K-State Q&A: Is Jerome Tang the ultimate one-hit wonder of basketball coaches?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tang won 26 games and reached the Elite Eight in Year 1 at K‑State.
- K‑State is 10–12 this season and will miss the NCAA Tournament again.
- Tang’s future hinges on performance, player health, or the $18.7M buyout.
Let’s change things up this week.
How about we start everyone’s favorite Kansas State sports mailbag with a question of my own. Here goes: Is Jerome Tang the ultimate one-hit wonder in the world of college basketball coaching?
Tang looked like a brilliant hire when he joined the Wildcats four seasons ago. His first year on the job featured 26 wins and a trip to the Elite Eight. He was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and Naismith Coach of the Year. He urged K-State fans to “expect to win,” and they loved it.
After Tang’s two decades spent as an assistant coach at Baylor, it sure seemed like a star head coach was born.
But things have gone downhill ever since then. Tang won just 19 games in Year 2 and then 16 games in Year 3. He is 10-12 in Year 4.
The Wildcats are going to miss the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season, and Tang’s future with the team is very much in doubt. If not for a staggering $18.7 million buyout, his fate would probably be sealed already.
Perhaps he can still turn things around. If not, I wonder, have any other coaches come crashing down to earth this quickly?
Maybe not. It’s extremely hard to be on the hot seat when you own a 3-1 record in the NCAA Tournament. But here we are.
A few comparisons I came up with:
Mark Adams won 27 games and reached the Sweet 16 during his first year at Texas Tech, but he was forced to resign a year later after the team slumped to 16 wins. He also made racially insensitive comments to a player.
Mike Boynton reached the NCAA Tournament in 2021 while he coached Cade Cunningham at Oklahoma State. He won at least 20 games in three different seasons, but that was his only trip to the Big Dance in seven years with the Cowboys.
Jeff Capel had two great seasons with Blake Griffin at Oklahoma, but he never reached the NCAA Tournament again with the Sooners. He’s been to the Big Dance one time in eight seasons at Pittsburgh.
Danny Manning took Tulsa to one NCAA Tournament and then never won more than 19 games in a season at Wake Forest.
None of them shined as brightly as Tang in Year 1. But they all ended up in the same disappointing place.
Now, let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Jerome Tang will be the coach of the 2026-2027 men’s basketball team if ... -@bfullingt1 via X.
The Wildcats can’t afford his $18.7 million buyout. That is a huge number. Or he stops making outlandish statements at his news conferences and starts winning games. Nobody at K-State wants to devote that much money to a buyout. If he gives the Wildcats a reason to keep him, they will take it.
Jerome Tang will not be the coach of the 2026-2027 men’s basketball team if ... -@bullingt1 via X. Donors step up to pay his buyout. Or the drubbings continue. The hot seat really warmed up after a pair of blowout losses at home to Kansas and Iowa State. No one wants to see more of that.
How much better would the men’s basketball team be doing right now with a fully healthy roster? - Jeff M. via e-mail.
If the Wildcats had a full roster for every game this season, they might have an extra win or two. The injury bug has really only hurt them in their past four games. Here’s guessing they would have found a way to beat West Virginia last week with all of their guys. But it’s hard for me to see much more improvement than that.
K-State is 9-6 with Elias Rapieque in the lineup.
K-State is 9-9 with Khamari McGriff in the lineup.
K-State is 9-9 with Abdi Bashir in the lineup.
K-State is 4-6 with Mobi Ikegwuruka in the lineup.
The Wildcats have gone 1-3 when all four of them have been out at the same time. Their overall record for the season is 10-12.
There is no doubt K-State is a better team with Bashir, McGriff and Rapieque. Without them, the Wildcats have had to rely on CJ Jones, Andrej Kostic and Marcus Johnson off the bench. And they simply aren’t Big 12 players, though Kostic does have the potential to develop into one.
But it’s not like the Wildcats were 18-0 before some of their players started showing up on the Big 12’s availability reports. Bowling Green whipped K-State in Bramlage Coliseum when the Wildcats were at full strength.
That said, there is a chance McGriff and Rapieque will return to action soon. Adding them to the frontcourt could give K-State a needed boost during the second half of conference play.
I will be fascinated to see how much they are able to help after they return to action.
I still think K-State will get hot at some point in conference play, just like last season. Let’s say that happens, how many games should I realistically expect the Wildcats to win the rest of the way? - Andrew B. via e-mail.
K-State will host Cincinnati, Baylor, TCU and West Virginia at Bramlage over the next month. The Wildcats could win any of those games. I suppose road trips to TCU and Colorado can also be described as “winnable.”
But I’m not expecting competitive games at Houston, at Texas Tech or at Kansas.
Bart Torvik projects three more wins for K-State. That sounds about right. If you want to get super optimistic then bump it to four.
Why don’t universities tie performance to athlete or coaching contracts? I guess asking the government for more money is easier -@brandonriffey via X.
It would be wise for schools to add more performance-based incentives to contracts and make salaries/buyouts lower across the board. Few are ever going to complain about paying extra for a championship season.
But coaches and players understandably want guaranteed money.
As long as the Big Ten and SEC are able to promise that to them, bloated contracts will be the norm.
Seems like a crazy question, but in today’s world of inflated NIL and revenue sharing, have any major universities dropped basketball or football in order to focus (almost) all their money on one or the other? Would K-State ever consider dropping hoops? - Kirk Z. via e-mail.
Most of the Big East focuses on basketball.
Wichita State dropped football so it could prioritize baseball and basketball.
Omaha dropped football and wrestling so it could focus on basketball and hockey.
UAB called it quits with football for a few years but decided to bring it back. Plenty of FCS schools have folded their football teams over the years.
But it’s very rare for a school to cut basketball. There are 365 teams in Division I for a reason.
I feel safe saying that K-State will always have a men’s and women’s basketball team.
I’ve avoided writing all year as my excitement has turned to sadness with the poor men’s basketball showing. To keep my wife from joining the Sad Club, what would be a great Valentine’s Day gift for her? I have a feeling a new dishwasher would send me elsewhere as well! -@ChadFullington via X.
K-State plays at Houston on Valentine’s Day this month, but my wife isn’t upset about it because my absence will give her an opportunity to have a “Galentine’s Day” with her friends.
Sadly, a girls night is probably more fun than any gift I could buy her.
Maybe your wife would be interested in the same kind of thing. But maybe have a dozen flowers on standby.
What are your favorite places to eat in Manhattan or nearby? Any hidden gems I should try when I’m there in April? -@kstatefanfirst via X.
I’m probably not the best person to ask for dining recommendations at the moment.
My options for eating out with four kids are typically limited to Chick-fil-A or McDonald’s. I cook most of my meals and eat them at home.
But I can still throw a few restaurants your way.
The best pizza place is AJ’s. The Chef and Early Edition are good spots for breakfast. Parkside Station is a fun place to grab lunch. You can never go wrong with Taco Lucha or So Long Saloon in Aggieville. Try Little Grill if you’re looking for something off the radar.