KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas State has settled on Baylor assistant Jerome Tang to be its next head coach, The Associated Press has learned.
Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor flew to Texas to meet with Tang on Sunday, one day after the top-seeded Bears lost to North Carolina. Tang played a key role in building the Baylor program into a powerhouse. He would replace Bruce Weber, who resigned after Kansas State lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
The two planned to meet again Monday with the expectation that one of the nation's most sought-after assistant coaches, who helped the Bears win last year's national championship, was headed to Manhattan.
“Coach Tang and I have been together for 19 years, and he's had opportunities before,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said over the weekend, “but obviously each year those opportunities grow, and deservedly so. He's done a remarkable job.”
Tang was part of Drew's initial staff at Baylor in 2003, when the program was reeling from crippling NCAA penalties that included an inability to play a nonconference schedule. They've built a juggernaut in Waco, a rise to national prominence that culminated last season with Baylor beating Gonzaga 86-70 in the national title game.
The Bears also won their first Big 12 title last season — their first championship in any conference in 71 years — and shared the award with Kansas this season before an early exit in the league tournament.