Kansas
Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang takes connecting with his players to heart
Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang on connecting with his team
Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang talks about connecting to his players’ hearts.
K-State Athletics
A year ago, when a rough February stretch threatened to derail Kansas State basketball’s Big 12 season, Jerome Tang and his staff decided to pull their foot off the gas.
The Wildcats were coming off back-to-back road losses to Texas Tech and Oklahoma, which were struggling in their own right, and they had dropped four of five to fall to 6-6 in the conference after a torrid start.
So they shortened practices, gave the players a few more days off, and the team responded with a four-game winning streak that in turn helped pave the way for a deep NCAA Tournament run.
Fast forward to last week, after a fourth straight loss, at last-place Oklahoma State, again had the Wildcats reeling. They had just dropped below .500 in the conference at 4-5 after a 4-1 start, and No. 4-ranked Kansas was coming to town just 48 hours later.
Kansas State basketball’s overtime magic strikes again in Sunflower Showdown win over KU
After some soul-searching, Tang pinpointed a different issue, one that had little to do with fatigue. The response from the Wildcats, however, was the same as they snapped out of their funk and stunned the Jayhawks, 75-70, in overtime Monday to the delight of a sellout crowd.
“Our struggles to this point have been more connection struggles, rather than physical ability struggles, and as a staff we’re trying to spend more time with those connections,” Tang said afterward. “I have to do a better job with our guys and connect with their hearts, and I think that’s the first step.”
For one night, at least, all was well again with the Wildcats, who improved to 15-8 overall and got back to even in the Big 12 at 5-5. The challenge now is to sustain it moving forward, starting with a 9 p.m. (CT) Saturday road game against No. 19 Brigham Young (16-6, 4-5 Big 12) at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.
“We just dealt with their hearts,” Tang said of the quick turnaround for the KU game. “I hadn’t connected with them the way I connected with the team last year.
Kansas State basketball must turn the page with a visit from rival Kansas looming
“And so, you can see they were just playing basketball. They weren’t playing with this love, joy and freedom that we talk about, (and) they weren’t doing it because they loved us as a staff.”
Two days may not have been enough times to change the players’ hearts and minds, but Tang thought it might have lit a spark.
“As a staff, if we can connect with their heart, and then they play because they love us and they know that we’re doing what we’re doing because we love them, it gives them that little extra fight,” Tang said. “And I thought I saw that fight (Monday) because I was transparent with them and told them I hadn’t done a good job.
“And our staff did a really good job. We spent a lot of time together the last couple of days, but it was less about basketball and more about how much they mean to us, and how much we believe in them and how much we believe in what they want to do.”
Kansas State basketball’s skid reaches four with 75-72 road loss to Oklahoma State
Point guard Tylor Perry, who has had his ups and downs but scored 21 of his game-high 26 points after intermission, including eight in overtime, said Tang’s message going into the KU game resonated with the players.
“Anything’s possible, that this is what we’re supposed to do, and he honestly said that we can play better than we did,” Perry recalled. “That’s just the type of person he is.
“He always believes you can do so much better, and he believes in us so much, and he just instils so much confidence in us throughout the whole team. We’re so blessed to have the best coach in America, and I wouldn’t want nobody else running the show for us.”
Beating KU was a much-needed shot in the arm for the Wildcats, but Tang is hopeful that it also triggered a major resurgence for his team, which still has work to do in order to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in March.
“There’s still a stronger heart connection that can take place,” he said. “We can continue to play better basketball.
“But they told on themselves how good they can be. And now it’s up to us to love them to want to be at that level all the time.”
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A former Kansas wrestling coach was charged with creating child sexual abuse materials by secretly recording minors showering during an athletic competition.
According to court documents, 37-year-old Ryan Brungardt of Salina is charged with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.
Brungardt is a former employee at Lakewood Middle School and former wrestling coach for Salina Central High School.
Brungardt is accused of using a cellphone to record three minors while they showered in a locker room during the Tournament of Champions, a wrestling tournament was held at Newton High in January 2024.
Brungardt made his initial court appearance for the criminal complaint on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooks G. Severson.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday
Investigators are in the process of reviewing additional seized cellphone videos in this case that are suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets in Newton, Hays, Garden City and Salina during the 2023-2024 wrestling season.
Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or any suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.
Copyright 2026 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Wednesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.
Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.
WIBW Scoreboard
BOYS
6A Boys West Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Topeka High 57, Washburn Rural 50 (will play Maize Saturday)
- Junction City 70, Dodge City 56 (will play Derby Saturday)
- Manhattan 58, Wichita-Northwest 56 (will play Wichita-East Saturday)
4A Boys East Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Rock Creek 62, Louisberg 57 (will play Bishop Miege Saturday)
- Atchison 74, Wamego 43
- Hayden 72, Independence 56 (will play Atchison Saturday)
- Eudora 76, Santa Fe Trail 68
GIRLS
5A West Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Hays 80, Topeka West 18
- Eisenhower 55, Seaman 41
- Kapaun Mt. Carmel 71, Emporia 41
5A East Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Shawnee Heights 89, Sumner 15 (will play Pittsburg Saturday)
- Basehor-Linwood 74, Highland Park 28 (will play Piper Saturday)
3A Pomona-West Franklin Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Osage City 75, Columbus 31 (will play Frontenac Saturday)
3A Sabetha Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Silver Lake 48, Nemaha Central 26 (will play Riley County Saturday)
- Riley County 51, Jeff West 40 (will play Silver Lake)
Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.
Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.
WIBW Scoreboard
BOYS
5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
- Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)
5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
- Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
- Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)
3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)
3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
- Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)
GIRLS
6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
- Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
- Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)
4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
- Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
- Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)
2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
- Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
- Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)
Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.
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