Watch Jerome Tang’s Press Conference | Listen to Jerome Tang’s Press Conference | Quotes (.pdf)
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang met with the media on Wednesday morning (Nov. 8) to preview the Wildcats’ home opener against Bellarmine on Friday night (Nov. 10) at Bramlage Coliseum. Links to the audio and a transcript of Tang’s availability are above.
K-State (0-1) will welcome Bellarmine (0-1) on Friday night in the first of two games in three games with the Wildcats hosting Summit League preseason favorite South Dakota State (0-1) on Monday (Nov. 13) at 7 p.m., CT. The team then leaves for The Bahamas on Tuesday (Nov. 14) before playing Providence on Friday, Nov. 17 and either Georgia (0-1) or Miami (1-0) on Sunday, Nov. 19 in the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship.
K-State is 96-23 all-time in home openers, including 29-3 at Bramlage Coliseum.
Under legendary head coach Scott Davenport, the Knights are in their fourth season in Division I after transitioning from the Division II ranks where they went to 4 Final Fours and won the 2011 NCAA Championship. They return 9 lettermen, including 4 starters, from a team that went 15-18 overall and 9-9 in Atlantic Sun play.
Tickets can be purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office by calling toll free at (800) 221.CATS (2287), by logging in online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets, and in-person at the main southwest Bramlage Coliseum ticket office.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
On the biggest takeaways from the USC loss…
“We beat ourselves a lot. There were a whole lot of self-inflicted wounds and things that we can definitely correct. They are a very good team, so some of our mistakes were because of USC. But a whole lot more of our mistakes were on us. So that's what we're going to work on. And like, there's no fairy dust to fix this thing, right? It's a little bit at a time. 1% better every day, you know, we use the people talk about trusting the process, it's gonna be a process. And everybody's got to buy into getting better every day and, and we will get to where we want to be.”
On Bellarmine and getting back to Bramlage Coliseum…
“Well, I know they're a really good shooting team. And they've won in the past. So, they've got some guys who know what winning is about and they shoot the ball, they move, they cut. So, we're gonna defend them before the catch and not just allow them to be comfortable and move the ball.
“What I love about basketball is that we don't have to wait a whole week before we play again. I think they would hate me after a week or so if that were the case. We’re excited about the opportunity to get back to Bramlage (Coliseum0. Our students are gonna be there and our fans will be rocking the Octagon of Doom. It's a special place. We’re excited about the opportunity, and we will be ready.”