K-State coach shares wisdom with livestock producers

A little over a year ago, Kansas State University’s men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang spoke at several western Kansas Catbackers meetings.

He remembered first-time stops in Dodge City, Garden City and Scott City, where feedlots dot the prairie.  At Scott City, he had calf fries for the first time, and he said they were a delicacy when lots of ketchup was applied. That drew hearty laughter from fans of all ages when he spoke at the Beef Quality Assurance workshop as part of the activities of the Certified Angus Beef Feeding Quality Forum on Aug. 21 at the Hy-Plains Feedyard research center, west of Montezuma.

Tang, pictured above, wanted to return to the region when he had more time to meet farmers and ranchers and learn more about the cattle industry. He and his family enjoy steak dinners. He likes his steak cooked medium well, and his wife likes her steak well done.

He applauded livestock producers for attending events that can improve their practices along with the beef they raise.

“Great leaders always want to improve,” he said.

He takes that approach with players and coaches, he said. “We want to go 1-0 every day.”

And every day has challenges, he said. “We all have these little wins throughout the day, and yes there are losses, too, but at the end of the day we want more wins than losses. That’s how we get 1% better each day.”

In basketball, “You either get better, or you are getting worse,” Tang said. He said that’s a challenge that beef producers face, too. When things are going well, there is still a need to work and improve every day.

“You are to be applauded for asking, ‘How do I get better?’ ”

Tang shared anecdotes about his coaching career that he hoped would benefit beef producers. He is beginning his third year at K-State after many years as the top assistant at Baylor University.

One story he shared was about the national championship season of 2021. The journey began the year before when a hot Baylor team saw its season end with the COVID-19 pandemic. Tasked by head coach Scott Drew to build its defense, it ultimately led to two days with Zoom calls with Cleveland State University head coach Dennis Gates and his staff because Gates’ team played a style of defense that Drew and Tang agreed could help Baylor—and it paid off, Tang said.

“When I go to coaching clinics, all the best people in the profession are all taking notes,” Tang said. “All the best people want to get better.”

In the Big 12, games are often decided by one possession, which puts a premium on getting better, he said.

Livestock producers face the same challenge because they are banking on how to improve their operations, he said. That includes not only operation owners and managers, but those who work for them.

When the right decisions are made, the ranchers are getting better, and in rural areas that makes for a strong agricultural base and community.

Tang also answered questions from attendees, tying in farming and ranching when he could.. He stressed the importance of putting families first. As a head coach, he said he knows there will be NCAA rules that he may not agree with, but he understands he has to comply and adapt. He likes players who smile, enjoy the game and are willing to help their teammates.

Tang also recalled when he came to K-State in 2022, he knew about the basketball program’s past success, but he also noted when he asked why things were always done a certain way and if they could be changed, “I was told ‘That’s the way we’ve always done that.’”

The head coach said he embraces tradition, but when it is time to make a change, he is willing to say so, and that’s candid advice he offered to livestock producers.

Tang later stayed to watch K-State Extension veterinarian Dr. A.J. Tarpoff, DVM, undertake a necropsy on an animal that had been euthanized because of a broken leg. While Tarpoff was showing BQA attendees the process, Tang had his smartphone out to record a portion of it because he said it was important to learn all aspects of the beef industry. Afterward, Tang stayed to sign autographs and answer questions, and he also asked questions of his own to the producers.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].