WSU coach Paul Mills gets ringing endorsement from Jerome Tang

NEW YORK CITY (KWCH) - For more than a decade, Paul Mills and Jerome Tang helped the Baylor Bears maintain status as one of the nation’s premier programs, going to seven NCAA Tournaments between 2003 and 2017.

Now set to be in-state rivals following Mills’ hiring at Wichita State, his colleague at Kansas State has no doubt of the success he will bring to Charles Koch Arena.

“I absolutely love Paul Mills. He’s like a brother to me. So happy for him and his family, for Wendy and the girls. He’s going to be incredible because he is passionate about young people and about developing young men,” Tang told KWCH during their Sweet 16 press conference in Madison Square Garden.

“There’s no throttle, like hold-back governor on him in terms of love and what he pours into his guys. Yeah, he attracts -- he’s the one that told me, he said, ‘Tang, 10s hangs with 10s and one hangs with ones,’ and he’s a 10 and he’s going to have some 10s around him.”

The two worked together as assistant coaches at Baylor until Mills left for the head coaching job at Oral Roberts in 2017. ORU went to two NCAA Tournaments under Mills - advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2021 and the first round this season.

Mills will be formally introduced at a press conference Thursday.