Report: Baylor to hire former Kansas State coach Jerome Tang as associate head coach
Following his near four-year tenure as the head coach at Kansas State, Jerome Tang is returning to the Baylor basketball program.
Baylor is bringing Tang back as its associate head coach, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Tuesday. He previously served as an assistant with the program from 2003-2022, and was formerly the associate head coach from 2017-2022.
Baylor insider and Fox Sports columnist Matt Mosley first reported that Tang’s return to Waco was gaining steam, back in mid-April.
“Jerome Tang to Baylor is gaining steam,” Mosley said. “Heard it from an extremely reliable source yesterday. I of course, set up, you know, put out all my traps and asking and talking and all that kind of stuff. Now here’s what I can tell you, it is because of the unbelievable friendship that he and Scott have. You could know you could have known that this would be an option for Jerome. You’d be crazy not to think that.”
During Tang’s first tenure at Baylor serving as an assistant under Scott Drew, the Bears made 10 NCAA Tournament trips. This includes six Sweet Sixteen appearances, three Elite Eight appearances, and a Final Four/National Championship victory in 2021.
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Kansas State and Jerome Tang parted ways in February
Kansas State formally parted ways with Tang in February, attempting to do so for cause to avoid paying a reported $18 million buyout, per On3’s Pete Nakos. The Manhattan Mercury reported Tang’s actions were viewed as a violation of his terms of employment.
The two sides were initially engaged in discussions regarding the terms of Tang’s buyout, per Nakos. But those conversations appear to have broken down. As far as Tang’s comments that were referred to by Mosley, you can view them below. He called out his team due to poor play.
“This was embarrassing. These dudes did not deserve to wear this uniform,” Tang said. “There will be very few in it next year. I’m embarrassed for the university, I’m embarrassed for our fans, our student section. We have practice at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. We will get this thing right. I have no answers and no words.”
Tang went 71-57 in his time with Kansas State, which began in 2022-23. He led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in his first year, but the squad did not return to the NCAA Tournament for the rest of his tenure.