‘I’m built for this’: Why Jerome Tang is unfazed by K-State’s early Big 12 woes
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jerome Tang rejects panic and treats early losses as Big 12 tests.
- K-State cites tough schedule and ranked opponents for early slump.
- Players stress cohesion, film work and role clarity to reverse the skid.
Jerome Tang isn’t ready to hit the proverbial panic button.
Even though the Kansas State men’s basketball team is off to a disappointing 9-7 start, which features an 0-3 record in conference games, he is confident that the Wildcats can get things turned around this season.
“I’m built for this,” Tang said after K-State lost 87-84 at Arizona State on Saturday for its third straight loss.
Tang was quick to explain why.
For starters, he thinks the Wildcats have played a difficult opening stretch of Big 12 games. K-State has lost to No. 11 BYU, No. 1 Arizona and Arizona State. Next up is a home game against unranked UCF at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Perhaps that will serve as a get-right opportunity for his team.
Tang also referenced a 2025 rap song by Gunna to describe why he isn’t overly worried about a three-game losing streak.
“It’s what you do from here on out that matters,” Tang said. “That’s just the nature of the Big 12. These dudes listen to this song that says they were made for this and they prayed for this. Me too, right? I prayed and I wanted to be a head coach in the Big 12 so I could face these kinds of things with these guys. We will figure this thing out. I’m fired up to get to work and get better.”
That confidence appears to be rubbing off on K-State players.
The Wildcats understand what they need to do to start getting wins against league opponents.
“Staying together and staying connected,” K-State guard Abdi Bashir said. “It takes all of us to win. Whether you play 40 minutes or whether you play one minute, it doesn’t matter. It takes all of us to win. We will go back home, regroup and watch a lot of film. We can’t sulk or hang our heads, because we can’t get these games back. We can only move forward.”