NC State to Hire Sidney Lowe (6:45 pm – Towe to join staff?)
Chip Alexander and Caulton Tudor of the News & Observer broke the story today that NC State will hire alumnus and former Wolfpack point guard, Sidney Lowe as the program’s Head Basketball Coach.
N.C. State is set to hire Detroit Pistons assistant coach Sidney Lowe as its new head basketball coach, sources with knowledge of the coaching search said today.
The N&O has also pulled some old Sidney Lowe pictures from their archives that are accessible by clicking here.
UPDATE: Here are 2 names we are hearing with respect to a possible Lowe staff – Larry Harris (returning from a brief stay in the desert) and fellow DeMatha alumnus Pete Strickland, formerly the head coach at Coastal Carolina. Harris and Strickland are not confirmed. Just solid rumor at this point.
UPDATE #2: WRAL is also reporting Lowe will be named head coach. Key excerpt:
After a month-long and highly scrutinized search. It appears that NC State has found a head basketball coach. Multiple sources have confirmed to WRAL that former Wolfpack guard Sidney Lowe will be hired as the Pack’s new basketball coach.
Details of the contract are still being worked out, but all indications are that Lowe will be the next leader of the Wolfpack. Lowe is currently an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons. There are no details of an announcement.
UPDATE #3: WPTF radio is also reporting Lowe to NC State.
UPDATE #4: ESPN chimes in. Some additional news – ESPN says he will finish the playoffs in his current capacity as Detroit Pistons assistant where he could potentially add a World Championship to his collection of ACC and NCAA Championship rings.
UPDATE #5: The media disaster that is NC State Athletics has set Lowe’s press conference for Saturday evening at 5:30pm. That’s correct – Saturday, when the school can get the absolute least amount of free publicity and impact in the news cycle as possible. The 5:30 PC also falls right after the Carolina Hurricanes’ second round playoff game at the RBC Center. The post time of the 2006 Kentucky Derby is at 6pm on Saturday. Lowe’s hire will sneak onto the back page of most newspapers in the country on Sunday morning. Fans supposedly can watch the press conference live on GoPack.com. We’ll see how that holds up.
UPDATE #6: No word on a rumored third assistant yet – but we would recommend the most seasoned, experienced, technically proficient coach that can be found. A “Larry Hunter-type”. Lowe’s NBA experience and Harris’ recruiting prowess should do a good job of handling the talent acquistion needs of the program. Strickland looks to be a solid, well-rounded hire, and many are billing him as the potential x-and-o guy. An elder statesman with keen x-and-o insight would fit very nicely into the needs of the staff.
UPDATE #7: Don Shea reportedly stated on 680 AM this afternoon Lowe’s staff is in place but did not elaborate on any names.
UPDATE #8: The Charlotte Observer‘s report included some good news related to State’s highest rated incoming recruit:
Regina Davis, the mother of N.C. State signee Larry Davis, said N.C. State director of NCAA compliance Jon Fagg called the family Wednesday evening to say he was optimistic that the Wolfpack’s new coach would call either Thursday night or Friday morning to speak with Davis in person. Fagg, who didn’t tell the Davises who the new coach would be, declined to comment.
Told the new coach was expected to be Lowe, Regina Davis said out of all the names that came up during N.C. State’s 34-day coaching search, Lowe sounded like one of the best.
“I probably know more about Sidney Lowe seeing him behind the Detroit Pistons bench than I knew about any of these other coaches,” she said.
UPDATE #9: Beowulf makes a super point in SFN’s comments section:
Sidney Lowe won an ACC championship, and NCAA championship, and his team beat UNC with Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins without their leading scorer, Dereck Whittenburg.
DO YOU THINK ANYONE’S GOING TO TELL HIM WE CAN’T EXPECT TO COMPETE AGAINST UNC AND DUKE?
UPDATE #10: Wolfpackers on the internet try to start a pool predicting what time GoPack.com will crash during Lowe’s press conference on Sunday. So few Wolfpackers were willing to wager that GoPack would not crash that the idea of the pool collapsed.
UPDATE #11: The N&O modified their article this evening to include the following:
Lowe may not be the only former point guard returning to his alma mater. Although no staff members have been confirmed, it’s possible Monte Towe could leave his position as head coach at New Orleans to join Lowe’s staff.
A staff of Lowe, Harris, Strickland, and Towe would be a fantastic quartet and would help instill more excitement in the overall fanbase. Towe has gained valuable experience as the head coach at the University of New Orleans for the last five years. You can see his biography by clicking here.
…developing…
372 Responses to “NC State to Hire Sidney Lowe (6:45 pm – Towe to join staff?)”
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05/04/2006
[...] WRAL is reporting, and StateFansNation has all the links and commentary you could ever want. [...]
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02/04/2007
[...] I’ll end by quoting one of my all-time favorite writers. That handsome devil said the following: Sidney Lowe won an ACC championship, and NCAA championship, and his team beat UNC with Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins without their leading scorer, Dereck Whittenburg.DO YOU THINK ANYONE’S GOING TO TELL HIM WE CAN’T EXPECT TO COMPETE AGAINST UNC AND DUKE? [...]
Best wishes Coach Lowe!
Congratulations Coach. Well get as much support as I can give.
I’ve been a proud citizen of Wolfpack Nation since I can remember, and I will stand behind Coach Lowe and cheer as loud as I can for our great institution. Thank you Sidney for coming home! I hope you get the best staff money can buy!
Man, it is going to be good to see Sid on the sidelines with the pack.
Let’s party like it’s 1983
…not bad…the funny part of the N&O blurb to me is the use of the word “exhaustive”…I think “exhaustING” would have been better…..
LOV YA Sid!!
Maybe dropdeadfred will stop talking about BK now;>)
I hope that Sidney does well, but I am really concerned about his possible hiring. He has NO college coaching experience, has a losing recod as a coach and was summarily dismissed from his two head coaching digs.
Now that is wishful thinking. Probably the most fun time in my life. My wife (of 20 yrs) and I started dating during that run.
DRW – Those are valid concerns – but it’s too late now. The sure things had long since passed. We need to jump on the bandwagon and support this guy. It may be a rough transition, but he should eventually have all of the tools to become a successful HC at NC STate.
V always said that Lowe was the smartest player he ever coached.
CHECK THIS OUT:
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/9167/lowepass1ei.gif
Some people may complain about the process, but I don’t see how anyone can complain about the guy that was hired (if this in fact happens).
In terms of excitement, Lowe might bring more to Wolfpack nation than anyone else we could have hired – including Barnes and Calipari.
I am VERY EXCITED by this hire!
hahaha, i just had a post deleted b/c it mentioned a silly rumor posted here last week. whatever.
go coach Lowe!!!
beo, that brings a tear to my eye. I was in the building and thought the roof was going to cave in.
Good luck, coach Lowe!
“CHECK THIS OUT:
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/9167/lowepass1ei.gif”
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! I remember that like it was yesterday!
BW, Great post!
Thanks for the image Mr. O. Now thats what we’re talking about.
You all think Lowe will do his best to discourage Big Ced from making a Josh Powell decision?
from NBA.com’s Sid Lowe bio
I am very excited and glad the search has come to an end. So glad to have Coach Lowe home!
Go Wolfpack!!!!!
I’ll certainly support SL. But Foulup still needs to be gone!!
Let’s all rally behind him. The Pack really needs our support right now!
Who is the tarhole that is getting abused by Lowe?
SFN – Sam Perkins