OPINION |
It’s hard to believe that 11 years and three months have elapsed since Kyle Weems jumped onto a press table, a couple of feet from my laptop, and celebrated a Missouri Valley Conference basketball championship.
The pure joy that Weems exhibited that day is forever etched in my memory and surely is the same for thousands of Missouri State fans on hand that day. The Bears beat Wichita State in JQH Arena for what remains the program’s lone Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball regular-season championship.
One thing that a decade and change has not altered is Weems’ passion for the game. The second-leading scorer in Missouri State program history is still going strong, in his 10th and most-successful season of professional basketball overseas.
And he’s still doing it with a smile and personality that connects him to fans, in southwest Missouri or northeast Italy.
“I’m having so much fun,” Weems said in a recent telephone interview from Bologna, Italy, after he led Virtus Bologna to the Euro Cup championship with an 80-67 win over Frutti Extra Bursapor.
Finding that championship feeling again
Weems, a 6-foot-6 forward, had 13 points in the clinching-game victory. It’s his third season with Virtus Bologna after playing his first seven seasons in Germany, Turkey and France, and Weems averaged 12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range.
That championship elevates Virtus Bologna into the Euro League next season. It’s the first time the team has qualified for Europe’s top circuit, which has produced talent such as Manu Ginobili and Luka Doncic, since 2008.
After helping his team win the Euro Cup title, Weems said he celebrated like it was 2011 at JQH Arena all over again.
“Man, it was very similar in the sense of just seeing everyone overcome with joy and pure happiness,” Weems said. “Seeing season ticket holders who have been here for 30 or 40 years, who never had experienced that in-person … It's something like season ticket holders at Missouri State got to experience with the 2011 conference championship.
“It was a great day for our club and our city. Last year we lost in the semifinals, so it’s been something that’s been looming over us. We finally got that gorilla off our backs.”
Weems described the atmosphere of the 10,000 fans in Virtus Bologna’s home arena as “great, loud and awesome” as the team beat its crosstown rival. He said Bologna is called “Basket City” for the importance of basketball in its culture.
“They were at the arena two hours before the game, doing chants. You can’t even hear yourself think during the game,” Weems said.
The frenzy did not end with the Euro Cup. Virtus Bologna is now attempting to defend its Italian League championship, starting the semifinal round this weekend after sweeping Pesaro three straight in the opening round.
At home in Italy and Kansas City
Winning another Italian League championship would be icing on the proverbial cake before Weems returns home in a few weeks. He and wife Jacque, and sons Kyrie (6) and Christian (4) reside in suburban Kansas City.
Having the family on hand for the Euro Cup championship was special. Last year, when his team won the Italian League, Jacque and the boys went home earlier in the spring due to pandemic concerns.
“Winning the Italian League championship without them really hurt me,” Weems said. “Hoisting trophies, taking pictures, they weren’t there. With this opportunity, I don’t take it for granted having two awesome kids and an awesome wife, I wanted them to be part of that celebration as well.
“Those are memories that will last a lifetime.”
With the way his game has evolved during his time in Europe, Weems said he probably could pursue an invitation to an NBA training camp. But he is making a good living and loves where he’s doing it. Unless an NBA team offered a guaranteed roster spot, it would make little sense for him to alter course.
Weems is so popular in Italy that he even has his own line of KW34 game-day t-shirts.
“I’m signed for next year, but I’m hoping to extend longer,” he said. “I’ve said it multiple times to the media over here, I’m hoping for this to be my last stop and I can play here as long as I can. This really and truly is a special place to play professional basketball.
“I don’t want to take it for granted. The organization is great and I think it’s a perfect fit.”
Playing for Pops
Kyle Weems often pays tribute to his late father, former Drury and Washburn University basketball player Kevin Weems, through his social media posts. Kevin Weems died in November of 2019 at the age of 59 after battling cancer.
“I definitely have been feeling his presence,” Kyle Weems said of his dad, whom he refers to as Pops. “He’s had a way since he’s been gone to come back and make his presence felt.
“I had a couple of run-ins with him the last couple of weeks, a couple of tough days of practice and a couple of tough-shooting games. But I want to keep to the script and the work I’ve put in. That’s what he instilled in me. I know he is shining down and is proud.”
