Kansas State shifts focus to LSU basketball game after long week of off-court drama
Shortly after the Kansas State men’s basketball team won a nail-biter against North Alabama by the slimmest of margins last week, Jerome Tang was asked to describe how stressful that game felt for him as a coach.
His answer was telling.
Instead of comparing it to a root canal or jury duty, he said with a completely straight face that it was an enjoyable experience.
“The games are not stressful,” Tang said. “That’s the fun part. That’s the part where I don’t have to worry about all the other things. The games are fun.”
Looking back on that exchange, Tang was opening up a window into all the off-court drama he was dealing with at the time. Little did we know at the time that frustrations over Nae’Qwan Tomlin’s suspension were about to erupt like a volcano on campus. Little did we know Tomlin was about to be removed the roster entirely.
Tang doesn’t like dealing with that stuff. Basketball games are a stress reliever, even when K-State plays in three consecutive overtime contests for the first time since 1964.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how K-State handles all the distractions it has encountered this week when it next returns to the court for a road game against LSU at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Will the Wildcats suffer an emotional letdown after watching one of their teammates get kicked off the team? Or will they follow Tang’s lead and get lost in the fun of the game after opening tip?
It’s also fair to wonder how K-State will handle its first true road game of the season.
Those questions will make this an unusual game for the Wildcats.
But some players on the roster will most certainly be excited about it. Redshirt freshman guard Dorian Finister is from nearby New Orleans, junior guard Cam Carter also grew up in Louisiana and redshirt sophomore Jerrell Colbert began his college basketball career at LSU before transferring to K-State.
This will feel like a homecoming for some players, as they get to showcase their skills in front of friends and family.
Trying to win a game for them under those circumstances could provide extra motivation for K-State, and help them block out the outside noise.
“We’re going back to Cam’s land so that’s why we want to win big,” K-State guard Tylor Perry said. “LSU is a great team and you know we got a couple guys from Louisiana so that means a little bit more when you’re going home. We want to win for them.”