K-State concerned Iowa State spied on timeout huddles in recent basketball game
When Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang angrily pointed into the crowd at Hilton Coliseum during a 78-67 loss to Iowa State on Wednesday, many assumed he was upset about the behavior of a few Cyclones fans who may have said something inappropriate to him or his team.
But that was not the case.
Tang and some of his assistant coaches were focused on the crowd for a different reason. Turns out, they were concerned that Iowa State had placed managers and/or other team representatives in spots behind the visiting bench where they could view, and possibly even record, the Wildcats as they huddled up during timeouts, according to sources.
The sources said K-State’s coaches were worried about those observers quickly passing information to the Iowa State bench via text messages.
That would explain why Tang immediately walked to midcourt to inform Iowa State coach TJ Otzelberger of what he spotted in the crowd with 7 minutes, 51 seconds remaining in the second half. Later, they had an interesting follow-up conversation during the postgame handshake line.
In both instances, Tang turned toward the far side of the arena and pointed into the stands behind the K-State bench as he explained what he witnessed.
Otzelberger appeared to ask for a precise location from Tang, and both coaches made a similar gesture with their hands, perhaps in a reference to cell phones.
Neither coach seemed overly upset as they discussed the issue at midcourt, but Tang was still clearly concerned about what he saw.
Fans seated behind the visiting bench were confused about what had transpired. Tang was pointing into the stands, but not at anyone seated close enough to truly bother any K-State players with their words. When asked if they heard any inappropriate language from Iowa State supporters, two K-State fans seated in the front row said no.
They were loud, they booed and they even started a few “(expletive) K-State” chants. But no one had stories about any home fans crossing a line.
Tang didn’t have much of a comment on the situation, either.
“I know you saw what you saw, but I’m not going to talk about it,” Tang said immediately afterward. “I’m more than happy to talk about the game. TJ and I will go figure the other part of it out.”
Still, K-State coaches were clearly irritated when they began to worry that they were being spied upon. Chris Williams, who covers Iowa State for the web site Cyclone Fanatic, reported that during one late timeout Tang’s staff took a look at ISU’s managers and referred to them as “cheating (expletives).”
The ESPN cameras also caught Tang appearing to tell lead official Gerry Pollard during the game’s penultimate media timeout that Iowa State had people “filming our huddle.” His concerns didn’t amount to anything, though. The game continued and the Cyclones pulled away for a double-digit win.
It is unclear if the Big 12 will investigate any of Tang’s concerns from the game or if both sides will simply move on.
Proving that anyone in attendance was using a cell phone to help Iowa State win on its home court could be difficult. Tang also mentioned that Iowa State did so much advanced scouting that it knew most of K-State’s offensive plays before they were coming — especially in the first half when the Cyclones were playing defense in front of their own bench.
Neither Tang nor Otzelberger chose to address the incident with media after the game was over. The Wildcats traveled straight to Houston for their next contest against the Cougars on Saturday, so they haven’t been on campus to discuss what happened with athletic leadership.
Tang even downplayed the situation on Wednesday night when he was asked about his conversations with Otzelberger.
“Nothing happened,” Tang said. “We talked about a situation that took place during the game and he said he would check into it. Then I told him, ‘Thank you,’ and went on. I love TJ. He does a great job. What an unbelievable environment it was out there.”
Otzelberger was also content to leave it at that.
“There’s a point in time where things are said between coaches that needs to stay that way,” Otzelberger said. “So that’s where we’re going to keep it.”
Iowa State will next play host to Kansas at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday. This issue could remain a talking point heading into that game.