"Emotional" is really the only word to describe a victory like this.
It was only Kansas State's second Big 12 win of the season, but it represented so much more. The Wildcats have been in a whirlwind the past few days after releasing four-year coach Jerome Tang. The cast he brought in has endured the public comments about them and then watched their coach depart from the program, even if they agreed or disagreed with his comments about their effort and future in the program.
And against Tang's old friend in Baylor, it made the victory that much more fruitful. Interim coach Matthew Driscoll opened his postgame presser with a testament to God, and proceeded to spill the emotions of Tang's firing.
"I did not come to Kansas State to be the head coach," Driscoll said. "Coach Tang and I and Coach [Scott] Drew, 23 years ago, for six years, went through the most tumultuous college athletics situation that’s ever happened. Flipped the program around from a murder in five years at the NCAA tournament, and in seven years to the Elite Eight."
Driscoll and Tang were assistants at Baylor from 2003 to 2009, shifting the team's trajectory from a borderline basement dweller to a regular Tournament contender. It was their history and camaraderie that made Tang recruit Driscoll as his associate head coach this season.
"Coach Tang and I are thicker than thieves," Driscoll said. "The amount of hours, the amount of time, and the amount of tears. He is an amazing human being. He's always been there for me. He’s always supporting me. He did amazing things at Kansas State, and I’m super proud of the staff. Sometimes these things don’t go the way you want them to go. Sometimes they go sideways, and sometimes emotions get in the way. Our staff was beyond phenomenal. It wasn’t about anything except continuing to do what coaches set up the table to do."
And he said even with Tang being gone from Kansas State, it was his words that endured the Baylor victory.
"When Coach told us the news, he shared with us something very important. And because of his leadership and what he did, that’s why tonight transpired," Driscoll said. "Everything came to fruition tonight. He took us from here, and we went through a lot of tough things, but there’s nothing easy in life, and nothing’s normal. Everybody wants it easy, and he said we’re not doing that. Because of our guys' resilience and their ability to understand, we went from this to this. It showed Saturday and it surely showed tonight."