Houston gave Jerome Tang much to consider regarding future of K-State roster management
The interview room inside Bramlage Coliseum was an unusual place for Houston basketball coach Kelvin Sampson to wax poetic about the long-term success he has found during his 11-year run with the Cougars, but at least one important member of the Kansas State community listened to his words.
Shortly after Houston defeated K-State 87-57 on Saturday, Jerome Tang tipped his proverbial hat to the Cougars and said they have become what the Wildcats aspire to be.
“Hats off to Coach Sampson to be able to do that and build that kind of program,” Tang said. “He’s been coaching for a long time. He’s been at Houston for a long time. Our goal is to get there, right? That’s our goal.”
One of Sampson’s postgame comments seemed to resonate with Tang.
“The most impressive thing about our program is that, in the last 10 years, we’ve had three kids transfer that played in our top 10 (rotation),” Sampson said. “Our kids, they’ve developed a great culture here and it’s allowed them to be consistent in just about everything we do.”
Indeed, Sampson has led the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament in every year it was held since 2019. Houston has also won at least 32 games in each of the past three seasons. And they appear on their way to reaching that benchmark again, as it is currently riding an eight-game winning streak that has featured superb defensive play.
Houston’s top contributors, such as LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp, are upperclassmen who have spent several years playing for Sampson rather than transferring from one team to the next.
When Tang first arrived in Manhattan, he said he wanted to emulate that model and build a program that could retain players more than you see elsewhere. But he altered his approach and built this K-State roster with NIL money via the transfer portal.
David N’Guessan, Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich returned. Every other scholarship player is a newcomer.
The results have not been good. High-profile transfers like Coleman Hawkins (Illinois), Dug McDaniel (Michigan) and Ugonna Unyenso (Kentucky) have guided the team to a 7-8 record. And they were no match for the Cougars.
Sixteen games remain in the regular season for K-State, including a home game against Texas Tech on Tuesday. But seeing Houston up close and personal over the weekend left Tang thinking about the future.
The experience was enough to make him reconsider his approach when it comes to roster management.
“Our goal is to get there, where we have multiple David N’Guessans in the program that are on the floor at the same time,” Tang said. “That’s where we have got to get to. We have to figure out how to get there in a day and age where kids are allowed to leave whenever they want to.
“So me and my staff, we have a challenge. But it’s a challenge that we’re embracing, we’re accepting, and we’re going full speed ahead. We’re going to get it done.”