What Kansas State basketball players said about Jerome Tang’s firing

MANHATTAN — For the first time in almost a month, the Kansas State basketball players walked around the Bramlage Coliseum floor with smiles on their faces as they high-fived and thanked fans for attending the game.

Finally, the Wildcats had a reason to be joyous. A dominant 90-74 win over Baylor on Tuesday, Feb. 17, helped give players relief during a six-game losing streak that was a spectacle for all the wrong reasons.

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Those smiles had been tough to come by in the two days leading up to their victory after the firing of Jerome Tang, their head coach.

“We became more together as a team,” Nate Johnson said after scoring 33 points. “It just bonded us over that period of time and it showed. His message still showed that we are still together and we’re just going to keep getting better every day.”

Tang was fired on Feb. 15 for cause, while Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor cited the coach’s viral press conference following the team’s 91-62 loss to Cincinnati on Feb. 11 as the main reason. In that press conference, Tang said his players didn’t deserve to wear a Kansas State uniform and that most of them wouldn’t be retained for the 2026-27 season.

The characterization of Tang’s firing has since been discussed at the national level, with many disagreeing with Kansas State’s “for cause” argument. Tang retained high-profile lawyers to challenge the university’s decision, as he pursues his $18.675 million buyout, which he would be owed if dismissed without cause.

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The distractions didn’t impact the Wildcats in their victory, as they put on arguably their best performance of the season in their first game under interim coach Matthew Driscoll.

“It’s been some very difficult days,” PJ Haggerty said after scoring 34 points. “Every day, we all love Coach T, you know, as a coach and as a person. He just wanted us to be better men rather than just basketball players, too. But at the end of the day, we’re just gonna keep playing and honoring him.”

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kansas-state-basketball-players-said-082953754.html

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Publish date : 2026-02-18 08:29:00

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