How Jerome Tang is handling unclear K-State plans for Ismael Massoud, Nae’Qwan Tomlin
Roster management is quickly becoming one of the most unpredictable tasks for a college basketball coach.
Jerome Tang understands that as well as anyone right now.
Even though the Kansas State head man is coming off a sensational first season with the Wildcats in which they won 26 games and reached the Elite Eight, there has been little time for him to kick back and relax. He is already hard at working trying to piece together a roster of 13 scholarship players for next season.
At the moment, K-State has three open scholarships to work with and the plan is for Tang to target a pair of veteran guards out of the transfer portal to go along with a versatile and experienced center. But there is a chance one of the team’s departing players could decide to remain with the program, as well as a chance that one of its returning stars could turn pro.
Let’s focus on how Tang is dealing with those two unknowns. He is handling them in a unique way.
For starters, he doesn’t consider it a foregone conclusion that Ismael Massoud will be playing elsewhere next season. Yes, the 6-foot-9 forward has announced plans to transfer ahead of his final year of college hoops, but Tang is prepared to welcome him back to the roster under the right circumstances.
Here is how Tang left things with Massoud the last time they spoke:
“I told him, ‘Look, if you go out there and you don’t feel like people are telling you the truth and you can’t get what you want out there at the level you want it, let’s revisit this conversation again,’” Tang said. “He was like, ‘You won’t hold it against me?’ No, I won’t hold it against you. But understand that I may have to call you and say, ‘Look, Ish, I have taken someone else and we may not be able to revisit this conversation.’ He understands that.”
Odds are good that Massoud will find a landing spot elsewhere after he shot 39% from three-point range this season, but there is no burned bridge between him and K-State.
His goals for next season simply didn’t align with Tang the last time they talked about the future.
“He told me what he was looking for and I told him what my plans were for the team and what I wanted everything to look like,” Tang said. “What he wanted and what I felt honestly that we could provide for him wasn’t close.”
Massoud told Tang that he wanted to start and play close to 30 minutes per game next season. That would have been a massive jump from the 18 minutes Massoud averaged as a role player last season when he didn’t start a single game.
Both sides thought it would be best for him to at least explore possible transfer options.
“He has been so good to us this past year,” Tang said, “that I want him to have every opportunity to have success in his last year.”
Tang is also dealing with an uncertain future for Nae’Qwan Tomlin.
The 6-foot-10 junior forward played so well in his first season with the Wildcats, averaging 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds, that he will explore his pro options in some fashion this spring. That could mean he declares for the NBA Draft as an early entrant in order to work out for scouts while maintaining his college eligibility. It could also mean he turns pro.
Tang said he has encouraged Tomlin to test the pro waters.
“We’re going to do the paperwork for the review and see what the NBA teams say,” Tang said. “If the projections are good, maybe we go to the next step. If the projections are not what he wants then we focus in on moving forward here. The whole time he will be working out with the team and doing all that. But it’s always good to get as much feedback as possible.”
If Tomlin decides to return to K-State, Tang thinks he can follow in the footsteps of Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell and have an All-American season as a senior.
Alas, no roster spot can be taken for granted in early April.
“He just really needs to lock in on a couple things,” Tang said. “Strength and shooting are the two most tangible things you can put your eye on. There are some fundamental things that having not played organized basketball as a young kid that he skipped over. I think we can go back and add some of that in and give him a better base to his game that will then help to eliminate the things that hindered his ability to be on the court more this season.”
This story was originally published April 4, 2023 at 4:10 PM with the headline "How Jerome Tang is handling unclear K-State plans for Ismael Massoud, Nae’Qwan Tomlin."