Jerome Tang challenges two K-State starters to ‘play better’ after Kansas loss
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Coach Jerome Tang publicly demands Nate Johnson and David Castillo play better.
- K-State defense allowed Kansas to tally 1.34 points per possession, exposing gaps.
- At 10-10 overall and 1-6 Big 12, postseason hopes dim unless players rebound.
Jerome Tang didn’t mince words after Kansas State suffered a humbling 86-62 home basketball loss to Kansas on Saturday inside Bramlage Coliseum.
Not only did the K-State head coach say he needs a few players to “step up” and “compete” at a higher level against Big 12 opponents, he called them out by name.
“Nate Johnson has to play better,” Tang said. “He’s got to. He’s got to play better. We need (more) from him. His team needs more from him. We expect more from him.”
Tang chose to challenge Johnson after the 6-foot-3 Akron transfer put up just five points, four assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes of action against the rival Jayhawks.
But he wasn’t done.
“David Castillo has got to play better,” Tang continued. “That is just what happens. It’s not a secret that people know that David is a really good shooter. So if they take that away, what’s the next thing he’s going to do? It’s the same thing with Nate. We need guys who are capable to step up. Those are two, for sure.”
Tang chose to mention Castillo after he scored eight points on 11 shots in 37 minutes against Kansas.
He was also critical of K-State’s defensive effort, which allowed the Jayhawks to average 1.34 points per possession without star player Darryn Peterson.
“We were allowing them to get wherever they wanted to get,” Tang said. “They were living in the paint. At some point in time when they hit your chest you have to say no. We were just letting them get there, whether it was post, whether it was a guard driving, whatever it was. At some point in time, you have got to look the other dude in the eye and say, ‘No, you’re not going there.’”
It was interesting to hear Tang take that approach during his postgame news conference. He usually shoulders blame after any loss. But this season is slipping away from him.
K-State started the campaign with five straight victories and then gave Nebraska all it could handle in a last-second loss on a neutral court in Kansas City. Ever since then, the Wildcats have played like the worst team in the Big 12.
At 10-10 overall and 1-6 in conference play, their postseason chances have all but disappeared.
Injuries have caused some of the problems. Without Abdi Bashir, Elias Rapieque, Khamari McGriff and Mobi Ikegwuruka in the lineup, players like Castillo and Johnson are playing more minutes than normal. Perhaps that is part of the reason why they struggled on Saturday.
But Johnson had 17 points earlier in the week against Utah and Castillo posted 20 against the Utes.
Maybe Tang saw that and expected a repeat performance.
In any case, it will be fascinating to see how those players respond when K-State returns to action on Tuesday at West Virginia.