Why Jerome Tang refused to blame himself for Kansas State basketball’s loss at UCF
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang usually blames himself after the Wildcats lose a basketball game.
No matter what just transpired on the court, he almost always finds a way to point the finger at himself. Even when he secretly thinks he coached a great game, he tends to take full accountability after a loss.
Case in point, here was part of his opening statement after K-State lost to Arizona State on Sunday: “I liked our effort. I wish I had given them a better game plan today. This one wasn’t on (K-State players). It was on me. I will do better.”
It seems that approach had an expiration date.
Tang is tired of blaming himself and decided to take a different approach after K-State suffered an 80-76 loss against UCF on Wednesday at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando.
“I normally take the blame for stuff and everything,” Tang said on his postgame radio show. “But at some point some of these guys have got to take ownership of what’s going on out there. This one is very frustrating.”
It’s understandable for Tang to feel that way.
K-State (13-15, 7-10 Big 12) has lost four straight games and is suddenly in danger of finishing the season with a losing record.
More than that, the Wildcats lost to the Knights by making mistakes that felt all too familiar for fans. They fell behind 14-6 at the first media timeout. They got beat on the glass. They were a step slow for loose balls. And they couldn’t make clutch plays with the game on the line.
“We have got to be better,” Tang said. “We’re not good enough to take plays off.”
It was also hard for Tang to watch K-State’s entire frontcourt fade into the background without Coleman Hawkins. The senior forward missed his second straight game with an injury, and no one stepped up in absence. David N’Guessan had an off night that featured eight points and four rebounds. Ugonna Onyenso put up four points and four rebounds in his first start of the season. Mobi Ikegwuruka and Macaleab Rich did little off the bench.
Outside of guard Max Jones scoring 22 points and Dug McDaniel sending out nine assists, no one in a K-State uniform had a particularly strong game.
To their credit, the Wildcats nearly stole a win despite only leading for 1 minute, 33 seconds of game time. But that was no consolation prize for Tang.
“I have got a good group of guys that have high character and perseverance,” Tang said. “They’re gritty and they fight back. But at some point we have to stop fighting back and just fight from the very beginning and get a lead. We have to not allow a team to get a lead and force us to claw back.”
Tang remains optimistic that K-State can end the season on a high note, but he doesn’t think that can happen until players take accountability for their recent losses.
“We all have to take ownership of this one and moving forward,” Tang said, “because it doesn’t get any easier.”
His closing statement: “We have got to be sick and tired of it and make the change.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Why Jerome Tang refused to blame himself for Kansas State basketball’s loss at UCF."