Inside Jerome Tang’s new vision for K-State basketball: ‘I think it’s a great plan’
Jerome Tang remembers exactly where he was and exactly what he was doing when he realized the error of his coaching ways.
The Kansas State men’s basketball coach was in the Virgin Islands for a holiday tournament last November, and things weren’t going well for the Wildcats. They were expected to dominate as the only power-conference team at the event, but they had to settle for third and watch as Liberty played McNeese State in the championship game.
It was embarrassing. So much so, that Tang did some soul-searching.
“I was just really frustrated, because I wasn’t coaching these guys the way they need to be coached,” Tang said in an exclusive interview. “I wasn’t loving them. I was treating them like employees. That wasn’t working. That’s not what my calling is. So I had to be transparent about that and own up to it and change. The fact that our players are getting paid should not impact the way that I present things to them and love them and care for them.”
Tang was understandably focused on money after he spent the entire offseason raising cash so he could assemble a talented roster via lucrative NIL deals. He convinced K-State donors to spend millions and help him build a team that looked great on paper. Then he brought in 10 newcomers and paid many of them handsomely. Senior forward Coleman Hawkins led the way with an unprecedented $2 million contract.
Turns out, that wasn’t a winning strategy.
The Wildcats finished the year 16-17 and suffered their first losing season under Tang.
Heading in a new direction
Something had to change. That’s what Tang realized when he was in the Virgin Islands. He had an epiphany, and he began mentioning it in press conferences. Midway through the season, he stopped talking about NIL deals and began praising other teams like Houston for building a winning program with home-grown players instead of building winning teams that were filled with transfers.
“I can’t just try to rebuild every year,” Tang said. “That’s not how I’m built as a coach.”
His new vision for K-State basketball is to follow the model that Kelvin Sampson has used at Houston to win back-to-back Big 12 championships. Tang wants to win with players that he develops over the course of multiple seasons, just like the good old days.
Tang once said that everyone associated with K-State hoops is on a one-year contract. That’s part of the reason why he has never kept more than a handful of players from one team to the next. But player retention is now a priority.
After he began thinking this way, the Wildcats managed to improve and go on a six-game winning streak in conference play that garnered national attention. Tang took that as a good omen.
Now, he is eager to really put his plan into action.
“I’m sad that the season is over,” Tang said, “but I’m excited about making sure that we get the guys back that we want to have back and start putting a program together. I know that I learned a lot as a coach this year. I will handle things differently moving forward. Hopefully, I am wise enough to not let some of the things that affected me this year continue to affect me in the future.”
Building a program instead of a team
The Wildcats are guaranteed to lose seniors David N’Guessan and Hawkins, but Tang says he would “love” to bring back as many other K-State basketball players as possible.
He hopes that “at least five” are on board. Dug McDaniel, David Castillo, Brendan Hausen and Max Jones have all publicly expressed interest in staying. Add on two incoming freshmen and Tang will have a solid nucleus to build around. Any remaining scholarships will be filled with transfers or international players.
“I’m really happy with the high school kids we have coming in,” Tang said. “We will try to get a little bit older in the portal and then maybe look at international kids or some junior-college guys.”
Tang has the support of his boss as he changes course, even though the Wildcats have been on the decline since Tang wrapped up his first season in Manhattan with 26 wins and a trip to the Elite Eight.
“I think it’s a great plan,” K-State athletic director Gene Taylor said. “He’s looked around the country and he has seen the teams that have sustained success. He sees the culture that they’ve built. Instead of filling in gaps with nine or 10 transfers they are bringing in three or four new guys each year, depending on their needs. Those teams were built from the ground up. It may take a little longer to win that way, but it has certainly worked for a team like Houston. I think he realized the other way isn’t the best route to go.”
Looking ahead to next season
Taylor said he remains “very confident” in Tang.
“The guy can coach,” Taylor said. “Coaching is not the problem. It’s just finding the right mix of players and coaching them to have success. I know he can do that.”
Once the revenue-sharing era begins in college sports, which is expected to be next season, Taylor said K-State will devote roughly 20% of its $20 million revenue-sharing budget (around $4 million) to men’s basketball players. And the Wildcats will remain at 13 scholarships.
Tang is cautiously optimistic about what’s on the horizon.
He did not talk or sound like a demoralized coach after the Wildcats bowed out of the Big 12 Tournament. On the contrary, he seemed energized about the journey ahead.
“We put together a team that was good enough to make the NCAA Tournament this year,” Tang said. “I didn’t put the right ingredients in at the right time to get it done early enough. That’s on me. I didn’t handle this NIL thing very well. But I’m excited about moving forward and what we are going to do. I’m excited about the resources we are going to have and the players we are going to bring back. We are going to build around them and get better.”