Why Jerome Tang doesn’t need a perfect relationship with K-State guard Dug McDaniel

It’s fair to say that Dug McDaniel hasn’t been Jerome Tang’s favorite Kansas State basketball player this season.

Tang has made that abundantly clear with his words (a point guard is judged by wins and losses) and actions (McDaniel has only made one start in nine games).

Some may view that as a bad sign for the Wildcats. After all, McDaniel is the most talented point guard on the K-State roster. It’s hard to see this team reaching its full potential without the Michigan transfer becoming a more productive player, if not a team leader. And it’s hard to see that happening if there is a rift between the head coach and point guard.

But Tang isn’t worried about that, even though he admits they have room to grow together.

“Dug and I, we have a a good relationship,” Tang said on Monday. “I wouldn’t say it’s a great relationship, but that’s OK because ... iron sharpens iron. When two pieces of iron hit each other, there’s going to be sparks, and that’s all right. That’s OK. It’s just about how can we continue to keep moving forward, and Dug has been great with that.”

There are reasons to believe that McDaniel and Tang are growing at least a little closer.

Over the weekend, some K-State fans speculated that McDaniel’s status with the team may be in jeopardy after Achor Achor decided to leave the roster for personal reasons. But Tang supported his point guard by pushing back hard against that narrative before the Wildcats left Manhattan for a Tuesday game against Drake at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

“I don’t know why there’s speculation out there about that,” Tang said. “I guess Dug’s body language probably shows a lot in games and we are talking to him about that. But he, for the most part, has been really good at practice. We’ve had team meetings with guys, we talked about shot selection and I feel like the guys have really bought into what we want to do moving forward.”

McDaniel is averaging 10.8 points, 5.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game this season.

Tang wants more, but he always wants more from his point guards.

“I demand a lot of them,” Tang said about his point guards earlier this season. “Every turnover is their fault. Every time a play is run incorrectly, it’s their fault. They have to be able to do something and it not work, and then have the confidence when I get on them about it, to do it again and make it work. Then they need to smile at me and wink.

“I don’t want a guy who does everything I tell him to do or a guy who does nothing I tell him to do. There’s got to be a little bit in between. It takes a certain level of confidence and mental toughness and an emotional maturity to be able to handle what we do every day at practice. But if you can do that, then on game day you get to play 40 minutes of freedom.”