OGDEN -- Only a handful of college basketball teams win their last game, so in order to judge the successfulness of a season you have to look at the entire season.
That's what the Weber State Wildcats are doing after their season came to an end with last week's loss at Cincinnati in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament, and the Wildcats are proud of what they look back on.
"We had a lot of accomplishments," said guard Damian Lillard, who was named the Big Sky Conference's most valuable player. "We won a conference championship, and that speaks for itself. We got better every day in practice, and we deserved the conference championship."
With a bull's-eye on their backs, the Wildcats won their second consecutive Big Sky Conference regular season title, and were a part of that regular-season championship for the third time in four seasons. In additon to having the league's MVP, they had the newcomer of the year - Franklin Session -- and coach of the year in Randy Rahe.
But those accolades weren't the goal of a team that is more concerned about team success rather than individual awards.
"Anytime you win a regular-season conference championship, it's the greatest accomplishment," Rahe said. "That's the hardest thing to do, especially when everyone's picked you to do it, and when the league's at an all-time high. That tells you a lot about our team."
With the majority of the teams bringing back almost their full squads from the previous season, the competitive level of the Big Sky was high. WSU, which was picked by the media as the top team in the preseason poll, finished with a 13-3 mark in league play, 20-11 overall, but lost to Montana in the championship of the Big Sky tournament.
That sent WSU to the NIT, and the Grizzlies to the NCAA tournament.
Montana's effort in the NCAA tournament said a lot about the Big Sky this season. After finishing fourth in the regular season, the Grizzlies lost 62-57 to New Mexico in the NCAA tournament and had a chance to tie the Mountain West Conference's top team in the final minute.
Throughout the season, the Wildcats had two main goals, which were to get better every day and to win their next game. That was all they cared about, and it showed in their preparation.
"We did a lot of great things and every day we came to practice and got better, and that's the exciting thing," said center Trevor Morris. "We have a lot to look forward to for next year."
WSU says goodbye to seniors Steve Panos and Nick Hansen, who served as good team leaders this season. This departure is similar to the one last year that saw Kellen McCoy and Daviin Davis graduate, and this season the Wildcats knew they needed to fill in the huge holes that came as a result.
"When we lost Kellen and D-Will, the MVP and defensive player of the year, we needed to get production from more people," Rahe said. "In order to replace Kellen's scoring, Damian obviously stepped up and Steve kicked up his numbers."
But those two players weren't the only ones who stepped up.
Rahe said that Hansen, Morris, Kyle Bullinger and Darin Mahoney not only increased their productivity, but also how well they played defense. Then with the addition of newcomers like Session, Lindsey Hughey, Josh Noble and Matt Washington, the 'Cats had the tools they needed to win another league title.
"Every kid made progress, and it may not have shown in statistics sheets," Rahe said. "I thought all the kids stepped up in some form to enable us to make up for two big losses. Everyone, in some form or fashion, obviously improved their game somehow or else we wouldn't have won a championship."
Rahe wasn't finished handing out praise.
Along with the players, Rahe credits his staff and the fans.
"I feel like I have the best staff in the country and without them, we wouldn't have the success that we've had or be able to maintain that success," Rahe said.
Weber State averaged 5,310 fans per game this season, which was the best in the Big Sky.
"We had a lot of great fans out there, through thick and thin there were a lot of people who supported us through the whole season," Rahe said.
Following Wednesday's season-ending loss to the Bearcats, WSU players and coaches took some time off. The coaches are back at work today, putting together spring workouts and planning recruiting trips.
"The focus will be on what do we have to do to improve our team," Rahe said. "Try to get individuals better, try to get our team better and get the tools to have that accomplished."
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