Road-weary Weaver takes trip away from pine

As if it weren’t enough that Dick Bennett brought his entire coaching staff from the state of Wisconsin, the Washington State University Cougars went out and recruited Kyle Weaver, a Beloit native, from the Badger State as well.

Weaver began this, his freshman season, as WSU’s starting point guard because of Derrick Low’s broken foot. But when Low returned, Weaver’s role vanished and he spent much of December sitting on the bench. A short stint at the end of a blowout loss to California impressed Bennett so much that Weaver has been back in the starting lineup for the last three games. Weaver took some time this week to talk with The Spokesman-Review about that and the Cougars’ six-week odyssey without a game in Pullman, a trip that will finally end tonight.

S-R: Can you remember the last game you played in Pullman?

KW: I can’t even remember it. It’s been a long trip; we’ve been on the road a lot. But hopefully we can use that to our advantage when we come back here.

S-R: Best place you stayed at in the last month-and-a-half?

KW: (The hotel) in Spokane. It had a refrigerator, and that’s the only one I remember that had a refrigerator in it. Kept my drinks cold.

S-R: But no mini-bar.

KW: Oh – no, no, no. A couple Gatorades, that’s it.

S-R: What’s the best travel lesson you’ve learned?

KW: There’s a lot of things. I didn’t know how your body wears down. You have to fight through that. Mentally, you have to stay focused. And that double overtime (at UCLA last week) kind of got to me. I felt it a little bit.

S-R: Are you thinking about writing a how-to book on travel now?

KW: I might have to come out with something.

S-R: And when will we be seeing that?

KW: In a couple years. My God, I knew it was going to be busy, but now with school starting back up, it’s going to be even more stressful. It was a good experience, though.

S-R: OK, well, let’s talk basketball. You were riding the pine for a little while, then all of the sudden you’re back in the starting lineup. How’d that happen?

KW: Coach has been trying to change some things, get people to work together and gel together on both sides of the floor. I think it started with that Cal game, when I came off the bench and gave us a spark. Riding the pine lit that fire under my butt, like, ‘Hey, I’ve got to do something.’ When you’re out there you have to do something or it’s going to be the same result.

S-R: Did you ever think when you entered the Cal game that you could be starting the next game?

KW: No. I didn’t think I was going to get in that game, truthfully. When he said my name, I was ready.

S-R: But you can’t get too comfortable now, can you?

KW: No. Just as fast as I went in, I could be back out. I know it’s going to be hard, but I’ve got to keep working.