K-State Wildcats Q&A: Women’s basketball predictions, Jerome Tang’s contract and more
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
We have many topics to cover this week, so let’s dive right into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Not to pile on, but why is the K-State men’s basketball team so bad? -@Todfrg via X.
There’s no easy way to answer this.
The Wildcats do so many things poorly it’s hard to point at one or two things and blame just those things entirely for this disappointing season.
But I am happy to dive into the dumpster and provide a few explanations on why Jerome Tang’s team is off to a 7-9 start.
From a statistical point of view, K-State simply doesn’t do anything all that well. This team ranks 141st nationally in 3-point shooting and 113th nationally in 2-point shooting. The Wildcats are abysmal on defense behind the arc, allowing teams to shoot 36.2% from 3-point range. They also turn the ball over too much, don’t get to the free-throw line or close out games. K-State is only 1-4 in games decided by single digits this season.
The one thing K-State does at a high level is limit opposing teams from reaching the free-throw line. But that isn’t exactly something that is worth bragging about.
If you go beyond the numbers, there are many other issues.
Tang’s rotation changes game by game without any warning. One night, he inserts Dug McDaniel into the starting lineup because of divine intervention. The next, he plays Ugonna Onyenso because Tang wants to use a zone defense. Then he leans heavily on David Castillo and Mobi Ikegwuruka because they play hard.
Consistency is a major problem.
Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland shared some insight on this.
“It’s been hard on (Tang) trying to figure this out,” McCasland said earlier this week. “They felt like they had a talented roster. But you have to put everything together. That isn’t easy to do in this league.”
Bottom line: This roster was constructed poorly and coached even worse.
Coleman Hawkins is one of the best players on the roster, but he’s not worth $2 million. McDaniel has been a major disappointment. Onyenso barely plays. Macaleab Rich is in the dog house. Achor Achor is already gone. Max Jones and Brendan Hausen have been solid additions, but they’re not elite Big 12 players.
Tang thought he found a cheat code with NIL money, but surrounding David N’Guessan with a bunch of mercenaries hasn’t worked out. Few players on this team bleed purple. There is no locker room culture to fall back on with only three returning players.
That is part of the reason why Tang now says he wants to follow the model that Kelvin Sampson has used at Houston in which player retention is valued above all else.
When you hit on the right transfers, a team can improve dramatically in one season. When you miss on the wrong transfers, a season like this is also possible.
Assuming we see no improvement the remainder of the season for men’s basketball, what is the likelihood that Gene Taylor makes a change? If he does, what’s the cost? -@BusMedicMike via X.
It would cost K-State $18.7 million to part ways with Jerome Tang this season.
Athletic director Gene Taylor gave Tang a sweetheart contract after Tang led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in Year 1 and then said “no thanks” to Arkansas in Year 2.
For that reason, it seems unlikely that the Wildcats will consider a coaching change this year, no matter how bad things get.
K-State is trying to add an extra $20 million to its budget before the age of revenue sharing begins in college athletics. Adding nearly $19 million more of buyout money to the mix would not be good.
That being said, Tang’s buyout only drops to $15.75 million next year. It’s not like there is money to be saved by waiting ... if it’s clear the K-State basketball team needs a change at the top.
I doubt Taylor is thinking that way, though. He hired Tang and gave him two contract extensions. Firing a coach after one losing season would be very uncharacteristic for him. K-State let Bruce Weber have three straight losing seasons before he was shown the door.
There is also plenty of basketball left. Maybe things won’t look so bleak in March.
Right now, my guess is that Tang makes a few changes to his coaching staff and hits the reset button during the offseason.
The hope would be that K-State can pull off a Missouri type turnaround. The Tigers lost their final 19 games under Dennis Gates last season but stayed with their coach and are now 14-3 with wins over Florida and Kansas.
Will there be an Ugo or Rich sighting on Saturday? -@DouglasMartens1 via X.
You can’t rule out anything.
The way Tang has been picking his rotation lately it wouldn’t shock me if we see Baye Fall and Spencer Bain.
Onyenso could realistically play. If the Jayhawks go with a jumbo lineup, then the Wildcats could counter with an extra big one of their own.
I doubt we see Macaleab Rich, though. He is so far in the dog house that his playing time dropped to zero in K-State’s past two games. He might as well be serving a suspension. There is no telling how long it will take him to work his way out. I am viewing him as an end-of-the-bench guy until further notice.
Why should I consider investing my time in watching SpongeBob? -@DerekYoungKSO via X.
The first three seasons of Sponge Bob Square Pants are hilarious.
Viewers of all ages can enjoy them.
There are certain shows I refuse to watch with my kids, either because they are terrible or because they are aimed specifically at kindergartners. But I am always willing to watch some classic Sponge Bob.
At this point in the season, what’s your prediction on the highest and lowest seed that the women’s basketball will receive for the Big Dance? -@bfullingt1 via X.
The Wildcats are projected as a No. 3 seed in the latest women’s basketball Bracketology from ESPN.
That feels right.
But K-State does have some favorable metrics. Those could help the Wildcats climb up to the No. 2 line. They rank No. 5 nationally in the NET and at Bart Torvik.
The NCAA Tournament selection committee relies heavily on the NET rankings, so that is good news for Jeff Mittie’s team.
It will be hard for K-State to claim a No. 1 seed, simply because the Big 12 isn’t strong enough to warrant that kind of climb. The Wildcats would need many signature wins to pass teams like South Carolina, UCLA, Texas, UConn, Notre Dame and LSU. But if the Wildcats go undefeated, or close to it, in conference play, then a No. 2 seed is possible.
On the flip side, if K-State loses a few games, it could slide to a No. 4 seed.
It is hard for me to see the Wildcats sliding any more than that. At minimum, this team should once again host NCAA Tournament games at Bramlage Coliseum.
What if Will Howard stayed at Kansas State? - Jeff M. via e-mail.
Call me a square, if you must, but I don’t think that alternate universe is worth visiting.
Let’s say Will Howard decided to come back for another year with the Wildcats. Things may not have changed all that much for Ohio State or Kansas State.
Avery Johnson may not have wanted to be a backup quarterback for another season. So he may have transferred to a different school. That could have been different. Had he stayed, it would have been interesting to see how Chris Klieman would have handled both of them. Then again, who’s to say Johnson wouldn’t have won the starting job? Howard barely held him off in 2023.
In terms of results, though, both teams probably would have been about the same.
K-State won nine games this past season. It’s not like the Wildcats had bad quarterback play. I would argue they missed Cooper Beebe and Ben Sinnott more than they missed Howard. K-State would have beaten Houston without two costly interceptions from Johnson. Perhaps Howard would not have made those mistakes and the Wildcats would have won 10 games.
Not a big difference.
Howard benefited greatly from a better surrounding cast at Ohio State and his numbers soared with the Buckeyes. I’m happy for him. But it’s not like they are winning solely because of Howard. He’s not irreplaceable like Vince Young. Ohio State could have found another experienced transfer to play quarterback and made it to the national championship game.
Things worked out well for all parties when Howard transferred to Ohio State. There shouldn’t be any regrets.
Looking into your crystal ball: does a team sport at K-State ever win a national championship? Which sport and how soon? -@pastorcshane via X.
If K-State really wants to win a national championship in a team sport it should add wrestling.
There are thousands of high school wrestlers in the Sunflower State, but none of them have anywhere local to compete at the major college level. K-State could build a monopoly and maybe even recruit athletes to play both football and wrestling.
The sport has been good for neighboring schools. Iowa State and Missouri are both good at wrestling. Oklahoma State is the GOAT at wrestling. The Wildcats are missing out.
Outside of adding a new sport, K-State’s best hopes are probably in baseball or basketball. Every few years, those sports give us a random champion. Any team that gets hot at the right time can win. One day, perhaps that team will be K-State.