After a demoralizing loss to Iowa State, Kansas State coach Jerome Tang showed a bit of emotion in his postgame press conference.
But it wasn't toward his players. Instead, it was directed at the media and outsiders who criticized him and attacked the program during the 1-8 conference start.
"It doesn't matter what I think," Tang said to reporters. "Whatever I say, you all are going to take whatever you want, clip it the way you want, and post it the way you want, so you can get the clicks you need. It doesn't matter what I say. What matters is what I'm doing with these young men on the floor. In practice every day, in their daily lives, to help them continue moving forward. Because this is the crew I brought in, and this is the crew I wanted to roll with."
It was an embarrassing defeat that seemed to worsen with each passing minute. Shots missed far beyond the basket, sloppy turnovers, and lackluster effort to rebound. Outside of PJ Haggerty, the team scored just 38 points in 40 minutes. The absences of Khamari McGriff, Abdi Bashir Jr., and Elias Rapieque are starting to become too much. Kansas State shot just 30 percent from 3-point range, a fall from grace compared to its earlier standout shooting performances from the perimeter.
Still, Tang said he was proud of his players despite the result. He dismissed any questions about what outsiders would say about his positive words.
"No, I don't want to expand on it," Tang said about expressing pride toward his players. "Some of it, I can't. But some of it is, this isn't a message for the fans. This is a message for my players. I love these guys. They work really hard. They chose to come play for this university and this coaching staff. I love these dudes. If you saw them the last two days of practice, you'd say that they're ready. The problem is that Iowa State is just better. And sometimes you guys want there to be something that we could have done differently. They're just better than we are right now."
Instead, he took accountability for his coaching and the game execution.
"I’m more disappointed in me as a coach and the game plan for the first half than I am in the players for their execution," Tang said.
The Wildcats play TCU (13-9, 3-6 in Big 12) on Saturday afternoon.