Jerome Tang talks to media after Kansas State loss to West Virginia
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang talks to the media after the Wildcats lost to West Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
After losing at West Virginia to fall to 1-7 to begin Big 12 play, Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang called out the NCAA as the reason why he hasn’t been able to build a championship-contending program.
The Wildcats lost 59-54 at West Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 27, dropping them to 10-11 overall, the first time they’ve been below .500 this season.
Tang was asked about the difficulty of playing in the Big 12, a league the Wildcats haven’t finished with a winning record in since his first season in 2022-23, when they finished 11-7. He responded by saying that he enjoys the challenges, but as the “CEO” of the program, it’s his job to build a team that can compete with the conference’s best.
“I haven’t figured that out yet because they keep changing the rules on me, right?” Tang said. “Once they get the rules set, like then I can have a consistent plan, because there are three guys that should be on my roster right now that are not on my roster because the rules changed.”
It’s unclear who the three players Tang is talking about are, though two could be Max Jones, a starter a year ago, and Tyreek Smith.
Jones said he hoped to remain in college at the end of the 2024-25 season, but now plays overseas. Smith, a midyear transfer to K-State last season and never played for the Wildcats, had his eligibility waiver denied by the NCAA during the summer.
It’s unclear who a third player would have been, though Tang said it had nothing to do with the four players who were ruled out ahead of the game due to injury.
“If they will give me consistent rules, then I know how to move forward and operate, and we’ll figure it out because I have a staff that’s relentless,” Tang said. “We don’t stop, you know? If we can bring G League players in, I wanna do it.”
Tang then alluded to Alabama’s recent addition of Charles Bediako, who joined the Crimson Tide after playing in the G League in recent weeks. One of the more controversial talking points of the college basketball season saw Bediako file a temporary restraining order in Tuscaloosa County (Alabama), which was granted, allowing him to be immediately eligible to suit up. The judge, who granted the TRO in the case, is listed as a donor to the Crimson Tide Foundation’s Lifetime Giving Society.
Tang said earlier in the year that he would pursue G League players after Baylor coach Scott Drew controversially added former G Leaguer James Nnaji to his roster. Tang was an assistant at Baylor under Drew from 2003-22.
“I wanna find a judge in Kansas that’s a K-State judge that’s going to give us … you know what I mean?” Tang said. “That’s what they’re doing elsewhere. If they’re going to allow us to do it, I wanna do it, or stop everybody from doing it and let’s proceed the same way, you know? Give me some consistent rules and we’re gonna get it done, but we’re gonna figure this thing out.”
Life isn’t going to get any easier for Tang and the Wildcats, who host No. 9 Iowa State on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 1 p.m.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
