Jerome Tang, basketball analysis and wild week of football transfers: K-State Q&A
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
We’ve had a good run of elaborate introductions at the top of recent mailbags, but we are going to dive straight into your questions about the Wildcats this week.
Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Kansas State men’s basketball ... Why? -@zzzumwal via X.
Amazing question.
The next time K-State loses a Big 12 game by double digits, which seems likely to happen against Houston on Saturday inside Bramlage Coliseum, I may borrow this and simply ask “why” to Jerome Tang.
This is turning into a lost season for the Wildcats.
An Oklahoma State staffer that I always chat with in Stillwater came up to me after the Cowboys beat the Wildcats by 13 on Tuesday and said “this is the worst K-State basketball team I’ve seen in a long time.”
He must not remember how dark things got for the Wildcats during COVID. Outside of that lone season, it’s hard to argue with that statement. Unless something unexpected happens, K-State may struggle to win 10 games.
Why?
Take your pick. There is more than enough blame to go around. Things are unlikely to get better anytime soon. K-State has lost six of its past seven games and the next four games on the schedule are (gulp) Houston, Texas Tech, at Kansas and at Baylor.
There are plenty of explanations for this “lost season” of men’s basketball. How much blame can be tied to the coaching staff’s inability to judge the character of transfers? For sake of an example, Dug McDaniel... He has skills, but my inference from everything I read is that his effort and consistency are just not there. - Kirk Z. via e-mail.
I am not around the K-State men’s basketball team when it practices, so I am not in a position to call anyone out for not playing hard or not caring about wins/losses. But I am starting to get the vibe that Coleman Hawkins and David N’Guessan care a bit more about results than some of their teammates.
They have been playing with maximum effort during games and they have not been happy after recent losses.
I’m not sure that is the case for everyone else on the roster.
In particular, this season has been hard on N’Guessan. That makes sense when you consider that this is his third year in a K-State uniform. He knows what it means to “bleed purple” and he wants to end his college career on a high note. But that hasn’t been easy since Jerome Tang surrounded him with a team full of mercenaries.
There are always going to be hits and misses in the transfer portal. It is essentially speed dating compared to traditional recruiting, which is more like a long courtship between coaches and high school players. For a coach like Tang, who brings in a wave of new transfers every season, those hits and misses are magnified. In Year 1, K-State hit big on Keyontae Johnson and the Wildcats nearly made the Final Four. In Year 3, K-State rolled snake eyes on most of their transfers and the Wildcats are piling up losses.
In the case of McDaniel, he was suspended for six road games last year at Michigan. Perhaps that should have been a red flag. It may help explain some of the tension he has had with this coaching staff. But I don’t want to single him out. Brendan Hausen and Max Jones both seem to have extremely high character, but that hasn’t prevented them from disappearing in games.
Long story short: It can be hard to rebuild a college basketball roster every season.
Do you think some of the discrepancies between the talent on the team and the results on the court could be because of the “NBA style offense” Tang tries to run instead of a college style offense? -@macfish4202 via X.
Talent is always going to be more important than coaching.
Nobody thought Tang was a bad coach when Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson were making defenses look silly with highlight passes, athletic dunks and precision threes.
K-State did modify its offense in Year 2 and Year 3 under Tang, so it’s possible that is partially to blame for the offense going into extended slumps over the past two seasons. But I think things would be going just fine if the Wildcats still had Nowell and Johnson.
What are the responsibilities of each of Jerome Tang’s assistant coaches? Because we have a lot of them and still can’t draw up a must-have bucket. -@NickJGay via X.
Rodney Perry is known as the offensive coordinator of the K-State coaching staff, so your criticism should probably be pointed in his direction.
That being said, he only makes suggestions. Tang is the one who calls out sets and draws up plays during timeouts.
What remaining games for the women’s basketball team will they be underdogs? -@RobHud3 via X.
None.
College basketball statistician Bart Torvik projects K-State as the favorite in all 14 of its remaining games. It’s possible that the Wildcats could be small underdogs when they visit West Virginia later this season. But that is about it.
Some thought Utah could pose a challenge to K-State earlier this week but the Wildcats won that game 71-47.
The Big 12 just isn’t the same without Oklahoma and Texas or a balanced schedule. There aren’t many teams in a position to challenge K-State right now.
It’s Big 12 championship or bust for Jeff Mittie’s team.
Why is the football team suddenly red hot in the transfer portal? -@emawguy325 via X.
Chris Klieman and his coaching staff aren’t messing around.
The Wildcats knew who they wanted to add out of the transfer portal and didn’t waste any time convincing those players to enroll at K-State. Klieman added five new transfers this week. That is impressive when you consider that a blizzard descended upon the state during that time.
Why is it happening?
I don’t think there is any crazy reason. The transfer window has closed for everyone but graduate transfers, so this is a good time for coaches to identify which players they like without worrying about someone better showing up in the portal tomorrow. It is also a good time for players to commit before the start of the spring semester.
Time will tell how good K-State’s recent transfer haul will turn out to be. But there certainly seems to be promise with this group of 12 incoming players.
How many times did you eat at Whataburger during your long road trip with the K-State men’s basketball team? - Jeff M. via e-mail.
I only dined at Whataburger one time while I was on the road.
Can you believe it?
I grossly underestimated the blizzard that hit Manhattan and much of the Midwest. When I flew to DFW last Friday to cover Kansas State’s basketball game at TCU I knew there was a good chance my return flight would be delayed. But I never dreamed I would end up stranded in Texas with no hope of flying home for at least a week. Fortunately, Ryan Gilbert of Gopowercat drove to Fort Worth and was willing to shuttle me to Stillwater for the Oklahoma State game and then home.
The time away did allow me to eat at quite a few restaurants. Panther City in Fort Worth was some of the best barbecue I’ve ever eaten. The brisket rivaled Franklin Barbecue in Austin. I highly recommend it. I also made a stop at Torchy’s Tacos, In-N-Out Burger, Jersey Mike’s, Chipotle and a pair of Stillwater staples -- The Garage and Hideaway Pizza.
My only visit to Whataburger came while we were driving north and stopped in Ardmore, Okla.
I will try to right that wrong on my next road trip, after I eat vegetables for the next few weeks.