Interim coach Matthew Driscoll gives passionate message on Jerome Tang's impact after Kansas State firing

Matthew Driscoll took over as interim coach at Kansas State following the firing of head coach Jerome Tang. And on Tuesday night, the Wildcats scored a victory over Baylor, the program he once coached at with Tang.

The new interim coach took the opportunity to address Tang’s firing after the game, crediting him with creating an outstanding culture in Manhattan. That’s something he learned when he was forged by fire on Scott Drew‘s staff at Baylor, taking over after one of the biggest scandals and tragedies in college sports.

“I did not come to Kansas State to be the head coach,” Driscoll said. “Coach Tang and I and Coach 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 to the NCAA Tournament and seven years to the Elite Eight.

“Coach Tang and I are thicker than thieves. The amount of hours, the amount of time, the amount of tears — he is an amazing human being. We’re the godparents to his daughter, who was born when we played Kansas. Coach Tang has always been there for me; he’s always supported me. Coach Tang is an amazing human being and he did amazing things at Kansas State.”

Now, the task for Driscoll is to stabilize the program. Hopes of an NCAA Tournament berth are gone at this point, so Kansas State is mostly playing for pride.

He hopes to carry on Tang’s legacy by showing the kind of resolve that Tang helped instill in his staff and his players. He explained.

“I’m super, super, super proud of the staff,” Driscoll said. “Because sometimes these things don’t go the way you want them to go, and sometimes they go sideways, and sometimes emotions get in the way, which is human beings. It’s what we are. And our staff was beyond phenomenal. It wasn’t about anything except continuing to do what Coach has set up the table to do.”

From there, Driscoll opened up on the scene that unfolded when Tang was fired on Sunday. He was asked to be the interim coach, shifting responsibility his way for the rest of the season.

“And I’m going to tell you guys this right now: On Sunday, when Coach told us the news, he shared with us something that’s very, very important,” Driscoll said. “And it’s so true. And because of his leadership and because of what he did, that’s why tonight transpired. And that’s why everything came to fruition tonight. He took us from here (arms spread wide) and we went through a lot of tough things, but if you want to know something, there’s nothing easy in life. And nothing’s normal. Only a setting on the washing machine, right?

“And by the way, the hard line, when you go stand in the hard line, how many people were there? One, two, three? Everybody wants it easy. And he said we’re not doing that. And because of our guys’ resiliency and their ability to understand, I don’t know why, I can’t explain why, but I can tell you this, because of that and because of what transpired and the way it transpired, we went from this to this (hugging himself) and it showed Saturday. And it surely showed tonight.”

Driscoll explained why the 90-74 win over Baylor was such a big deal. Sure, Baylor is having an utterly forgettable season itself.

But it was about what it meant for Kansas State that stood out. The team could have easily quit.

“Because when you’re a team that has a record like ours and has been through the tough losses that we’ve been through, when the game gets from high double digits, 21 maybe was the largest lead, I don’t know,” Driscoll said, “And they cut it to some single-digit number that I don’t know what it is, that’s when your sphincter gets tight and that’s when you start saying, ‘Oh my goodness, here we go again. Here we go again.’

“And that’s when you start pointing fingers. And that’s when you start saying, ‘Throw me the ball, do this and do that.’ And if you would have heard them and you would have heard our staff, that’s what coach Tang was able to accomplish.”

Matthew Driscoll pointed out that players didn’t panic. They simply did what they were supposed to do. They executed. He was thankful for that in his debut.

“So I’m super proud and I’m honored when he talked to me on Sunday and said, ‘I want you to do this,’ he said. “But nothing in life that’s great gets accomplished alone. So I’m super proud of our staff and the way in which they dealt with this. And obviously, the players, their resiliency and their ability to overcome a lot.”