Jerome Tang, Kansas State Given Poor Grade Mostly Due To NIL Failures

Under normal circumstances, the Kansas State basketball season wasn't all that bad. The Wildcats finished under .500 for the first time since 2021-22. It was the first losing record during coach Jerome Tang's tenure. It led to ESPN giving the Wildcats a D grade for the season.

But it wasn't solely because of performance. The Wildcats were among the most scrutinized programs in the country because the amount of money spent in NIL.

"The NIL era has altered the way a team's potential is analyzed," the ESPN article read. "The more a team spends, well, the more their fans expect. That's what happened with Kansas State this past season."

Big money was spent on transfers Coleman Hawkins, Dug McDaniel and Achor Achor. They were expected to build on the progress made by Tang.

"Coleman Hawkins, a transfer from Illinois, reportedly made $2 million after he picked the Wildcats over a list of other elite programs -- and he wasn't the only highly compensated transfer whom Jerome Tang added," the ESPN article stated. "But the team missed the mark. Tang and Michigan transfer Dug McDaniel weren't on the same page, and Samford transfer Achor Achor left the team for personal reasons after playing just seven games."

Kansas State was among six teams in the Big 12 given D grades, joining Kansas, Arizona State, Utah, Cincinnati and Baylor. Colorado received the only F.

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