Kansas State’s Jerome Tang Gets Blunt On UCF Loss: ‘We All Gotta Be Better’
Jerome Tang entered the postgame interview visibly frustrated after the UCF loss. Offensive ineptitude halted what could have been a relatively simple victory. Wildcats stars Dug McDaniel and David N’Guessan couldn’t rally the team without Coleman Hawkins in the star lineup. They shot a combined 36.4 percent from the field for just 18 points.
“We gotta be better,” Tang said. “We’re not good enough to take plays off. Like, we lost the middle eight today, the 10-0 run to end the half and the 6-2 run to start the second half. That’s a 14-point swing. I love our guys, toughness, grittiness, we keep fighting to come back and stuff. But at some point and time, we gotta not have to fight to come back. Just fight at the beginning, and then you don’t have to worry about the comeback. ”
Tang, normally mild-mannered in his comments, held the players accountable for their effort and early deficit. Max Jones made a valiant effort with a season-high 22 points, displaying his ability to hit from the arc and stay aggressive offensively. However, his individual performance couldn’t make up for Wednesday night’s inoffensive display.
“Normally I walk in here and say, ‘I’ll take the blame for it’ and stuff, but we all have to take ownership of this one,” Tang said. “And we have to do this moving forward because it doesn’t get any easier.”
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.
