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MANHATTAN — New Kansas State basketball coach Casey Alexander and athletic director Gene Taylor denied a national narrative that the Wildcats' head coaching job would turn off other coaches because of the characterization of Jerome Tang's firing.
Tang was fired for cause on Feb. 15 after a viral press conference in which he criticized his players, saying they didn't deserve to wear the Kansas State uniform following a loss.
National basketball voices, particularly ex-coaches, criticized Kansas State for using the "for cause" characterization, which would save the university $18.675 million in the former coach's buyout. Tang has since retained lawyers to fight for his buyout. As for where a legal battle currently stands, Taylor only said: "That's all lawyers at this point."
Taylor and Alexander spoke to the media after the new coach was introduced on Monday, March 16, in the Shamrock Zone at Bramlage Coliseum.
Popular critiques claimed that Kansas State's actions against Tang would turn coaches off from pursuing the job. ESPN's Seth Greenberg appeared on multiple shows, saying how the firing was an embarrassment to Kansas State. Voices like Stephen A. Smith, Jeff Goodman and others also added their two cents.
"It was the farthest from the truth," Taylor said. "We did not talk to anybody that wasn't already a head coach, and that had a lot of successes. That tells me that was (farthest from the truth). I knew that, and I also knew people were worried about that, but that wasn't the case."
As for Alexander, he said he didn't give Tang's firing a second of thought when he decided to leave his alma mater for Kansas State.
"I wasn't a part of that, and I don't know what happened, and I don't know what's going to happen," Alexander said. "I let Gene and his team and K-State handle all of that, but it had zero interest in the job or if I felt like the job would be impacted, and it hasn't impacted it for me."
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Jerome Tang didn't hurt Kansas State basketball coach search, says AD
Continue reading...
Tang was fired for cause on Feb. 15 after a viral press conference in which he criticized his players, saying they didn't deserve to wear the Kansas State uniform following a loss.
National basketball voices, particularly ex-coaches, criticized Kansas State for using the "for cause" characterization, which would save the university $18.675 million in the former coach's buyout. Tang has since retained lawyers to fight for his buyout. As for where a legal battle currently stands, Taylor only said: "That's all lawyers at this point."
Taylor and Alexander spoke to the media after the new coach was introduced on Monday, March 16, in the Shamrock Zone at Bramlage Coliseum.
Popular critiques claimed that Kansas State's actions against Tang would turn coaches off from pursuing the job. ESPN's Seth Greenberg appeared on multiple shows, saying how the firing was an embarrassment to Kansas State. Voices like Stephen A. Smith, Jeff Goodman and others also added their two cents.
"It was the farthest from the truth," Taylor said. "We did not talk to anybody that wasn't already a head coach, and that had a lot of successes. That tells me that was (farthest from the truth). I knew that, and I also knew people were worried about that, but that wasn't the case."
As for Alexander, he said he didn't give Tang's firing a second of thought when he decided to leave his alma mater for Kansas State.
"I wasn't a part of that, and I don't know what happened, and I don't know what's going to happen," Alexander said. "I let Gene and his team and K-State handle all of that, but it had zero interest in the job or if I felt like the job would be impacted, and it hasn't impacted it for me."
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Jerome Tang didn't hurt Kansas State basketball coach search, says AD
Continue reading...
