It’s no secret that Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang is a man of faith. The first words in his X (Twitter) bio are “Lover of Jesus” and his team’s “Crazy Faith” mantra led them to an extraordinary Elite 8 run a few months ago.
So perhaps it’s fitting Coach Tang is taking his team to Israel next week for their foreign tour. The highlight of the trip is a stop in Jerusalem – the holiest city in the world. But the trip wouldn’t have happened at all if not for some divine intervention.
“We were initially scheduled to go to Greece,” says Tang. “Then we were contacted by the group that helped Auburn last year about going to Israel.”
Pearls of Wisdom
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is also a man of faith. Last summer, his team was the first American university to visit Israel in over two decades. They were the first Power Five team ever to make the trip. Pearl told The Times of Israel above all, he hoped the trip normalizes Israel for participating players, and for other teams considering visiting.
Mission accomplished. When Tang made the decision to switch plans for the trip, he knew exactly who he needed to call.
“I have had the privilege of being able to pick Coach Pearl’s brain about the trip on several occasions,” Tang said. They covered everything in their conversations – basketball culture in Israel, security on the trip and religious best practices.
“He has been extremely gracious with his time and offered to do a zoom with the staff to answer questions.”
Pearl also enlisted the help of junior big man Dylan Cardwell. Cardwell loved his trip and will join Pearl on a zoom call with the entire Kansas State team. He told The Times of Israel, “Growing up in Georgia, I would’ve never imagined myself traveling across the sea to go to Israel. Spiritually, this is the closest that I’ve ever been to God.”
At the end of the day, the decision to go to Israel can be traced back to faith.
“It is the birthplace of three religions and players who I have coached that played there always loved it,” Tang said. “For me personally, to walk where Jesus walked and see some of the places I have only read about in the Bible is a bucket list item.”
