Why fired K-State coach Jerome Tang attended Wichita State’s last basketball game
A few rows up behind the Wichita State bench, a familiar face was spotted in the lower bowl of Koch Arena on Saturday night.
Jerome Tang, the recently dismissed Kansas State coach, blended in with fans inside the Roundhouse, dressed in jeans and a gray long-sleeved shirt.
A week after K-State fired him “for cause” on Feb. 15, Tang was back in public view, watching Wichita State pull away for a 69-57 win over the Temple Owls.
His ouster has already become a legal and financial tug-of-war, as Kansas State is seeking to avoid paying an $18.7 million buyout and Tang is disputing the school’s grounds for a “for-cause” termination.
So why was Tang at a Wichita State basketball game? He was there for WSU head coach Paul Mills.
Their friendship stretches back more than three decades to their days as Texas high school basketball coaches, but their 14 seasons together at Baylor under coach Scott Drew cemented it. They shared offices, recruiting runs and the daily grind that turned them into “brothers,” according to Tang.
“We would crack so many jokes and we’ve been on so many road trips together and been in the office together,” Mills told The Eagle in 2023. “His kids would stay the night at my house and my kids would stay the night at his. We were just in the trenches together for a long time.”
That loyalty has shown up in big moments. Tang has told the story of the 2021 NCAA Tournament when he was still an associate head coach under Drew and found himself distracted late in Baylor’s first-round win because he was locked onto the out-of-town score: Mills’ 15th-seeded Oral Roberts squad knocking off Ohio State.
“I remember coach Drew coming out of the timeout and looking at my face and going, ‘Man, you’re crying. Mills won, huh?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ It was a special moment.”
On Friday, before the game, Mills was asked if he’d spoken with Tang since the K-State departure.
“I have,” he answered quietly, and then stopped as emotions took over.
On Saturday, Tang showed up to support his close friend, a reminder of how deep the coaching world’s bonds can run.
This story was originally published February 22, 2026 at 6:55 AM with the headline "Why fired K-State coach Jerome Tang attended Wichita State’s last basketball game."
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