NC State and Sidney Lowe

[jimsumner]

Maybe so, but I have lunch every Monday (Rotary Club) with a huge State supporter and one of the major movers & shakers responsible for raising the money to build the RBC Center. We were discussing NCSU basketball this past Monday and I said something about State fans perhaps being unrealistic when they let Sendek go. He immediately corrected me, saying "Well, Sendek left for greener pastures - he wasn't fired. But I will say this - I'm not a big fan of that Princeton offense Sendek ran."

Again, you may be right, but Jim's post sounded right on in his description as far as my friend goes. Sure, he may be grasping for a straw to hang on - Princeton has its trademark offense, and Dean had the 4 Corners, which made the Princeton offense look like fast break - but it seems to me that between Sendek's boring personality and his boring style of game, State fans were generally not sorry to see him go. Would a Final Four have helped him stay? Absolutely. Exhibit A: Paul Hewitt.

If one thinks that winning always trumps style, I would point out that our friends in College Park just fired the ACC football coach of the year, coming off an 8-4 season. Friedgen's style didn't excite the fan base, who in turn declined to spend their leisure time and discretionary income watching Maryland football. Too many empty seats spelled new coach, regardless of the record.

It should be kept in mind that Sendek wasn't fired and I do not believe the administration nudged him out. But Sendek sensed the lack of love and the broad consensus when he left was "good riddance."

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for.

[Fletch]

^^ Jim, State fans "wish" for something better. Just because Lowe is not working out does not mean that we want Sendek back. Sendek left and both he and NCSU are better for it.

Sendek's leaving & our ex-AD's failure to hire a competent replacement are two different, unconnected stories. This "be careful what you wish for" argument is bogus. I'd rather fail while trying to improve, than languish in mediocrity.

I feel much better about Debbie Yow's abilities vs Lee Fowlers. When there's time for a coaching change, she'll make the right move.

[loran16]

^^ Jim, State fans "wish" for something better. Just because Lowe is not working out does not mean that we want Sendek back. Sendek left and both he and NCSU are better for it.

I understand not wanting Sendek back. Fine. But you can't say NCSU is better off due to him leaving. Sorry, total baloney there. 4 9th or worse finishes in a row in the ACC without even an NIT berth in two of his 4 years, after coming off of 5 straight NCAA appearances? (And a top 4 ACC finish in 4 of those 5 years).

Losing a coach generally means losing the recruits you had coming in, barring extreme circumstances such as Skip Prosser's death over at Wake. That makes you worse off. The only way you're better off when a coach leaves is if you can replace him with a clear improvement (Definitely not the case) or if that coach was terrible...which Herb wasn't.

[Fletch]

Apparently I'm not expressing my feelings clearly. Yes, our teams the last few years are not as good as Sendek's last few. This is obvious. I also know where State finished in the standings for all of Sendek's years as well as Lowe's. I've been attending State games for over 25 years.

Herb Sendek is in a better situation in Arizona -- where they have virtually no basketball history and lower expectations.

State is better off because he is gone too. We wanted better. Why? Because we've had better. Les Robinson is the only other coach we had in the ACC era who did not win an ACC Championship. That includes 4 different coaches. I read somewhere that he is the only coach in ACC history to coach 10 years at the same school and not win a championship.

Look, Sendek is a good coach. We want a great coach. Lowe is a bad coach. The way this season is progressing, we'll have another shot at hiring a great coach pretty soon.

[OldPhiKap]

Apparently I'm not expressing my feelings clearly. Yes, our teams the last few years are not as good as Sendek's last few. This is obvious. I also know where State finished in the standings for all of Sendek's years as well as Lowe's. I've been attending State games for over 25 years.

Herb Sendek is in a better situation in Arizona -- where they have virtually no basketball history and lower expectations.

State is better off because he is gone too. We wanted better. Why? Because we've had better. Les Robinson is the only other coach we had in the ACC era who did not win an ACC Championship. That includes 4 different coaches. I read somewhere that he is the only coach in ACC history to coach 10 years at the same school and not win a championship.

Look, Sendek is a good coach. We want a great coach. Lowe is a bad coach. The way this season is progressing, we'll have another shot at hiring a great coach pretty soon.

Welcome, Fletch, and thanks for posting. Interesting to hear your views, which mirror what I hear from my Pack-backers.

I, too, would like to see State relevant again. Especially if it is at the expense of UNC. But the Triangle ain't a triangle without three good teams.

[Fletch]

Thanks PhiCap. One day State will get their act together and start pulling their weight. I just hope it's in my lifetime.

[howardlander]

Apparently I'm not expressing my feelings clearly. Yes, our teams the last few years are not as good as Sendek's last few. This is obvious. I also know where State finished in the standings for all of Sendek's years as well as Lowe's. I've been attending State games for over 25 years.

Herb Sendek is in a better situation in Arizona -- where they have virtually no basketball history and lower expectations.

State is better off because he is gone too. We wanted better. Why? Because we've had better. Les Robinson is the only other coach we had in the ACC era who did not win an ACC Championship. That includes 4 different coaches. I read somewhere that he is the only coach in ACC history to coach 10 years at the same school and not win a championship.

Look, Sendek is a good coach. We want a great coach. Lowe is a bad coach. The way this season is progressing, we'll have another shot at hiring a great coach pretty soon.

You may have another chance, but it's not clear it will happen. Who are you hoping to hire?

Howard

[77devil]

Look, Sendek is a good coach. We want a great coach. Lowe is a bad coach. The way this season is progressing, we'll have another shot at hiring a great coach pretty soon.

Attracting a great coach to N.C. State may be more difficult than you realize, although if UNC continues to struggle it may become a little easier. It's been more than 20 years since State won an ACC Championship or was a factor on the national stage. Which great coach wants to come to NCSU and compete as a distant third to Duke and UNC? With tight budgets for the university and the state will NCSU be able offer the package necessary to secure a great coach? Time will tell, but I think State will need a lot of luck even to hire a top notch up and comer.

[Acymetric]

Attracting a great coach to N.C. State may be more difficult than you realize, although if UNC continues to struggle it may become a little easier. It's been more than 20 years since State won an ACC Championship or was a factor on the national stage. Which great coach wants to come to NCSU and compete as a distant third to Duke and UNC? With tight budgets for the university and the state will NCSU be able offer the package necessary to secure a great coach? Time will tell, but I think State will need a lot of luck even to hire a top notch up and comer.

State will probably have to pay more than some other schools would for a big time coach, but they should be able to find that money and need to be willing to spend it. If they do, they'll get someone to help pick them up off the floor.

[Fletch]

Finding/attracting a great coach for State will not be easy. If it was easy, Lee Fowler would have already done it. I have no idea who State should hire -- that will be Debbie Yow's job. She can "sell" State 1000 times better than Fowler ever did.


The next coach at State probably won't be a "great" coach right away. We need to find an up and coming coach, a la Coach K & Valvano. Somebody who is up to the challenge of going against Duke and UNC and won't back down.

[Bluedevil114]

Finding/attracting a great coach for State will not be easy. If it was easy, Lee Fowler would have already done it. I have no idea who State should hire -- that will be Debbie Yow's job. She can "sell" State 1000 times better than Fowler ever did.


The next coach at State probably won't be a "great" coach right away. We need to find an up and coming coach, a la Coach K & Valvano. Somebody who is up to the challenge of going against Duke and UNC and won't back down.

Maybe this would be a good time to go after a guy like Brad Stevens.

[RoyalBlue08]

Maybe this would be a good time to go after a guy like Brad Stevens.

Brad Stevens, or another coach in as much demand as he is, is never going to accept the State job. It's not a very good job to be honest. What other job in the country do you have to pass Duke and UNC to be considered a success? The only coaches taking that job are ones that think this is their one and only shot at the big time. State is just going to have to get lucky with one of those type of guys.

(For the record, at the time I thought pushing Herb out was a mistake, and I have believed it every day since.)

[Orange&BlackSheep]

Maybe so, but I have lunch every Monday (Rotary Club) with a huge State supporter and one of the major movers & shakers responsible for raising the money to build the RBC Center. We were discussing NCSU basketball this past Monday and I said something about State fans perhaps being unrealistic when they let Sendek go. He immediately corrected me, saying "Well, Sendek left for greener pastures - he wasn't fired. But I will say this - I'm not a big fan of that Princeton offense Sendek ran."

Again, you may be right, but Jim's post sounded right on in his description as far as my friend goes. Sure, he may be grasping for a straw to hang on - Princeton has its trademark offense, and Dean had the 4 Corners, which made the Princeton offense look like fast break - but it seems to me that between Sendek's boring personality and his boring style of game, State fans were generally not sorry to see him go. Would a Final Four have helped him stay? Absolutely. Exhibit A: Paul Hewitt.

I just don't and will never agree that the style is boring. It is poetry when run well.

Was Duke's style last year boring to anyone? I bet dollars to doughnuts there average length of possession last year was comparable to State's during the Sendek era.

[Bob Green]

Dan Wiederer weighs in on the subject:

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/...sac=ACC_Sports

Wiederer lists four items to keep an eye on over the next three months. 1.) Tracy Smith's right knee 2.) C.J. Leslie's energy 3.) State's transition attack 4.) The Wolfpack's confidence level.

My confidence level in Sidney Lowe isn't very high so I expect a different coach to be ruling the roost in Raleigh next season.

[SupaDave]

Dan Wiederer weighs in on the subject:

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/...sac=ACC_Sports

Wiederer lists four items to keep an eye on over the next three months. 1.) Tracy Smith's right knee 2.) C.J. Leslie's energy 3.) State's transition attack 4.) The Wolfpack's confidence level.

My confidence level in Sidney Lowe isn't very high so I expect a different coach to be ruling the roost in Raleigh next season.

Thanks for this Bob. I attended Austin's game here in Atlanta last night and I got quite a few questions about Lowe's future. It appears he quite well liked down here on the recruiting circuit (Harrow, Brown, etc). There are many groups interested in this situation.

[Ping Lin]

During last night's loss to VATech, the Wolfpack were booed by the home crowd at several points (and perhaps not wrongfully so). Unless the team runs the table on either the rest of the season or the ACC tournament, Lowe is done.

What really puzzles me is the lack of intensity and emotion in the Wolfpack. It should be clear to any outside observer that Lowe's job is in jeopardy this season, and yet instead of rallying behind him, the team almost invariably comes out flat and unmotivated, with any small bursts of energy not spreading to other team members.

Maybe they just don't like the coach? I don't get that feeling either, though. It's truly puzzling.

[Olympic Fan]

During last night's loss to VATech, the Wolfpack were booed by the home crowd at several points (and perhaps not wrongfully so). Unless the team runs the table on either the rest of the season or the ACC tournament, Lowe is done.

What really puzzles me is the lack of intensity and emotion in the Wolfpack. It should be clear to any outside observer that Lowe's job is in jeopardy this season, and yet instead of rallying behind him, the team almost invariably comes out flat and unmotivated, with any small bursts of energy not spreading to other team members.

Maybe they just don't like the coach? I don't get that feeling either, though. It's truly puzzling.

I think the UNC game Saturday was worse -- State's big rivalry game and the team played with no passion, no fire .. with a discernable lack of effort. Losing is one thing, that was another.

I think Jim Sumner had it right two months ago -- Debbie Yow will make her decision on one and only one basis ... if he makes the NCAA, he's safe ... if he misses (for the fifth straight year) he's gone. You can debate the fairness all you want, but I'm hearing what Jim's hearing ... that was the preseason understanding between Yow and Lowe.

I think some of you will be surprised at how attractive the State job will be. Oh, not as attractive as some of their fans think -- they won't get Dixon, Wright, Few or even Stevens. But they will do better than an NBA assistant coach with no college coaching experience.

I don't claim to have any insight ... some hints that former NC State assistant Sean Miller is not happy in Arizona (even though he's got his program on the upswing), plus Wichita State's Gregg Marshall seems to be a viable option. Jim Beilein, who almost took the State job in 2006 (he was stopped by his West Virginia buyout) is interested again after running into a brick wall at Michigan.

Look for Debbie Yow to handle the search far more efiiciently that Fowler did -- we won't see a long list of failed candidates paraded through the media.

[loran16]

I think the UNC game Saturday was worse -- State's big rivalry game and the team played with no passion, no fire .. with a discernable lack of effort. Losing is one thing, that was another.

I think Jim Sumner had it right two months ago -- Debbie Yow will make her decision on one and only one basis ... if he makes the NCAA, he's safe ... if he misses (for the fifth straight year) he's gone. You can debate the fairness all you want, but I'm hearing what Jim's hearing ... that was the preseason understanding between Yow and Lowe.

I think some of you will be surprised at how attractive the State job will be. Oh, not as attractive as some of their fans think -- they won't get Dixon, Wright, Few or even Stevens. But they will do better than an NBA assistant coach with no college coaching experience.

I don't claim to have any insight ... some hints that former NC State assistant Sean Miller is not happy in Arizona (even though he's got his program on the upswing), plus Wichita State's Gregg Marshall seems to be a viable option. Jim Beilein, who almost took the State job in 2006 (he was stopped by his West Virginia buyout) is interested again after running into a brick wall at Michigan.

Look for Debbie Yow to handle the search far more efiiciently that Fowler did -- we won't see a long list of failed candidates paraded through the media.

Can't see Miller leaving. Arizona's on the upswing, he's got good recruiting class coming in, and really Arizona is a power program in the Pac 10, or at least was far more recently than NC State.

Marshall maybe. Belein...I don't like it. He's had a BCS program (two of them!). He's run into the wall, like you said, and really it's a failure.

Put it this way, UMich and NC State are similar bball schools...some good history, but right now the two are dwarfed in the region by two giants (for Mich, it's MSU and OSU) who take all the attention. And he's failed there mostly.

I think you go with an assistant coach at a BCS program or a mid-major coach (Marshall's a possibility, as mentioned).

[Devilsfan]

Shawn Miller? Brad Stevens? Someone that can beat unch like a junior version of the coach at Pitt or Nova.

[dukediv2011]

Tubby Smith is a name that I have heard a few times... He would be great for the conference.