Kansas State University Athletics
Tang’s Enthusiasm About K-State Still Palpable
May 25, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The two-month anniversary of Jerome Tang's official hiring as Kansas State head coach finds the 55-year-old in a purple polo stopped by fans as he enters the Emporia Fitness Center prior to the Flint Hills Catbacker event shortly before noon Tuesday.
As Tang walks, more and more people gather around him. Finally, he finds himself standing in a line, fans on both sides of him, and the line slowly begins to move. He keep shaking hands and introducing himself to men in suits and elders in trucker hats and women in dresses and slacks and blouses. He poses for photos with small children. The line begins to move some more.
"I thought all these people were coming to see me," he says to someone. "These people were all standing in line for food."
Self-deprecating jab aside, there is absolutely no doubt the 300 or so K-State fans in attendance are there in Emporia to hear Tang speak at his first-ever Catbacker event.
When he is introduced, he receives a 32-second standing ovation and shouts his trademark, "It's a great day to be a Wildcat!" while pumping both arms above his head.
When he leaves, Tang gathers six empty paper plates from a vacant table and tosses them into a trash receptacle before hugging more fans on his way out of the door.
He enters in style and leaves in style because it's Tang's style.
"It's so great to finally meet you," a woman says.
"Can't wait to watch your team," a man says.
"Welcome to K-State, Coach," another man says.
And so on. And Tang, despite his busy schedule, makes each of them feel like they're the only ones in the room as he heads out the door.
"I'm happy to be here," Tang says, grinning big. "Happy to be here."
When Tang speaks, he faces fans seated underneath a glass backboard. At least a few times during his initial delivery, Tang's eyes drift to the basketball rim, like they have no doubt done millions of times in thousands of gyms — a constant reminder that there's still work to be done before cutting down the nets.
He's cut down nets before.
Scott Drew hired Tang to his initial coaching staff at Baylor. They inherited a Baylor program that was virtually dead in 2003-04. They won 21 total games over the first three seasons of the rebuild. They reached the NCAA Tournament in year five. They won 30 games in year nine. They won the 2021 National Championship and have finished ranked in the top 5 of the Associated Press Poll each of the past three seasons.
Two months ago, he said that he wanted to "elevate" the K-State program. He said that he wanted the team to go 1-0 every day and 1-0 in every aspect of the day. He said that he wanted fans to be proud of the product on the floor.
"I have an innate drive to be great," he says, "but the passion that our fans have for this university and our basketball program has given me a greater responsibility to do a better job because our fans deserve a championship."
He's getting about six hours of sleep a night. His wife and daughter remain in Waco, Texas, and are in the stages of unsettling their house so they can move and settle into their new home in Manhattan. He's on the phone talking basketball on his drive from Manhattan to Emporia, loses cell service, and had to switch phones. He keeps a notepad next to him constantly as he tries to jot down a few of the thousands of thoughts that creep into his mind each day, because he concedes that he must find the answer to the question, whatever that question might be, and so it becomes easier to start with writing the question on the notepad. A couple of assistant coaches are moving their families to Manhattan. A couple are traveling to partake in pre-planned wedding events. The days move fast.
It's about six months before the Tang Gang officially embarks upon its first season at Bramlage Coliseum.
"Last week was all recruiting," he says. "We had people on campus. I had a coach's clinic in Texas. We're trying to get housing prepared for the guys who'll be reporting on June 4. There are a lot of moving parts."
It seems like a giant whirlwind.
"Everybody uses that word, 'whirlwind,' and I've tried to avoid saying that," he says, "but it has been a whirlwind. We always feel like we're a long ways away because there's always something else we want to get done, but we're getting the right people, and we're on the right people. It's just a matter of being patient and not taking the wrong one. That's the big thing. We can't miss on someone that we're going to have on campus for the next four years."
He pauses.
"The next five to seven days are going to be really crucial for us this upcoming season."
One of his few pleasures arrived sometime last week. He discovered his favorite movie "The Shawshank Redemption" was on a TV in his office. He took it as a sign. He laid down for a few moments to watch Andy Dufresne climb through 500 yards of pipe to escape the Shawshank Penitentiary.
"If a man can break out of Shawshank Prison," Tang says, "We can do this."
Tang has two players on campus — senior guard Markquis Nowell and junior forward Ismael Massoud, and spent a moment lauding each while addressing the Catbacker crowd.
"They do all the little things we ask them to do and then show up to dinners with recruits and they sell K-State, and they didn't have to it," he says. "Please, when you see them, pat them on the back, give them a hug, and let them know how much you appreciate them. Those guys deserve our undying support."
He has five players set to report in June.
"We have seven, and by the first part of June we'll get to 12," he says. "If we're only at 11, don't panic, it's OK. We'll be all right. You can miss out on a young person, and they might beat you twice a year. But if you miss on the wrong person and get them, they beat you every day. We're going to avoid those that beat us every day and make sure we get the right ones."
The parade of signees began with 6-foot-10, 216-pound LSU transfer Jerrell Colbert, a former top-150 recruit, on April 18. Two days later, Mississippi State transfer combo guard Camryn Carter, another former top-150 recruit, jumped on board. At the beginning of May, the Wildcats secured their first high school signee in New Orleans native Dorian Finister, a combo guard who scored more than 1,300 points and led G.W. Carver Collegiate Academy to the Louisiana Class 4A State Championship this past season. Following Finister, K-State signed New York native and NJCAA honorable mention All-American Nae'Qwan Tomlin, a 6-foot-8, 195-pound small forward who was rated as the No. 7 prospect on the 2022 JuCoRecruiting.com Top 100.
"They're young, talented, driven winners," Tang says. They're state champions, regional champions, guys who've all won, whether it be in high school or in junior college. If you ask, 'What's the No. 1 criteria you're looking for?' I'll say, 'Winners.' I want them to understand what winning is all about and the sacrifices you have to make."
Will K-State look like Baylor on the basketball court?
"Yes, it'll look a little bit like that as we get the talent there," he replies. "We're going to give ourselves the best chance to win with the talent we're able to attract. The goal is to get there. I'll say we're going to look like Baylor. We'll also have a homecourt advantage."
Which brings him to Bramlage Coliseum.
"Man," he says, "goosebumps."
He looks the rim inside the Emporia Fitness Center again. Plenty of work before cutting down the nets. Yet Tang emits the calmness of a man choosing between shaved and smoked turkey at the meat counter.
Sometime, and hopefully, sometime soon, it'll be time to eat.
"This isn't about me," he says. "It's about us. We're going to do this together, because when the confetti falls from the ceiling, it's going to hit all of us."
The two-month anniversary of Jerome Tang's official hiring as Kansas State head coach finds the 55-year-old in a purple polo stopped by fans as he enters the Emporia Fitness Center prior to the Flint Hills Catbacker event shortly before noon Tuesday.
As Tang walks, more and more people gather around him. Finally, he finds himself standing in a line, fans on both sides of him, and the line slowly begins to move. He keep shaking hands and introducing himself to men in suits and elders in trucker hats and women in dresses and slacks and blouses. He poses for photos with small children. The line begins to move some more.
"I thought all these people were coming to see me," he says to someone. "These people were all standing in line for food."
Self-deprecating jab aside, there is absolutely no doubt the 300 or so K-State fans in attendance are there in Emporia to hear Tang speak at his first-ever Catbacker event.
When he is introduced, he receives a 32-second standing ovation and shouts his trademark, "It's a great day to be a Wildcat!" while pumping both arms above his head.
When he leaves, Tang gathers six empty paper plates from a vacant table and tosses them into a trash receptacle before hugging more fans on his way out of the door.
He enters in style and leaves in style because it's Tang's style.
"It's so great to finally meet you," a woman says.
"Can't wait to watch your team," a man says.
"Welcome to K-State, Coach," another man says.
And so on. And Tang, despite his busy schedule, makes each of them feel like they're the only ones in the room as he heads out the door.
"I'm happy to be here," Tang says, grinning big. "Happy to be here."
When Tang speaks, he faces fans seated underneath a glass backboard. At least a few times during his initial delivery, Tang's eyes drift to the basketball rim, like they have no doubt done millions of times in thousands of gyms — a constant reminder that there's still work to be done before cutting down the nets.
He's cut down nets before.
Scott Drew hired Tang to his initial coaching staff at Baylor. They inherited a Baylor program that was virtually dead in 2003-04. They won 21 total games over the first three seasons of the rebuild. They reached the NCAA Tournament in year five. They won 30 games in year nine. They won the 2021 National Championship and have finished ranked in the top 5 of the Associated Press Poll each of the past three seasons.
Two months ago, he said that he wanted to "elevate" the K-State program. He said that he wanted the team to go 1-0 every day and 1-0 in every aspect of the day. He said that he wanted fans to be proud of the product on the floor.
"I have an innate drive to be great," he says, "but the passion that our fans have for this university and our basketball program has given me a greater responsibility to do a better job because our fans deserve a championship."
He's getting about six hours of sleep a night. His wife and daughter remain in Waco, Texas, and are in the stages of unsettling their house so they can move and settle into their new home in Manhattan. He's on the phone talking basketball on his drive from Manhattan to Emporia, loses cell service, and had to switch phones. He keeps a notepad next to him constantly as he tries to jot down a few of the thousands of thoughts that creep into his mind each day, because he concedes that he must find the answer to the question, whatever that question might be, and so it becomes easier to start with writing the question on the notepad. A couple of assistant coaches are moving their families to Manhattan. A couple are traveling to partake in pre-planned wedding events. The days move fast.
It's about six months before the Tang Gang officially embarks upon its first season at Bramlage Coliseum.
"Last week was all recruiting," he says. "We had people on campus. I had a coach's clinic in Texas. We're trying to get housing prepared for the guys who'll be reporting on June 4. There are a lot of moving parts."
It seems like a giant whirlwind.
"Everybody uses that word, 'whirlwind,' and I've tried to avoid saying that," he says, "but it has been a whirlwind. We always feel like we're a long ways away because there's always something else we want to get done, but we're getting the right people, and we're on the right people. It's just a matter of being patient and not taking the wrong one. That's the big thing. We can't miss on someone that we're going to have on campus for the next four years."
He pauses.
"The next five to seven days are going to be really crucial for us this upcoming season."
One of his few pleasures arrived sometime last week. He discovered his favorite movie "The Shawshank Redemption" was on a TV in his office. He took it as a sign. He laid down for a few moments to watch Andy Dufresne climb through 500 yards of pipe to escape the Shawshank Penitentiary.
"If a man can break out of Shawshank Prison," Tang says, "We can do this."
Tang has two players on campus — senior guard Markquis Nowell and junior forward Ismael Massoud, and spent a moment lauding each while addressing the Catbacker crowd.
"They do all the little things we ask them to do and then show up to dinners with recruits and they sell K-State, and they didn't have to it," he says. "Please, when you see them, pat them on the back, give them a hug, and let them know how much you appreciate them. Those guys deserve our undying support."
He has five players set to report in June.
"We have seven, and by the first part of June we'll get to 12," he says. "If we're only at 11, don't panic, it's OK. We'll be all right. You can miss out on a young person, and they might beat you twice a year. But if you miss on the wrong person and get them, they beat you every day. We're going to avoid those that beat us every day and make sure we get the right ones."
The parade of signees began with 6-foot-10, 216-pound LSU transfer Jerrell Colbert, a former top-150 recruit, on April 18. Two days later, Mississippi State transfer combo guard Camryn Carter, another former top-150 recruit, jumped on board. At the beginning of May, the Wildcats secured their first high school signee in New Orleans native Dorian Finister, a combo guard who scored more than 1,300 points and led G.W. Carver Collegiate Academy to the Louisiana Class 4A State Championship this past season. Following Finister, K-State signed New York native and NJCAA honorable mention All-American Nae'Qwan Tomlin, a 6-foot-8, 195-pound small forward who was rated as the No. 7 prospect on the 2022 JuCoRecruiting.com Top 100.
"They're young, talented, driven winners," Tang says. They're state champions, regional champions, guys who've all won, whether it be in high school or in junior college. If you ask, 'What's the No. 1 criteria you're looking for?' I'll say, 'Winners.' I want them to understand what winning is all about and the sacrifices you have to make."
Will K-State look like Baylor on the basketball court?
"Yes, it'll look a little bit like that as we get the talent there," he replies. "We're going to give ourselves the best chance to win with the talent we're able to attract. The goal is to get there. I'll say we're going to look like Baylor. We'll also have a homecourt advantage."
Which brings him to Bramlage Coliseum.
"Man," he says, "goosebumps."
He looks the rim inside the Emporia Fitness Center again. Plenty of work before cutting down the nets. Yet Tang emits the calmness of a man choosing between shaved and smoked turkey at the meat counter.
Sometime, and hopefully, sometime soon, it'll be time to eat.
"This isn't about me," he says. "It's about us. We're going to do this together, because when the confetti falls from the ceiling, it's going to hit all of us."
Players Mentioned
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