Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang gets help from an old friend after latest loss

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MANHATTAN — As the losses pile up, Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang continues preaching to his players that they are on the verge of a breakthrough.

His message was the same Wednesday night in Waco, Texas, after the Wildcats blew a double-digit second-half lead and fell to Baylor, 70-62, running their losing streak to six. Only this time he got some reinforcement from an old friend.

Baylor coach Scott Drew, his boss for 19 years before Tang took the K-State head coaching job, visited the Wildcat locker room and repeated the words of encouragement while referencing a similar experience they shared with the 2013-14 Bears team.

“He told the guys, just keep fighting, keep believing,” said Tang, whose Wildcats (7-12, 1-6 Big 12) return home Saturday to face West Virginia (13-5, 4-3) in a 5 p.m. game at Bramlage Coliseum. “He told them about the time we started the conference 2-8 and everybody had given up on us, and then we finished the conference 9-9, won three games in the Big 12 Tournament, and went to the (NCAA Tournament) Sweet 16.

“This thing can turn. You just have to believe and keep fighting.”

RElated: ‘It’s my job to man up and persevere’: How Kansas State basketball’s Hawkins is pushing forward

Related: Kansas State basketball vs Baylor: Score prediction, scouting report for Big 12 road game

Kansas State coach Jerome Tang directs his players during the Wildcats’ game last Saturday at Kansas.

Drew said he felt compelled to help Tang, whom he beat for the first time in four head-to-head battles.

“Because I know what he’s going through, and it’s never easy losing,” Drew said. “Not when you pour your heart and soul into a team.

“I’ve been through the wars with him. I think that’s one thing in the profession. The highs are really good, but the lows are tough. And I just wanted to make sure that their team knew that (there are) a lot of games left to be played, and they’ve got the best coach leading them.”

The Wildcats have indeed knocked on the door in their last three…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kansas-state-basketball-coach-jerome-151830922.html

Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal

Publish date : 2025-01-24 15:18:00

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