Webber has valuable season for Chippewas

Jerry Hoffman

Chippewa fans haven’t seen anything like him in quite some time.
In fact, the last person to create this much buzz in Chippewa basketball
circles was Dan Majerle.
However, that’s where the comparisons stop as junior guard David Webber has
created his own identity and has put together a stellar season.
In the Mount Pleasant and CMU community, he’s not Chris’ little brother,
rather ‘David Webber — MAC Player of the Year.’
The Farmington Hills product received 36 of the possible 78 votes for the award.
Ohio’s Brandon Hunter was the next closest with 18 votes.
Webber was instrumental in the Chippewas’ historic season as the team became
the MAC’s first team in history to finish last one season and first the next.
The Chippewas finished 20-8, including a 14-4 mark in MAC play, which was one
game better than Kent State. Last season the team went 6-23 and 2-16 in the MAC.
Webber averaged a MAC-high 18.4 points per game and also led the Chippewas in
rebounding at 5.2 per game.
In a five-week stretch, Webber was named MAC West Division Player of the Weekthree
times and is also one of the 15 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Player of the
Year Award.
Against Buffalo, Webber notched his 1,000th career point in typical fashion -
completing a break away layup, off a steal and drawing a foul to create a three-point
play.
A prelude to the season probably came against Purdue, where he scored 24 points
and gathered 10 rebounds. However, it was his last rebound and an assist to Todd
Schrotenboer for the buzzer-beating layup that won the game for the Chippewas.
Webber scoring would bail out the Chippewas in the team’s road overtime win
against Northern Illinois.
Down 16 points with nine minutes left in the second half, Webber would score 22
points in the half to help force overtime and an eventual win.
Webber played all 45 minutes in the game and also hit a career-high 13 free throws.
The Chippewas would eventually find out what it would be like to play without
Webber as he developed a case of pneumonia.
In the challenge, the Chippewas played an inspired game at home against Ball State
and pulled out a 59-54 win.
Webber would return in the team’s next game as the Chippewas hosted Western
Michigan for Gold Rush. In limited action, Webber played only 24 minutes, but
made his presence felt on defense, gathering a career-high four steals.
In his first full game back from pneumonia against Toledo, Webber showed why he
was MAC’s best player.
Webber scored 26 points, gathered four rebounds, dished three assists and had
two steals. Yet, it wasn’t his scoring that won the second Toledo game.
Drawing a Toledo double-team at the end of the game, Webber dished the ball off
to Chad Pleiness, who hit a baseline jumper as time expired to give the Chippewas
a 70-68 win.
"When I’m 40 years old and done playing basketball I think I’ll
appreciate this. Right now all I care about is winning," Webber said.