Jerome Tang is heading into his third season not just as the Kansas State basketball coach, but as a head coach altogether. He is starting to get the hang of how the offseason works and the ups and downs of coaching.
Each offseason, it seems Tang has had to rebuild his team due to eligibility or to the transfer portal. This offseason is no different with the Wildcats losing five players to the transfer portal and two to eligibility.
However, after briefly appearing to the media recently, Tang talked about the highs and lows of the offseason and one key aspect of this offseason he feels will be a game-changer.
For the first time, Tang had all of his guys on campus and in his facilities and he did so by June. In years past a lot of the players either didn't get there till the start of school or sometimes even later.
The Wildcats will have a total of 10 new faces on their roster to add to the three returning players. Of the three returning only one, David N'Guessan, really saw significant playing time last season and even started a few games. The other two returning players, Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich would see playing time here and there, but nothing significant.
Now the 10 new players that have come in this offseason have gotten Kansas State really excited about the upcoming season. Kansas State has always been a team that was able to shoot the ball well, but now they have a lot of height on the team along with sharpshooters on the outside. Of the 10 new players, eight of them are Division I transfers, one is a junior college All-American, and one is a top-50 high school prospect.
Here is a list of all the newcomers:
- Achor Achor: Samford
- David Castillo: Sunrise Christian Academy
- Baye Fall: Arkansas
- Brendan Hausen: Villanova
- Coleman Hawkins: Illinois
- Mobi Ikegwuruka: Ellsworth Community College
- C.J. Jones: UIC
- Max Jones: Cal state Fullerton
- Dug McDaniel: Michigan
- Ugonna Onyenso: Kentucky
Tang talked about how great it has been having the whole team together so early in the offseason. He says he is able to work on more things and the team is able to bond and grow more together in this time.
With so many newcomers, the veteran presence of N'Guessan will be incredibly helpful, however, he has been playing with the Dutch National Team this summer. Tang talked about how it would be nice to have him around, especially with his experience of playing so many minutes last season, but he is still getting work in and that is what matters.
The biggest thing that Tang is emphasizing this summer is letting the chemistry of the team build organically. He is trying to force anything and he is doing what he has always done. He said they all live in the same apartment complex very close to the gym, they work out together, and they even have family dinners.
With the addition of a lot of great players, K-State is beginning to catch the attention of those in the Big 12, but all will be seen when the season starts. The non-conference schedule is still being determined, but the Wildcats know who they will be playing in the Big 12 and where they will be playing them. All there is left to do is get the entire schedule and start the season.