KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang is the first to admit that his relationship with Dug McDaniel remains a work in progress.
The two haven’t always seen eye-to-eye through the first nine games, and Tang is all right with that. In his mind, a little tension between the coach and point guard can be productive.
“Dug and I, we have a good relationship. I wouldn’t say it’s a great relationship, but it’s OK,” Tang said Monday. “Because the Bible says that iron sharpens iron, and when two pieces of iron hit each other, there’s going to be sparks, and that’s all right.
“It’s OK. It’s just how can we continue to keep moving forward, and Dug has been great with that.”
In a week where transfer forward Achor Achor left the team for personal reasons following a disappointing 88-71 loss on Dec. 7 at St. John’s, internet speculation surfaced that McDaniel would be the next to go.
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But Tang quickly shot down those rumors as the Wildcats (6-3) prepared to leave for Kansas City and a 7 p.m. Tuesday matchup with unbeaten Drake (9-0) at T-Mobile Center.
“Dug is doing fine. 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’re talking to him about it, but he was for the most part really good in practice (since St. John’s).
“I know I got some text messages and his parents and stuff, but first of all, if I’m going to dismiss a kid we’re not going to do it through the media. That’s not how we’re going to handle things.”
McDaniel, a coveted junior transfer from Michigan, has been K-State’s most productive point guard, ranking third on the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game and first in assists with a 5.1 average. But he has only started one game — a 76-65 home loss to LSU — and he did not play at all the next time out against Mississippi Valley State.
Illinois-Chicago transfer CJ Jones has started eight games but is averaging 20 minutes to 28 for McDaniel. Tang admitted last month that he is especially hard on his point guards.
“Playing point guard for us is a little different than playing point guard elsewhere,” Tang said. “There’s a whole lot more responsibilities and seeing the game the way I see it, and then him learning that.
“It’s a process.”
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang opens up about Dug McDaniel
