Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang has 'no timetable' for Nae'Qwan Tomlin's return

MANHATTAN — Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang made it clear Tuesday that Nae'Qwan Tomlin's return to the team is anything but imminent.

That is if Tomlin returns at all.

Tomlin, the Wildcats' 6-foot-10 senior forward, was suspended indefinitely by Tang on Monday as a consequence of his arrest over the weekend for fighting at a Manhattan bar.

"Our responsibility as coaches, as men, as mentors, is to hold these guys accountable, and to love them through the consequences, not love them around it," Tang said of his decision to suspend Tomlin, the top returning player from last year's Wildcat team. "So Qwan is going to have to show that he has learned something from this.

"There's still a process that's going on that we have no control over that has to take place, and we find out what happens there. And then we’re going to deal with what we have to deal with here. So, I'm not putting a timetable on it."

Related: Kansas State basketball forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin to return for senior season in 2023-24

K-State opens its regular season at 9 p.m. Monday in Las Vegas against Southern California. But first the Wildcats were scheduled to take on Emporia State in a 7 p.m. exhibition game at Bramlage Coliseum.

While Tang did not rule out the possibility that Tomlin rejoins the team at some point, he also left some doubt as to whether he will be back at all. When asked if he could see Tomlin taking on a leadership role down the road as a veteran player, Tang shrugged.

"As of this moment, I don't know if he's coming back, so I'm not even thinking about that right now," he said. "Right now, I'm looking for dudes that are on the team."

Tang said he is still looking for leaders on a team that last year relied heavily on point guard Markquis Nowell to fill that role. "Applications for leadership are still being taken," he said.

Tomlin was the most productive returning player from last year's team that went 26-10 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. He was the Wildcats' third-leading scorer at 10.4 points per game and the No. 2 rebounder with a 5.9 average. But he also had missed significant practice time during the preseason, including a recent scrimmage with SMU.

Tang said Tomlin had been dealing with "personal issues."

Related: Kansas State basketball counting on Nae'Qwan Tomlin to deliver in NCAA battle with Kentucky

"There was just a lot of things that he just needed some time away," Tang said. "Obviously, we didn't give him the type of help he needed to handle all the things that he's facing.

"And so we're going to do a better job as a staff of providing those things for him, being there for him, as he deals with the consequences of bad decisions."

It all came to a head early Sunday morning when Riley County Police responded to a call for a fight in progress at Tubby's Sports Bar in the 1100 block of Moro Street in Manhattan's Aggieville entertainment district. Tomlin was consequently arrested on charges of "Disorderly conduct: Brawling or fighting," according to the RCPD media arrest report.

Tomlin posted a $750 bond.

Tang said he has spoken with Tomlin, but less about his future with the team than with more immediate concerns.

"I just told him what the decision was, and I wanted to let him handle that part of the process that's outside of our program," Tang said. "And we're going to make sure that he's going to class and that he's getting the help that he needs. All the things.

"And then I'll start having those types of conversations with him. He knows we love him, and he knows that we're there for him, and he's extremely apologetic for what happened."

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: Jerome Tang addresses Nae'Qwan Tomlin's Kansas State basketball status