.4 3-point makes (330th) and 13.2 3-point attempts (342nd).

Maybe it would have gotten better next fall, if only because it couldn't get that much worse. Whatever. It's a moot point now.

Because after all that -- all the promise, all the tough talk, all the inconsistency, all the questionable judgment(s) and finger-pointing and soap-operatics -- finally, when it comes to K-State hoops, this much is certain: Weber is starting over.

Welcome to Wildcat basketball 2015-16, The Year of the Mulligan.

Foster and promising outside threat Tre Harris were shown the door last month, wiping out the top two candidates for time at shooting guard. Now point guard is more or less a blank slate, too. Last winter's primary starter, Jevon Thomas, transferred out, and the man in line to replace him, sophomore Nigel Johnson, did the same via Twitter Wednesday morning:

So the Vanier Football Complex isn't the only thing getting a face-lift in the Little Apple. Four big pieces in the backcourt from this past season's 15-17 squad are kaput, along with frontcourt seniors Thomas Gipson and Nino Williams. Which means Weber is saying goodbye to:

• 71.3 percent of his points from a year ago

• 54.3 percent of his rebounds

• 64.7 percent of his assists

• 78 percent of his 3-point makes.

Welcome to Wildcat basketball 2015-16, The Year of the Blank Slate.

K-State (we think) will take the floor (we think) next fall without six of its top nine scorers, with only senior-to-be swingman Justin Edwards (6.3 points per game), sophomore forward Wesley Iwundu (5.8 ppg) and senior-to-be big man Stephen Hurt (4.2 ppg) left to build the rest of the roster around again.

Edwards and Hurt are transfers, from Maine and Lipscomb, respectively. Theirs was a one-way ticket.

When the Johnson news broke, a bit -- OK, a lot -- of hand-wringing followed within social media circles. Which led to this, from the returning (we think) Iwundu:

And, in a more R-rated sentiment along the same lines, from Gipson:

So the test begins. The battle of patience -- and perhaps wills -- between Wildcat faithful and Weber, who has a contract that reportedly runs through 2019. It's an odd, uncomfortable fan gray area, one that gets perpetually less comfortable and more gray by the month.

K-State fans love the program. But the cold, hard truth is that they don't all love the coach. To a certain segment of EMAW Nation, Weber is like the son-in-law they've never quite been able to fully come to terms with, no matter how much their baby girl loves that so-and-so.

The 2012-13 Big 12 co-championship was enjoyed with a somewhat guarded (and occasionally jaded) optimism, as was the 20-win campaign and NCAA tourney berth that followed. But when it goes bad, out come the knives. They'll be the first to tell you they were right about that so-and-so all along, and their little girl can do better.

This past winter's mess was just the second losing season of Weber's 17 as a Division I coach, a pack of wild colts you could sense he was fighting and trying to rein in almost from the very start, lest it pull the wagon into the ditch again.

Some say that's on the driver, especially as the Clydesdales up front were his call, his stamp. Fair enough. Of the 10 players prior to the Class of 2015 who had committed to Kansas State's basketball program under Weber, Scout.com's database says, six are no longer a part of the picture.

Kansas, same period: 14 commitments, eight departures. Iowa State: nine commitments, four departures.

So falling on either side of the 50 percent line isn't that crazy. But five of your last eight commitments taking the highway as opposed to your way isn't the kind of trend line that cools the skeptics much.

Although even the most skeptical have to admit: This was always setting up to be a rebuilding year in the Little Apple, a fate affirmed the second Weber cut ties with Foster, his top scorer over the past two seasons. All Johnson's departure did was drive that point a little closer to the bone.

They'll always have the Jayhawks, whom this core of mercurial 'Cat players knocked off at home in consecutive years for the first time since 1982 and '83. And it's interesting, if a little macabre: Of K-State's top four scorers in a 70-63 Stormy Monday upset of KU on Feb. 23 -- Johnson (20 points), Williams (15), Gipson (12) and Iwundu (seven) -- only one was still on the roster after Easter. More interesting: Six of the 10 starters for both sides that night -- Jayhawks and K-State -- are now seeking their basketball fortunes elsewhere, a number that could climb to seven if on-the-fence junior Perry Ellis elects to take the NBA plunge.

When it rains, it ... well, you know, so Weber elected to push the giant red RESET button rather than patch the leaks. If the second attempt to build it right blows up, the next time, someone else may be pressing that button for him.

You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.