K-State Q&A: What’s new with Gene Taylor’s search for next Wildcats basketball coach?
More than a week has passed since Kansas State parted ways with Bruce Weber.
A replacement could be hired early next week after the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament come to an end and the Wildcats’ prime candidates are free to formally interview with Gene Taylor for the position.
Until then, there is much to speculate upon. You’ve got questions about Brad Underwood, Jerome Tang, football and lots of other fun topics. I’ve got answers. Let’s do this thing.
Thanks, as always, for your participation.
Here’s my updated “Hot Board” for K-State’s basketball coaching search.
By the way, we need to come up with a better name than “Hot Board.” I highly doubt Taylor is writing these names on a board somewhere. And even if he did, that board wouldn’t be hot. The term is right up there with “Power Rankings.” What does power have to do with them?
But I digress ...
1A. Brad Underwood: Until he says no, he tops the wish list. From what I understand, the Wildcats have informed his agent that they have strong interest in hiring him and have outlined roughly what they can offer him in terms of a contract. But he’s focused on the NCAA Tournament and not currently in a position to entertain their interest. If he chooses to seriously consider the opportunity and talk to Gene Taylor about the opening, it won’t happen until after the Fighting Illini bow out of March Madness. It feels like a long shot that he wants to leave Illinois right now. It also seems incredibly unlikely that K-State can offer him a pay raise. But he’s a K-State alum who grew up in nearby McPherson. Maybe he wants to come home. Stranger things have happened. He remains the dream candidate.
1B. Jerome Tang: I was tempted to rank Baylor’s associate head coach above Underwood. Why? He is much more affordable, and I have confirmed through sources that he has strong interest in the job. He’s also really good. He is the best non-dream candidate on the board. Tang has been by Scott Drew’s side at Baylor for 19 years and he has helped turn the Bears into a juggernaut. He’s never been a head coach at the college level before, but veteran assistants have been killing it in the lead spot this season. Look what Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), Mark Adams (Texas Tech) and Hubert Davis (North Carolina) have done. Tang appears to be in the running for several SEC openings, too. The Wildcats may need to act fast to land him. If they do, they can use the slogan “Win the Tang Day!”
3. Chris Jans: I’m not really sure who to rank in this spot. There is a big drop off after the first two names on this list. It’s abundantly clear who K-State likes the most right now. But Jans might be next. There is a lot to like about him from purely a coaching perspective. He is a former Wichita State assistant, so he knows the Sunflower State. He just led New Mexico State to a win over Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament. That’s cool. But he was also fired for inappropriate behavior at Bowling Green. No other coach on this list has baggage. That could really hurt his chances.
4. Todd Golden: San Francisco earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament and then took Murray State to overtime on Thursday. Maybe it’s time for one of the nation’s youngest head coaches to make the leap to a bigger job. (Editor’s note: Florida has reportedly struck a deal with Golden, so he is out of the running)
Next in line: Matt McMahon, Darian DeVries, Dana Ford, Jeff Linder, Dennis Gates.
Dropped out: Grant McCasland, KT Turner, Niko Medved.
Well, they’re all winners.
Tang has helped Baylor win one national championship and a pair of regular season Big 12 titles.
Underwood has a pair of Big Ten trophies at Illinois already.
Jans has won the WAC four times in five years at New Mexico State.
Golden is a bit of a wild card, but when was the last time San Francisco basketball was on your radar?
E-MAIL QUESTION: Regardless if donors and the university buy out and bring back Underwood, which would bring us instant gratification, why does KSU continue to limit themselves with an athletic budget at the bottom of the conference?
No, we’re not Oklahoma or Texas, but neither is TCU and for us to have raised nearly 100 million during the pandemic for new and improved facilities, it makes no sense. By the way is Bramlage ever going to get a face lift? It would be nice if they changed the seating to better engage fans and create a tougher environment for opponents. - Tyler M.
If the Wildcats could snap their fingers and suddenly have the biggest athletic budget in the Big 12, I promise you they would do exactly that.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Raising money for facility upgrades is different than selling tickets to basketball/football games.
I suppose K-State could start asking donors to start giving money for the sole purpose of boosting its budget for salaries or recruiting. Anymore, though, that money is probably better spent on NIL deals for student-athletes.
To answer the second part of your question, the Wildcats have plans to upgrade Bramlage Coliseum. They will happen after the current projects they are constructing are complete.
Louisville is the best NCAA Tournament site I have visited.
Great city, fantastic arena, unbelievable media hotel and the best bourbon on the planet. I mean, what more could you want?
I wasn’t technically covering the Wildcats on that trip, though. I was helping write about KU that week.
For just my K-State travels I would probably say San Jose. That was a fun trip.
I’ve gotta admit, though, I was quite jealous when colleague Drew Davison got sent to San Diego to cover TCU in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
I love San Diego.
You didn’t ask, but Dayton was probably the worst NCAA Tournament site I have visited.
I am all for K-State wearing lavender more often.
It is a tremendous alternate look, and even though outsiders think the two-tone basketball uniforms are hideous insiders love them nostalgia purposes. Believe it or not, I think they are hot. More people should wear dark purple and lavender.
How cool would it be if the football team broke out an alternate lavender uniform next season?
A lavender helmet would be incredible.
That being said, I would not make the full-on switch from purple to lavender.
Every team’s primary uniform should be simple and non objectionable. There are people out there who don’t like lavender as a color.
That’s why the Royals wear royal blue as their primary color and only shift to baby blue for certain games. That is why most NFL uniforms are incredibly boring, but completely acceptable.
And, I must admit, after seeing the basketball team adopt head-to-toe lavender as one of its alternate looks, I don’t love it as much as I thought I would. There’s no nostalgia.
I asked Nijel Pack to rank the K-State basketball uniforms this season and he had those near the bottom. His favorite was black.
K-State should wear lavender more often than it does. All the time? That’s probably a bit much.
I hope so.
Those old uniforms looked great. They would real nice as an alternate home uniform.
Replace? Heaven’s no!
Complement? Perhaps.
I could be down with that. Just as long as you EcoKat isn’t involved.
I’m going to go with Kade Warner.
He transferred to K-State from Nebraska, which means he will be vital in helping Adrian Martinez adjust to Collin Klein’s offense.
It also seems like he has stepped into Noah Johnson’s role as the vocal leader of the offense. Furthermore, he looked promising as a wide receiver as the 2021 season went a long. I could see him being one of the team’s more productive pass-catchers next season.
Chris Klieman was very happy when Warner decided to stay in school for an extra year.
Really?
I think he gets a lot of credit for his history with quarterbacks.
Carson Wentz, Easton Stick and Trey Lance all went to the NFL out of North Dakota State. It seems like Skylar Thompson is going to have a shot at making a NFL roster after playing for him at K-State.
He clearly has a great track record.
But I’m not sure who will be the next guy to keep that streak going. Maybe Jake Rubley or Will Howard will turn into stars. They aren’t there yet.
Thompson getting picked in the 2022 NFL Draft would be another nice feather in Klieman’s cap, though. You’re right about that.
DJ Giddens seems like the most logical choice.
He’s a 6-foot-1 and 212-pound running back from nearby Junction City. He ran hard during summer practices last season and the coaches were high on his potential. Jacardia Wright and Joe Ervin were just in front of him on the depth chart.
Now is his opportunity to move up.
But it could also be Jordan Schippers or Jax Dineen. Schippers served as the RB2 at the Texas Bowl. He’s got some talent. Dineen, a former fullback, seems more like a change-of-pace option to me. I love the idea of using him at running back, especially in the red zone, but giving him the ball for a full drive seems less exciting.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 9:57 AM.