Now, before the post, I want to say that yes, I understand K-State is still having a much better year than Missouri. They're not a direct correlation because K-State is not winless in the Big 12 and even beat kansas earlier this year. So I get that. It's not an exact comp or anything.
Anyway, I haven't paid a lick of attention to college basketball nationally this year, but ran across this story in the Star this morning
Some quotes:
Jerome Tang raised more than a few eyebrows earlier this week when he shared an overly positive message with reporters after K-State suffered a 62-56 defeat at Texas and the Wildcats lost for the seventh time in eight games. “I see a team that is getting better,” he said at Moody Center in Austin.
Tang has his reasons. “When guys give you an effort that gives you a chance to win the game, then there is going to be some little thing that can be adjusted,” Tang said on Thursday. “It’s not like you have to throw the baby out with the bath water. So our goal as a staff is to figure out how to keep us moving forward.
If you’re negative then you’re an energy vampire sucking all the energy out of the room. I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want my team to be that kind of a team.
Only two of K-State’s eight conference losses came by double digits. Three of them came by one possession.
Figuring out a way to help K-State make those extra plays in its final five games of the regular season is his top priority at the moment. And he doesn’t think he can guide the Wildcats there with a negative approach.
Tang and Dennis Gates were two popular names for national coach of the year last year. They took over teams that combined to go 26-38 in 2021-22. In their first seasons, they combined to go 51-20. Mizzou won a tournament game for the first time in 13 years, Kansas State made a run all the way to the Elite Eight. Both did it with players who went from solid players to superstars (Kobe Brown and Marquis Nowell) along with a transfer who changed the entire season (D'Moi Hodge and Keyontae Johnson). Both lost their two stars and had to rebuild their rosters. Both, in the face of adversity, have remained far more positive than the fanbases.
Again, I know Mizzou fans would trade places with K-State in a heartbeat right now and if Mizzou was 15-11 we wouldn't be having the conversations we're having here. So I'm not saying it's the exact same situation. Just read like a story that if you swapped Kansas State and Jerome Tang for Mizzou and Dennis Gates, it wouldn't read all that differently.
Anyway, I haven't paid a lick of attention to college basketball nationally this year, but ran across this story in the Star this morning
Some quotes:
Jerome Tang raised more than a few eyebrows earlier this week when he shared an overly positive message with reporters after K-State suffered a 62-56 defeat at Texas and the Wildcats lost for the seventh time in eight games. “I see a team that is getting better,” he said at Moody Center in Austin.
Tang has his reasons. “When guys give you an effort that gives you a chance to win the game, then there is going to be some little thing that can be adjusted,” Tang said on Thursday. “It’s not like you have to throw the baby out with the bath water. So our goal as a staff is to figure out how to keep us moving forward.
If you’re negative then you’re an energy vampire sucking all the energy out of the room. I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want my team to be that kind of a team.
Only two of K-State’s eight conference losses came by double digits. Three of them came by one possession.
Figuring out a way to help K-State make those extra plays in its final five games of the regular season is his top priority at the moment. And he doesn’t think he can guide the Wildcats there with a negative approach.
Tang and Dennis Gates were two popular names for national coach of the year last year. They took over teams that combined to go 26-38 in 2021-22. In their first seasons, they combined to go 51-20. Mizzou won a tournament game for the first time in 13 years, Kansas State made a run all the way to the Elite Eight. Both did it with players who went from solid players to superstars (Kobe Brown and Marquis Nowell) along with a transfer who changed the entire season (D'Moi Hodge and Keyontae Johnson). Both lost their two stars and had to rebuild their rosters. Both, in the face of adversity, have remained far more positive than the fanbases.
Again, I know Mizzou fans would trade places with K-State in a heartbeat right now and if Mizzou was 15-11 we wouldn't be having the conversations we're having here. So I'm not saying it's the exact same situation. Just read like a story that if you swapped Kansas State and Jerome Tang for Mizzou and Dennis Gates, it wouldn't read all that differently.
