HOT SEAT: Jerome Tang Going BACK to Baylor Basketball After Kansas State Fires Him, Analyst Predicts

[@JoeTillery]

Man it’s just a tough situation at K-State right now and it’s not gonna get much better from the outside looking in. Bram is just going to get more and more empty if these dudes can’t string some wins together. Question now becomes if Tang can retain any players or has to look elsewhere. Don’t think we cut him an 18M check to leave but at some point Gene Taylor gets thrown into a tough situation

[@jjh31]

KStater here. He has NO team buy-in. We have fallen into the buy-a-team mentality and the players are playing for the name in the back of the jersey not the school on the front. I believe he needs to find HS and JUCO talent asap and develope. I hate to see him struggle but the current roster can’t play as a unit.

[@gbrew839]

Tang is a good man with a good heart. I’m not smart enough to judge his coaching ability. He’s had success and struggles. Top notch recruiter. My only problem is at least once a year he feels it necessary to bad mouth the fans. This year he was joined in that with Coleman Hawkins.

[@bryanjones8778]

It turned out that the "fan" who sent Hawkins that DM saying he wished Hawkins would break his leg turned out to not be a K-State fan, but some random guy who was betting on basketball games.

[@gbrew839]

@ that’s right. Yet Hawkins nor Tang ever apologized for blaming K-state fans

[@chadseuser2766]

I understand your thoughts, however we won't be firing Tang. We can't afford to. His buyout is over $18M, and doesn't start going down for a couple of years. Both he and 'us' as fans are stuck, and probably neither side wants to be married anymore, but nothing either side is going to do. It is something that is discussed a LOT in KSU circles. Have we ever experienced somebody that could do no wrong, to somebody that could do no right and that happen so quickly. It is a toxic situation. I think we would all prefer it to workout, but something drastic has to change. Either his assistants, him, or the players he recruits. It is just an absolute train wreck, and obviously we want to see him be successful, because he is the leader of our program, but good gawd almighty is it awful right now.........

[@bryanjones8778]

K-State fan here. I like Coach Tang and think he is a good coach, but IMO he is still pretty green when it comes to being a head coach at this level. He struck gold his first season with a very talented Keyontae Johnson, a good floor general in Marquis Nowell, as well as a good supporting cast. Losing Tomlin and Glover last year for the entire season was a setback to the team. This season, a lot of money was spent bringing in good players, but they have not panned out and are not playing as a team for most games. The past three years have also seen major roster turnover each year, which hasn't helped either.

[@Pantone268Plus]

LOL Tang isn't leaving Kansas State unless he chooses to. The buyout is huge. We're going to sink or float with him. I like Coach Tang, I think he's a good dude, and I think he'll adjust. Sometimes you make a lot of bad moves and have to rebuild. I don't think he's scared of that task as long as he's honest with himself about what needs to be done.

[@ChevelleSS-yr3gb]

How can a coach take a team to the elite 8 and not know how to coach? I understand it’s all the the coaches responsibility, however it’s got to be on the players shoulders about their effort. I love having him in Manhattan because he is such a great guy. I don’t know the answer.

[@UnmanWeston]

1st year momentum and luck. Dude doesn't have the character of a head coach.

[@2PP22]

He had 2 *fringe* NBA players on the roster with a huge chip on their collective shoulders.

[@Dale-c1m]

Tang is a classic example of the "Peter Principle," i.e., getting promoted beyond your abilities. He was a great assistant coach and recruiter, but he's absolutely clueless as a head coach.

[@Gfluksu]

One minute AD Taylor is a hero and the next he’s holding the worst basketball contract in the ncaa. Hope he learns not to jump the gun when threatened by another coach poacher when the coach is coming off an NIT…..ugh.

[@Cattracks-yf8uv]

K-State Alum......Coach Tang must and will endure this season with the low % shooting team he has. The kids play the game, take the shots, get the rebounds, not coach. You can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink. The players are responsible for the coached play on the court. These are not Junior high kids, they all are experienced fairly elite players. I know how K-State fans are and they will turn on a dime from having parades and meeting teams at the airport to throwing teams and coaches under the bus within one week, seen this time and time again. This is how its always been. Coach Tang is a good coach and an even better person. The players will come and go, this years team just cant shoot ,but the transfer portal will quickly change the roster and next year we will be back to having parades and meeting teams at the airport..........

[@baileyrogers1895]

Baylor plays K-State in Waco on January 22nd.

[@MichaelSmith-fp7kd]

Who is going to pay 18 million for a buy out……no way.

[@TheGreatTimtini1]

Tang is a winner. KSTATE Nation supports him 100%. This report has no basis and false.

[@michaelgrummert]

KState fan. We can’t afford his buyout to fire him without cause. He is losing the fan base with how he handles press conferences and telling us to “expect to win”. So he has temporary job security for a few years. But he is quickly losing support. He can turn it around but he probably needs to make assistant coach changes and some philosophy changes. And recruit on locker room presence as well. Seems to have gotten some bad eggs.

[@bige2012]

Stop the bullshit. Tang isn't bolting from K-State. He's got a fat contract and the buyout is huge, so he ain't getting fired. Plus he's the kind of guy that want's to prove up he can succeed with his own squad. He's changing course of how to build team. Since the big use of portal has been shit.

[@waynedowling6344]

I love Coach Tang!! KSU will not fire him, not for at least this season and next. 27-28 is another question. I know he is loved and respected by the student body as a whole. He is a kind, decent man and everyone at K-State wants to see him be successful. As I see it, the question is how long can the K-State family stand seeing their Cats loose so badly. I appreciate what you had to say here about Jerome Tang and I will commit to you that if he and KSU were to go separate ways and he returned to Baylor for any amount of time, I would be pulling for Baylor any time I got to watch a Baylor game... except when playing K-State. Whatever happens here in the next couple of years, Jerome Tang will be successful in life... he's a WINNER!!

[@UncleTed447]

Isu broke him and kstate

[@nikkyfresh3101]

He’s gonna get fired dawg. This shit is burning down

[@johnroberts8061]

The fact he is getting chased off is a really bad look for K-State. He has a winning % of .634 and Chris Klieman .631 Tang is getting roasted by the so called fans and the media. Klieman gets a contract extension every year. Pretty obvious what the views and attitude of a lot of the K-State people seem to be. Sad statement on K-State

[@daxrosenhagen7464]

Most of that win percent was built off his first season in which he got lucky with two all-Americans leading and coaching the team themselves.

[@thekrakenguy6962]

"Expect to win"

[@nickmaster1696]

I don’t expect Tang to survive at Kansas State. He made his own bed

[@poodook]

Can you clarify what exactly Jerome Tang did at Baylor? Was he just a glorified recruiter, or did he contribute to actual scheming/coaching?

[@BigJack512]

Bullshit

[@UnmanWeston]

Tang is a lying defamatory crybaby who can't coach. I so badly want him to stay in purple Kansas forever. Please give him a lifetime contract.

[@ajpend]

He walked right past Bill Self in a post-game handshake line last year after Kansas beat State. Kinda hampers my respect for the guy, like T. Brady, who went straight to the locker room after a loss.

[@billschwartz483]

And you wonder why K-Staters find arrogant ku fans so obnoxious!

[@ajpend]

Yeah. We dislike bad sportsmanship. We get it.