How a new coaching style from Jerome Tang got Kansas State back on track against KU
Before Kansas State pulled off a memorable upset against KU on Monday, Jerome Tang faced one of the most difficult challenges in all of college basketball.
Not only was the K-State coach tasked with trying to figure out why the Wildcats entered the week mired in a four-game losing streak, he had to fix the problems he found in a short amount of time.
His team was coming off a narrow defeat at Oklahoma State on Saturday in which little went right. Getting the Wildcats ready to beat the No. 4 Jayhawks a little more than 48 hours later was not going to be easy.
So how did he lead them to a thrilling 75-70 overtime victory against their rivals inside Bramlage Coliseum?
Did he try a new starting lineup? Did he call new set plays when K-State was on offense? Did he radically change his approach on defense? More like none of the above.
“Just dealt with their hearts,” Tang said late Monday night. “I knew that the struggles we had gone through were not necessarily physical struggles. I hadn’t connected with them the way I connected with the team last year. They were just playing basketball. They weren’t playing with this love, joy and freedom that we talk about.”
Tang wanted to change that, so he dedicated more time than usual to good, old-fashioned team bonding. It was a bold strategy with perhaps the biggest game of the entire season next up on the schedule, but it paid off.
K-State players spent two days getting to know their coaches on a deeper level and then they turned in one of their finest efforts of the season.
Tylor Perry responded with his best game of the year, as he finished with a season-high 26 points, five rebounds and four assists. It hasn’t been the best season for the senior guard. His numbers have been on the decline since he transferred in from North Texas. Some have doubted his abilities to compete in the Big 12.
But he played with loads of confidence against KU.
“We see what people say about us, but at the end of the day we know what we have and we know what we are capable of in that locker room,” Perry said. “I can’t sit and worry about what people say about me. Coach Tang has told me and the rest of our team all year that the work is going to show. All you can do is continue to show up. That’s the first step to winning — showing up.
“I think this team is going to continue to do that no matter what happens. We believe we are a tournament team and we believe that we can do damage when we get there.”
Tang figured the Wildcats could benefit from a new, gentler coaching style this week. Only two members of their starting lineup (Cam Carter and David N’Guessan) helped K-State win 26 games and reach the Elite Eight last season.
Bringing the roster together felt more important to Tang than coming up with a masterful game plan against the Jayhawks.
So he used a quick turnaround between Big 12 games to remind K-State players that he hasn’t done the best job of coaching this season. In fact, he took the blame for all five of their conference losses.
Then he connected with them in other ways. He compared this team’s struggles to the movie “Die Hard” and said the Wildcats could still have a successful season if they came together and began playing inspired basketball.
Then everything fell into place.
“This day and age of college basketball, it’s hard to talk to kids about having pride in the uniform you wear when they’ve only been at your school for one year,” Tang said. “But as a staff, if we can connect with their hearts and then they play because they love us and they know that we’re doing what we’re doing because we love them, it gives them that little extra fight. I thought I saw that extra fight tonight.”