N.C. State Gets Smaller Each Week

[EarlJam]

I want to take a unique angle on tonight's developments. It's been discussed here before but with tonight's events the story seems more appropriate now.

Wake has beat two #1 teams: Duke, UNC.

Duke, Wake and UNC will all be in the top five nationally next week (most likely).

Where is N.C. State?

Once the powerhouse of Tobacco Road, they are now the little, little, bro. An afterthought.

It's not like they are Butler or Elon, or Winthrop. This is a MAJOR state school with a legacy of pride in college hoops.

Who, WHO, will ressurect N.C. State? How will it happen? What needs to happen? I, EarlJam, think a stronger N.C. State is very good for the ACC.

Discuss.

-EarlJam

[FerryFor50]

I want to take a unique angle on tonight's developments. It's been discussed here before but with tonight's events the story seems more appropriate now.

Wake has beat two #1 teams: Duke, UNC.

Duke, Wake and UNC will all be in the top five nationally next week (most likely).

Where is N.C. State?

Once the powerhouse of Tobacco Road, they are now the little, little, bro. An afterthought.

It's not like they are Butler or Elon, or Winthrop. This is a MAJOR state school with a legacy of pride in college hoops.

Who, WHO, will ressurect N.C. State? How will it happen? What needs to happen? I, EarlJam, think a stronger N.C. State is very good for the ACC.

Discuss.

-EarlJam

I think that State is another year or two away. They were hurt by Hickson leaving... they would have been a much better team this year.

And honestly, they're not that bad - they're turning the corner with the big win over Miami in OT.

[EarlJam]

I think that State is another year or two away. They were hurt by Hickson leaving... they would have been a much better team this year.

And honestly, they're not that bad - they're turning the corner with the big win over Miami in OT.

I may be dead wrong, and I hope I am, but it seems they've been "turning the corner" now for about 15 years.

-EJ

[FerryFor50]

I may be dead wrong, and I hope I am, but it seems they've been "turning the corner" now for about 15 years.

-EJ

hah

Well said.

We'll see... I was glad to see Sendek leave. No one did less with more in the ACC than him. NCAA bids are nice and all, but they weren't doing what they were meant to do - beat UNC. :D

[DukeCO2009]

I may be dead wrong, and I hope I am, but it seems they've been "turning the corner" now for about 15 years.

-EJ

They have indeed. Things seemed to be on the uptick until Les stepped down as AD. Still think they shouldn't have canned Herb...

[EarlJam]

In a "normal" ACC Hoops World, or at least the one I knew, expectations at a school like N.C. State should be the same as those of Duke and UNC (as unfair as that might be to any school).

The recruiting base is here. State has (or had) a quality brand name in basketball. I, a loyal Duke fan, long for the days when N.C. State fans will be thinking "Final Four or bust" again.

-David Thom....I mean, EarlJam

[wolfpackdevil]

Yea, Sidney Lowe is recruiting good players. Last year's team had the talent of a sweet sixteen team. But they had no chemistry, and in the end, you have to be a team in college to win games.

I think the pack will put up a fight with UNC on Saturday, but they will probably fall late.

They have 2 strong commits for next year in Lorenzo Brown, and Richard Howell.

And they still have a good shot at getting John Wall or Demarcus Cousins.

I think Lowe has 2 or 3 more years to get this program back in the top 25 consistantly, or he might be gone.

But I do like the energy, and excitement that Lowe is bringing to the program. And I do like the Pack to upset Carolina on Saturday

[OZZIE4DUKE]

In a "normal" ACC Hoops World, or at least the one I knew, expectations at a school like N.C. State should be the same as those of Duke and UNC (as unfair as that might be to any school).

The recruiting base is here. State has (or had) a quality brand name in basketball. I, a loyal Duke fan, long for the days when N.C. State fans will be thinking "Final Four or bust" again.

-David Thom....I mean, EarlJam
The expectations of the fans ARE the same as at Duke and carolina. To say the fan base has been restless is an understatement. That's why Herb left. Sidney Lowe is a favorite son coach, but he needs to stop losing or his seat will get very hot soon enough.

[Slackerb]

Lowe will endure the hotseat and get in his good recruits next year and the next. He's shown flashes of good coaching, and is an excellent recruiter (or at least Larry Harris is).

He's already got top 25 recruiting classes for the next two years locked up...maybe top 10. The cupboards not exactly bare, but if you look at this thread you can see the talent level is not quite there yet:

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14029

States already has 3 top 100 players signed (Leslie [51], Howell [51], and Brown [43] ) for the next two years, and 2 more players just outside the top 100 (Scott Wood [126] and Ryan Harrow[3*]).

And we're still in the running for Wall and Cousins, as mentioned.

It takes talent to win games, and Lowe is getting some good talent in. If given time, State will be much, much better in two years.

[CDu]

In a "normal" ACC Hoops World, or at least the one I knew, expectations at a school like N.C. State should be the same as those of Duke and UNC (as unfair as that might be to any school).

The recruiting base is here. State has (or had) a quality brand name in basketball. I, a loyal Duke fan, long for the days when N.C. State fans will be thinking "Final Four or bust" again.

-David Thom....I mean, EarlJam

It's been a LONG time since NC St was on the same level as UNC and Duke. Really since the days when Fire and Ice were the backcourt. And even then, State was mostly playing third dog to Duke and NC State. State's decline coincides pretty closely with Duke's emergence under Coach K actually. That definitely leads me to wonder if there can be three dominant programs in this area, or if it really is just a string of coaches who can't recruit.