Pacers taking a look at Briante Weber

Briante Weber, a consistent starter for nationally ranked VCU the past two seasons, is on the mend from a knee injury suffered on Jan. 31. Playing against Richmond, the 6-foot-2 guard suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus near the end of the game in what turned out to be a loss, the first one for No. 14 VCU in 13 games and in nearly two months.

In February, a few weeks after the right knee injury occurred on a jump stop in the lane, Weber had surgery.

Now, nearly six months out of the hospital, Weber, 22, is making a few visits to NBA teams across the country. Weber is scheduled to arrive in Indianapolis Wednesday evening (Aug. 19) and visit with the Pacers — team officials and the medical staff — on Thursday.

At least 15 NBA teams have called to inquire about Weber, according to a league source. The Pacers are one of the most interested teams — and thus they are getting the first crack at evaluating him.

Pit stop #1 pic.twitter.com/kbDBfJxLKZ

— Briante Weber #2 (@VCU_Bandit2) August 19, 2015

Weber, a defensive-minded guard, averaged 8.1 points, 3.9 steals, and 3.7 rebounds per game in his final year at VCU. During his sophomore season, he topped VCU’s 28-year-old steals record with 98. The next season, he recorded 121 steals.

(Butler basketball fans may remember this play…)

If not for the injury, Weber would have topped the NCAA all-time steals record, which was 385 set by John Lineman of Providence back in 2002. Weber’s 374 career steals seats him third all-time.

According to his team bio, the Chesapeake, Virgina native was “by far the loudest and most energetic player on the team.” He also set a program record for his vertical leap: 45.5 inches.

A role can be carved out by a defensive stopper, just like there’s seemingly always one for a sharpshooter. Every team needs one … especially now that more teams are playing smaller and faster lineups.

Six months removed from surgery, Weber is already dunking, pedaling backwards, and making lateral movements on a beach in North Carolina. Those are all good signs.

Weber plans to make at least a few visits so that he can have face-to-face conversations with team executives, and to also be thoroughly evaluated by medical staffs. The point guard obviously went undrafted in June’s NBA Draft, but plenty of teams are curious how he looks and what he could add to their team.

“Indiana’s been a little more aggressive, along with a couple other teams,” the source said.

Training camp for NBA teams isn’t for another six weeks, and it’s possible he could receive a camp invite — likely with the intention of Weber rehabbing and taking his time in the Developmental League. Should things go well there, he would then have an opportunity in The Association.

In this first year back, it’s important for Weber to take care of himself, to push himself without overdoing it, and to join an environment that can best assist him through the challenging process.

The Pacers are doing their due diligence in looking into the point guard, who is a solid distributer and has a knack for the ball on the defensive end.