K-State's Jerome Tang Wants To See What His Team Needs 'To Work On' In Opener
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang enters his third season in Manhattan with 11 new players, eight of which are transfers.
The Wildcats made it to the NIT last season but didn't have enough depth to advance past the opening round. Tang said Monday he expects his team to look different, but there are still kinks to work out ahead of the season opener against New Orleans (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
"I think right now it's just about getting out there and playing a game," Tang said. "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."
Tang said he noticed things happen to his players identically compared to his first year. Everything from arena directions to program routines is new for names like Achor Achor. Although mistakes do happen, he added his team would continue to adjust when called upon.
Tang confirmed Archor was absent from the team due to "a family emergency" but didn't comment further on his playing status against the Privateers.
The Wildcats won their lone exhibition game on Oct. 29 against Fort Hayes State, serving as a small glimpse of what's to come. Turning the page to New Orleans, Tang said its anything but a pushover.
"They're aggressive to the glass," Tang said. "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."
Kansas State has dominated season openers. It is seeking its 30th home win, entering with a record of 93-27.
Zain Bando is a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at zainbando99@gmail.com and on Instagram/'X' @zainbando99.
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