2 April 2023
MANHATTAN, KS. (KSNT)- Jerome Tang is the National Coach of the Year.
On Sunday, Tang was selected as the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year. He becomes the first K-State men’s basketball coach to ever receive this honor.
Tang was selected as the winner over three other finalists: Purdue’s Matt Painter, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson and Marquette’s Shaka Smart.
“There are so many people to mention who have put me in this position,” Tang said in a statement from K-State Athletics. “I want to thank our players and staff. I can’t begin to express my appreciation to them for all their hard work and sacrifice this season. We started with Markquis (Nowell) and Ish (Massoud) and it grew to 15 players who became brothers on and off the court, enabling us to go from a team picked last in the Big 12 to one who won 26 games and advanced to the Elite Eight. I will always be indebted to them.”
Tang also thanked God, his coaching staff and his family in the statement. Plus, Coach expressed appreciation for former coworkers of his at both Heritage Christian and Baylor, among many others.
The national honor for the ‘Cats head coach comes after K-State was picked to finish last in the Big 12. Instead, Tang’s team finished third in the conference and advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament.
Tang was also named Big 12 Coach of the Year and runner-up for AP National Coach of the Year.
The Wildcats finished the season with 26 wins, in Tang’s first year as head coach.