MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang met with the media on Monday afternoon (Nov. 4) to preview the season opener with New Orleans, which tips off the 2024-25 season on Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum.
Links to the audio and a transcript of Tang’s availability are above.
K-State will open its 121st season of men’s basketball on Tuesday night with just their second all-time meeting with the Privateers and the first since a 62-47 victory on Dec. 4, 1999. The Wildcats are 93-27 all-time in season openers, including a 29-3 mark at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State played its first and only public exhibition on Oct. 29, leading wire-to-wire against a nationally ranked Fort Hays State squad. Junior guard Brendan Hausen led four players in double figures with a game-high 15 points, while Preseason Big 12 co-Newcomer of the Year Coleman Hawkins was solid all-around with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes. Senior David N’Guessan had a near double-double with 10 points and a game-high 9 rebounds.
The third-year head coach and his staff welcome 14 players for the 2024-25 season, including 3 returning lettermen (N’Guessan and sophomores Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich) and 11 newcomers. Among those newcomers are 8 Division I transfers, a junior college All-American (Mobi Ikegwuruka) and a top-50 high school prospect (David Castillo).
Hawkins, who was also a Preseason All-Big 12 Second Team selection, has been named to the watch lists for the Naismith Trophy as well as the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year.
K-State finished the 2023-24 season with a 19-15 record, including an 8-10 mark in Big 12 play, and advanced to the NIT. Among the Wildcats’ 19 victories were 4 over Top 25 teams, including 3 in the Top 10. The team has won 45 games in Tang’s first two seasons, including consecutive postseason appearances.
Tuesday’s contest will be the first of four consecutive home games for the Wildcats, including matchups with Cleveland State (Saturday), LSU (Nov. 14) and Mississippi Valley State (Nov. 19).
Tickets are still available for Tuesday’s opener starting at $15 by calling (800) 221.CATS or online at kstatesports.com/tickets.
HEAD COACH JEROME TANG
On if the team will be at full strength for Tuesday’s game…
“Yes, everyone is healthy. Achor (Achor) had a family emergency, and he’s still not back yet. He should be back sometime today (Monday). So, I’m not sure whether he’ll play tomorrow or not, but other than that, everybody’s healthy.”
On what he learned from the exhibition game…
“I thought we were tight as a staff as well as the players. It was the first time in front of fans with a new group. We had some guys, and this was my fault, who didn’t know how to enter the arena, where to park, things like that that go along with the first game. Achor (Achor) actually walked through the arena because that’s how we normally go to practice. He didn’t know that you walk around. So, there’s so many little things like that. My first year, everything was so new, so I knew that I would have to go through every detail. Last year, we had seven guys returning, so they helped with some of that, but now you have to treat every year like everybody’s brand new and go over every detail of everything. So, it was what an exhibition game is supposed to be. To learn what you need to take care of and correct.”
On the starting lineup…
“I think that’s still developing. Right now, we have nine players who have separated themselves (from the rest of the team). There is a little separation between nine and 10, but 10 and 11 are right there. So, I don’t want anybody to feel comfortable right now with such a new group. I want everyone to realize that if you’re not being your best at practice, working and improving, there’s somebody there who is ready to step in.”
On what he is looking for in the first game…
“I think right now it’s just about getting out there and playing a game. I just want to see how we respond and how we can get a little bit better. I always think it takes a while for you to be able to play the game for 30 to 35 minutes the way you want to play. Part of that is conditioning. Part of it is focus. We want to find out how many minutes we can play the way we want to play so we know what we need to work on.”
On his philosophy on season openers…
“I think it really changes year to year. You look at what the NCAA committee tells you. What do they value? We go to 20 games in league play this year. So, if you play more league games then you have to get rid of some of those high major games in the non-conference because you don’t want to play 30 high major games. You want to challenge yourself with your non-conference schedule, but you don’t want to kill yourself either. It’s a tough balance.”
On New Orleans…
“They’ll press you. They will get after you. I think against Southern Miss, it was 105 to 102, and they got to the free throw line 41 times. They’re aggressive to the glass. They want to force turnovers and speed things up. They do a good job in the halfcourt, forcing you to really to have to work to get a shot. We can’t settle for early threes because they’re going under ball screens. We’ve got to keep working it (on the offensive end). It will be a challenging game.”
On what fans can expect from Max Jones since he didn’t play in the exhibition…
“He can do a lot of things. A big guard who allows us to play Coleman (Hawkins) at the four. He has experience. He can make shots. He’s a tough kid with a chip on his shoulder who is a lot of fun to play with.”
On year three for him and staff…