Achor Achor's Departure 'Creates Opportunities' For Kansas State Players
Kansas State took a loss with the sudden departure of forward Achor Achor, who was anticipated to be a major transfer acquisition.
Luckily, coach Jerome Tang says the team prepared for these situations. He is encouraged by the new opportunities presented to players like Taj Manning and Mobi Ikegwuruka, who will step up amidst Achor's exit.
“It opens up the opportunity for a lot of guys," Tang said. "It also gets people’s attention. Love Achor and wish him the best, but one of the things I said is that one of the goals this summer was to have an abundance. So that if you lost a player or two, you still had enough to accomplish what you wanted to accomplish.”
JEROME TANG SAYS THERE IS NO ILL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HE AND DUG MCDANIEL
There's been a bit of speculation surrounding Kansas State guard Dug McDaniel's relationship with coach Jerome Tang.
Tang ensured there was nothing of concern for the junior guard.
“Dug is doing fine," Tang said. "I don’t know why there’s speculation out there about that. I guess, Dug’s body language probably shows a lot in games, and we’re talking to him about it. But he was for the most part really good in practice and we’ve had team meetings with guys. We’ve talked about shot selection and I really feel like the guys have bought into what we wanna do moving forward.”
Perhaps the departure of forward Achor Achor sparked some concerns about player relations for fans. Tang again reassured the media that he and McDaniel have a working relationship.
“First of all, if I’m gonna dismiss, we’re not gonna do it through the media," Tang said. "That’s not how we’re gonna handle things. Dug and I have a good relationship. I wouldn’t say it’s a great relationship, but it’s okay. In the Bible it says, iron sharpens iron and when two pieces of iron hit each other there’s gonna be sparks. And that’s alright, it’s just how can we continue moving forward? And Dug has been great with that.”
Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
Jayden is a journalism school graduate of Howard University. He was the 2024 recipient of the Terez Paylor scholarship award. He previously worked at the Orlando Sentinel.