Why Jerome Tang has spent so much time mingling with fans as K-State basketball coach

If you follow Jerome Tang on social media you have seen pictures and videos of the Kansas State men’s basketball coach meeting and greeting fans all across Manhattan like a politician.

Tang has led cheers from the student section at K-State football games. He has handed out free food on campus and invited everyone around town to meet him for Q&A events. He has pumped up crowds at pep rallies. He was in attendance for a fraternity basketball tournament. He was even recently spotted line-dancing with his wife at a sorority.

Why?

Tang can answer that question with three simple words: “Home-court advantage.”

“It’s a clear reason why teams win games,” Tang said. “You have got to control your home court. The only way to do that is to have a great home-court advantage. If you have the fans in there and the students in there and it is rowdy, it has been proven that it is a 10-point advantage for you before you even tip the ball.

“I want those students and people in Manhattan to know that they impact winning and that they are a part of our program.”

Few experts will agree that even the best home court is worth double-digits on the scoreboard, but Tang’s point stands. Playing in front of a sellout crowd is always an advantage.

Improving the game-day atmosphere inside Bramlage Coliseum was one of Tang’s top priorities when he left his longtime job as an assistant coach at Baylor and took over as the new head coach at K-State.

K-State was one of the most difficult teams to beat on the road when Frank Martin and Bruce Weber were winning 20 games every season in Manhattan.

Tang got a taste of K-State’s basketball environment when he was with the Bears. He was so impressed that he took his son along to one of those road games so he could experience it for himself.

“He wanted to go on a road trip with me and I told him to come to K-State, because they have the best student section,” Tang said. “I think he was nine years old. It was a really close game and we won at the end. I remember asking afterward what he thought of the student section and he said, ‘Oh, they are crazy.’ If my son loves them I know they are the real deal.”

That was back when everyone referred to Bramlage as The Octagon of Doom. Things have changed since then, with dwindling crowds showing up to support K-State over the course of three consecutive losing seasons.

But Tang is hopeful that the Wildcats can generate new basketball excitement this season and re-create a raucous atmosphere inside Bramlage.

He wouldn’t have spent so much time out in the community stirring up fan interest if he thought otherwise.

“We have arguably the best fan base in the country,” Tang said. “They are so passionate about K-State athletics. It’s just a blast to be around.”