Brittany McWiliams focused in on her phone two weeks ago in her daughter’s room at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

It had been several days since her daughter, Taylor, a senior at Tonganoxie High School, was admitted to the hospital.

Brittany was juggling appointments on her phone when someone walked in the room.

Initially she didn’t give it much of a thought. It was about time for a nurse to make rounds.

But it wasn’t medical staff.

It was Kansas State men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang.

Brittany, a K-State alum, said the first reaction in her head wasn’t printable.

“You were speechless,” Taylor said to her mom during a March 13 interview with The Mirror at their Tonganoxie home.

Taylor is used to medical visits. The THS senior has spina bifida, but had been at the hospital five days as doctors treated a wound that had developed on her back.

Even while not feeling her best, Taylor still was thinking about her beloved Wildcats the morning of March 8. She asked her dad, Lucas, when K-State played that day in the Big 12 Tournament.

Lucas then sent first-year KSU coach Jerome Tang a direct message on Twitter explaining the situation.

Tang responded back. Lucas said Tang messaged that he would tell the team about one of their fans being in the hospital and that they would be praying for Taylor.

Lucas sent the message around 8 a.m., the K-State coach responded at 10:30 a.m. and then Tang showed up at the hospital about an hour later.

“Coach Tang!” Brittany recalls exclaiming once she realized who really was walking into Taylor’s hospital room.

With K-State set to play Texas Christian later that day at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., Tang wasn’t too far away.

Both Lucas and Brittany were shocked that Tang made the visit, especially in the middle of the Big 12 Tournament.

Taylor was excited to see the popular Wildcat, but she stressed to her mom that they needed to Facetime her dad and brother, Jackson, a THS junior. Incidentally, they were at the Big 12 Tournament watching Iowa State and Baylor at the time. It was wild surprise when there was someone else on the other end of the conversation.

Brittany shared news of the event on Facebook, but initially just to family and friends. She spoke of Tang’s selflessness. But then people asked for her to make the post shareable and news of the encounter started circulating.

“I wanted people to see the man’s heart,” Brittany said. “He’s doing incredible things.”

Taylor and Brittany eventually were interviewed by a Kansas City television station, during which Brittany got emotional.

“You better not cry,” Taylor told her mom during the KCTV5 interview.

But it had been a rough stay at the hospital and Tang’s appearance helped brighten the room. Taylor also had been at the hospital in February when she dealt with sepsis.

Taylor also started feeling better the day Tang visited after getting on antibiotics. Doctors released her from Children’s Mercy the next day.

“All she wanted to do was sleep few days prior to that,” Lucas said.

Taylor did have one request before Tang left: she asked for a hug.

As Lucas noted, his daughter “asks everybody” for a hug.

Brittany said the experience will always mean a great deal to the K-State family. Both Lucas and Brittany grew up in the Kansas City area and went to K-State where she “converted” Lucas.

Her husband grew up in a KU family rooting for the Jayhawks.

She said Tang’s actions were another reason why the coach is in the right place.

“That’s Manhattan,” Brittany said. “It’s small town. It’s little Manhattan. He fits. He’s perfect for us.”

Tang spoke about the McWilliams family during an interview with KCTV5.

“I just thought ‘what a great family’ with everything that was going on and hated that she was in the hospital and wondered if there was something I could do,” Tang said.

Tang was named Big 12 Coach of the year after resurrecting K-State’s program this winter. KSU went 23-8 in the regular season and earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 2019 on March 12 after the loss to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament. The Wildcats are the No. 3 seed in the East Region and take a 26-9 record into the Sweet 16. The Wildcats defeated No. 14 Montana State, 77-65, on March 17 and No. 6 Kentucky, 75-69, in Greensboro, N.C. KSU then defeated No. 7 Michigan State, 98-93, in a thriller in overtime Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Now it’s time for an Elite 8 meeting with No. 9 Florida Atlantic (34-3) at 5:09 p.m. Saturday at Madison Square Garden. K-State now has 14 Elite 8 appearances in school history, but the Wildcats have lost eight straight regional final contests. Tang is looking to take K-State to the Final Four for the first time since 1964.

The diehard K-State family is ready for the next game, superstitions and all. Jackson, for instance, has his spot on the couch for viewing games at home.

Those games are a little extra special after the recent meeting with the K-State coach.

“He didn’t even have to talk a talk, he walked the walk,” Brittany said about his kind actions last week. “I love a good heart.”

After the Second Round battle of Wildcats with Kentucky, the family headed to the Manhattan airport to the greet the K-State team upon its return.

Coach Tang visited Taylor the previous week, so Taylor did the same more than a week later when the team returned fresh off its victory against Kentucky.

And, of course, Taylor got another hug from the popular coach.