‘It’s absolutely stupid’: Why Jerome Tang is fed up with this new goaltending rule
Jerome Tang vividly remembers three controversial plays from Kansas State’s conference season for all the wrong reasons.
It’s almost as if they haunt him.
Three different times he has watched the Wildcats get credited for layups via goaltending, only to then see those points get taken away minutes later after replay reviews.
“It’s absolutely stupid,” Tang said after K-State lost two points on a review during a 65-56 win over Colorado. “They have to fix it. The referees are doing what the letter of the law says. So I can’t be upset with them, because they’re doing what the rule says. But the way it’s written, it’s dumb.”
Tang was not done. He went on a long rant about goaltending reviews on Sunday.
His frustration is understandable. It’s not just that K-State has lost a combined six points on three goaltending reviews in recent games, it’s that K-State also effectively lost three possessions on them.
Under the current rules, the game is stopped after any goaltending whistle. One team gets points, the other team gets the ball and the game continues. Here’s the thing: officials can review the goaltending call at the next media timeout. If the call is overturned, one team loses points without having the ability to grab a loose ball and potentially score moments later.
Tang dislikes that part of the review system.
“They need to go review it right away,” Tang said. “That way, they can give us back the basketball rather than review it at the next media timeout and then we lose the points and we lose the ball. That’s ridiculous.”
The Wildcats were in the process of scoring a put-back layup after two of the three goaltending calls that went against them, versus Arizona and at UCF. Things would have worked out better for K-State had the officials swallowed their whistles and let the teams play on.
“This is the third time this year we’ve had a goaltending called for us that we got the offensive rebound on,” Tang said. “So it would have been our possession if they don’t blow the whistle. Twice, we scored right away. It (stinks).”
Here’s a quick recap of all three goaltending reviews that have gone against K-State in Big 12 action:
- 1. Arizona blocked a Coleman Hawkins layup from behind. Officials called it a goaltend and awarded K-State two points. Hawkins grabbed the loose ball and made an uncontested layup after the whistle blew. Officials later switched the goaltend to a legal block. No points for K-State.
- 2. UCF blocked a driving layup from Max Jones. Officals called it a goaltend and gave K-State two points. David N’Guessan grabbed the loose ball and scored seconds later. But it didn’t matter. Officals once again switched the goaltend to a legal block. No points for K-State.
- 3. Colorado blocked a transition layup from Brendan Hausen. Officals called it a goaltend and awarded K-State two points. The Wildcats grabbed the loose ball and then handed it to the referees. The call was later changed to a legal block. No points for K-State.
Tang can replay all of those sequences from memory. He’s sick and tired of losing points and possessions on goaltending reviews.
“There has got to be,” Tang said, “a better way.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 10:27 AM with the headline "‘It’s absolutely stupid’: Why Jerome Tang is fed up with this new goaltending rule."