Too Much Herb Too Ignore
It is all over the internet…so, it would be pretty stupid of us to just choose to ignore it.
You probably know by now that Herb Sendek’s Arizona State Sun Devils lost AT HOME in their first game of the year against Northern Arizona last night. NAU had previously lost by 34 points to Kansas. Ouch! (For the record, NAU ranked #117 in the RPI last year – significantly better than the type of team that Sendek likes to schedule for out of conference feasts.)
ASU had won 16 straight home openers dating back to 1989 when the Sun Devils lost to Brigham Young in Bill Frieder’s first season as head coach.
Wolfpack fans will recognize a lot from ASU’s loss. For example:
* The Sun Devils attempted 36 3-pointers, making only 10 from beyond the arc
* The Sun Devils hit six of their first eight shots from the floor but then went cold. They made only nine of their next 26 shots to end the first half.
* The “Words of Wisdom” included in this link.
The announced attendance of Wells Fargo arena was 10,000+ but many posters on ASU’s message boards estimated the attendace closer to 6,000, comprised largely of students that had turned out to support the new program. At least their students turned out. That is a lot more than we can say about the NC State students that continue to disappoint for games not against UNC or Duke since the Wolfpack moved off campus to the RBC Center around the turn of the century.
We aren’t going to harp on Sendek’s loss too much…nor are we going to focus on Herb all year. But, the event hit every major news outlet around here so we were looking left out by not blogging something. 850TheBuzz blogged a good one that you should see and also refers to the N&O’s blog entry.
Turning Arizona State into a strong program isn’t a quick fix job and Sendek has been trying to explain to the folks out west during the offseason.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,� Sendek said. “I don’t think anybody thought it was going to. Experiences like this will only serve to strengthen our resolve and increase our determination, I assure you.�
Keep chopping the wood and honoring the process, big guy. Not that we’re saying anything about the rest of the season based on one game, but right now it’s Sidney Lowe-1, Herb Sendek-0. What?!? Like State fans aren’t going to keep track of it anyway… Next game for the Sun Devils: Vs Cal State San Bernardino.
Don’t forget…give him some time. Wait til next year! There is a great recruiting class coming in to complement some very good young talent on the roster. This team is going to be force in a few years!!
99 Responses to “Too Much Herb Too Ignore”
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11/15/2006
The Daily Roundup
We’re tracking this story on the Basketblog. Get over there!!!
Sure is nice that we upgraded and no longer need the wood splitter around here. Sid has us cooking with gas now.
Begone. Let’s stop recalling the last ten. Let’s be happy about our future and forget that unforgettable past.
i can understand posting it, it’s newsworthy
but Herb is, and always was, a class act, just not the right coach for us, and i wish him the best at arizona state
it does highlight what we wanted to leave behind — and with the firepower Sid is bringing in i’m actually feeling *good* about n.c. state athletics for a change
Where was ASU picked pre-season?
To Herb’s credit, this was an abnormally tough team for him to have on his schedule. Maybe there was nothing he could do about it once he got there? I say that not making fun of Herb as a coach, because overall I think he is a pretty good coach. However, I always disagreed with his cupcake scheduling philosphy (especially the Herb Sendek Cupcake Classics that we played on our homecourt).
I think ASU was an NIT team last year that returned all five starters who are now all juniors and seniors IIRC from reading about them early.
Can you imagine the shots the local media would have taken at NC State fans had Lowe lost his first game? The columnists and even the national pundits would have used it as an opportunity to say that we got what we deserved.
I think ASU was an NIT team last year that returned all five starters who are now all juniors and seniors IIRC from reading about them early.
Didn’t go to a post-season tourney last year. They were 11-17.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/teamsched?teamId=9&seasonYear=2006
Last years leading scorer, Kevin Kruger, transferred to UNLV, to play for his dad, Lon Kruger. Second leading scorer Bryson Krueger was kicked off the team after Tempe police arrested him, after finding Ecstasy and cocaine in his car, this past summer.
Link
Legacy Man said: “Let’s be happy about our future and forget that unforgettable past.”
That’s hilarious…forgetting an unforgettable past. It’s like eating inedible food. Or having sex without a vagina present…well, for me anyway. Comments, Wolfpack4Ever?
I keed, Wolfpack4Ever, I keed!!
Sorry, meant NAU went to the NIT and returned five starters. Thanks for all that info, but I thought it was pretty obvious that I was giving NAU props for being a pretty good team.
I do think in 4-5 yrs Arizona State will be a perennial bubble team, or a NCAA 10-12 seed. In 3 yrs we’ll be back in the tourney. Herb with the team he would have had here at NCSU, would have been in the NIT- at least I think so (I’m counting the recruits that left when he left, but no Brackman) Honestly, I think that’s the reason why Herb left when he did, he wanted to get out while his stroke was the highest it was going to be.
So was Simmons definitely leaving whether or not Sendek stayed in Raleigh?
SFN: We were told by some of our best sources that “Ced was 90% gone before State hired Sidney. That moved the needle to 50%
UNC still talks about Mack Brown, even though they are now 3 coaches removed. What’s the problem with keeping an eye on the Herbster at ASU? It’s human nature.
The reason the past is unforgettable is that some folks refuse to let it die and wither away. Let the former coach do his thing in the desert and let’s focus on our program under Sidney.
True. Lowe would have been tortured in the media had he lost his first.
However, I always had an uneasy feeling about Herb. I know a lot of people say he is a “class act” and I even met the guy several times and he seemed okay to me. However, as the years went by I just got the feeling that he was duping us out of big money. I didn’t think the *extra* effort or care was there to truly produce on the court. I know some will say that was simply his demeanor, but to me he had ample opportunities to say and/or do something to reach out to the fans, acknowledge some shortcomings, and he simply never did. He always blamed the players, though back-handedly, when we lost. “We just didn’t hit the open shots.” Perhaps that was true many times more than not, but I just thought he never “man-ed up” and took the wrap for obviously falling short of expectations. Fowler didn’t help this by feeding his ego, but I forever felt as though he knew he was pulling one over on us “dumb public school kids” while he ignored our goals and snickered all the way to the bank.
GAWolf: Brilliant reply although some will criticize you no doubt. I do not believe Herb was the total class act that many have described. For example, coaches who are a class act recognize the responsibility to start seniors on Senior Night. I wish him well but I’m glad he is at ASU and not NCSU. It will be fun to watch his progress. He is a good coach and should do well in the long run.
Herb was part of the NC State family for 10 years. People are naturally going to be interested in how he does. I am glad to be focused on Coach Lowes future in Raleigh and that is infinitely more important than anything going on out in Arizona. While I wish Herb and Sun Devils all the best (sincerely), it will still be interesting to see the tendancies of that team and relate to what we experienced w/ Herb during is tenure in Raleigh.
This is no different than the renegade comments that come up about Mike O’Cain and others that have also been in Raleigh.
Good luck Herb! I look forward to seeing how you do from time to time. But beyond that.. its all about Coach Lowe and the Wolfpack!
GO STATE!
“but Herb is, and always was, a class act,”
That HSSS’er from hell, completely irrelevant to basketball or coaching ability, statement is never going to die, EVER!!!
Certain fans were happy watching as many optimistic young kids just passed on through, and then happy to watch them leave four years later with basically the same skills that they had when they arrived, and all because of one man’s stubborn philosophy. That is, and always will be, beyond belief to me.
Thanks for the words of wisdom link… I can truly laugh at that crap now!
Viva Sid!
have to think that the NAU contract was set in stone, and sendek couldn’t get out of it
ncsu96: Speaking of the ‘the words of wisdom’ link, wasn’t that a typo when it said,
“be with us through think and thin”
Wasn’t it supposed to be,
‘be with us through overthinking and thin’
i’m sorry, i love it…
Honestly, I was more interested in the respective coach’s approaches to the game than the actual result of the games. Let’s be honest…it is going to be tough seasons for both programs since they aren’t very deep & will rely heavily on young talent.
Sendek from all accounts was a good guy with good values, but I simply never liked his coaching philosophy. A philosophy he apparently was going to be modifying after the NCSU 2005-2006 campaign according to some posters last spring before he left for ASU.
Well… ASU’s game plan & performance certainly did not support ANY of those comments we heard in the off-season. In fact, 39 of the teams shots coming from behind the arc, extended scoring droughts, jammed up/rigid offense, trouble getting to the FT line, lack of adjustments during the game, and trouble getting the ball into play sound like the same issues that plagued the NCSU basketball teams under Sendek.
On the other hand, game 1 has shown that NCSU’s new offense is one that attacks the basket and gets to the foul line. It is one that is more free-flowing that helps to eliminate scoring droughts & utilizes the big men in more historical roles on the court. It also showed that the coach is capable of making adjustments during the game to eliminate mistakes that were inherent in the first half of play.
Game 1 was not a success because Sid won and Sendek lost…far from it. It was a success, because it was NCSU getting back to playing NCSU basketball. It is an exciting type of basketball that has won a championship before and that I believe can win a championship again.
There…there are reasonable people left in this world…
I like Lunatic Fringe’s (and others) post. If you don’t like the coach, that’s cool. But he’s not some evil demon to hate. He tried here, and though he didn’t get us where we wanted to be, he got us close. I don’t buy into the ‘he duped us out of money’ claim (shock, eh?). He’s no Valvano, and he’s no Lowe, personality-wise. But he got us to the Big Dance year in and year out, something I would have given a vital organ for after the previous era. I will never understand a true Pack fan’s desire to villify the guy. Don’t like his style, his offense, his ability, fine, I can understand if I don’t (always) agree. But he’s not someone to be hated.
I liked the old offense. I like the new offense. I like NC State.
I’m only worried about NC State now.
If Herb wins, or loses, every game I don’t really need to hear it.
If anyone thinks that single mindedly pushing a philosophy is more important than the kids that come through the university, I don’t really know what to say to them.
But fair enough Lock. I’ll stop vilifying, just as soon as the canonization process ends.
Red,
That’s kinda my point, also.
““but Herb is, and always was, a class act,â€?
That HSSS’er from hell, completely irrelevant to basketball or coaching ability, statement is never going to die, EVER!!!”
acting with class is entirely relevant to basketball and to coaching – if someone acts like a thug, i don’t want them wearing the n.c. state uniform, or walking the sideline, regardless of how high they jump or what they do from the bench
I don’t think it would be fair to judge EITHER Lowe’s or Sendek’s tenure by their first year results in their new jobs. It would have really pissed me off if the results were reversed, and the inevitable pro-Sendek “dead enders” started taunting. Thus, I will refuse to pile on, even if Sendek goes winless this year.
I hope Sendek and his family are happy in Arizona, and I’m not especially interested beyond that.