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.
Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga was named the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League MVP on Friday, one day ahead of the league’s championship match.
Chawinga set a new single-season NWSL record with 20 goals this year for the Current.
She also scored the lone goal in the team’s quarterfinal victory and both goals in the championship of the NWSL x Liga MX Summer Cup last month.
“From the moment Temwa came to Kansas City, we knew she was capable of playing at an MVP level,” general manager Caitlin Carducci said in a statement.
“Not only has she been an incredible player on the pitch, she’s also been an incredible teammate and representative of the organization off it. Temwa laid an incredible foundation with her play in 2024, and we’re so excited for what’s to come in the years ahead.”
Chawinga is the eighth NWSL Golden Boot winner to also win MVP in the same season since the league’s launch in 2013. She is the first African international to win either award.
The 26-year-old Malawi international arrived in Kansas City this year from the Chinese Super League and took the league by storm in the first season with her eye for goal and her game-changing speed.
Chawinga scored in 13 of the Current’s final 14 matches of the regular season, including goals in eight straight games, which was a first in league history.
She also scored a goal against all 13 other NWSL teams this season, another first, and she added five assists to the Current’s league-record 57 goals this season.
Chawinga’s 20 goals broke Sam Kerr’s previous record of 18 in a season, which Kerr scored in 21 games.
Chawinga played in 25 regular-season games this year.
The next closest scorer in the regular season was Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda, who finished with 13 goals.
Banda scored in last week’s semifinal to help Orlando eliminate Kansas City from the playoffs.
Orlando takes on the Washington Spirit on Saturday in the NWSL Championship at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City.
History of NWSL MVPs
2013: Lauren Holiday, FC Kansas City midfielder
2014: Kim Little, Seattle Reign FC midfielder
2015: Crystal Dunn, Washington Spirit forward
2016: Lynn Williams, Western New York Flash forward
2017: Sam Kerr, Sky Blue FC forward
2018: Lindsey Horan, Portland Thorns FC midfielder
2019: Sam Kerr: Chicago Red Stars forward
2021: Jess Fishlock, OL Reign midfielder
2022: Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns FC forward
2023: Kerolin, North Carolina Courage forward
The Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls sounded like Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday night as a capacity crowd of 3,400 watched Iowa defeat Kansas 71-58. The Hawkeyes jumped out to an 18-4 lead after the first quarter and never let the lead dip below eight points the rest of the way. They are now 5-0 for the first time since 2017.
Here are my top takeaways from the win and what it means for Iowa moving forward.
A season that began with national championship aspirations is now in danger of ending in disappointment.
Three weeks ago, the Kansas State Wildcats controlled their hopes of making the Big 12 title game and possibly the College Football Playoff. Now, they are just searching for another victory to salvage a once promising season.
“Obviously a disappointing performance on Saturday,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said about Saturday’s loss to Arizona State. “We had a long staff meeting yesterday and talked about a lot of things. We looked at offense, defense and special teams. I don’t think anybody could point a finger at anybody because I don’t think any unit played up to its capabilities.”
The Wildcats were in the driver’s seat after a victory against rival Kansas Oct. 26 in the annual Sunflower State Showdown. They were 7-1 with wins against Oklahoma State and Colorado, the lone blemish coming against BYU.
The victory against the Jayhawks was followed by two upset losses to Houston and the Sun Devils, which all but ended their chances of making the Big 12 championship game.
With two games left against Cincinnati and Iowa State, the Wildcats are basically playing for a more appealing bowl game.
“Our job this week is to right the ship, because we have another opportunity,” Klieman said. “I want our seniors to have an opportunity to go out well.”
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
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