Pitino publicly spurns Sendek
As a follow-up to some of our comments from our most recent Carousel entry
I’m not naming a coach and its not my business, but I’ll stick my two cents in, ok?
For me, last time around – Billy Gillispie is a terrific coach – I would have immediately hired either John Pelphrey or Travis Ford last time around.
Those two guys played for me, they’re tremendous young coaches. And, I don’t care where they’re at their very – they love Oklahoma State and he loves Arkansas – but those two guys (if) you cut them open and it spells UK.
You’ve got two guys there, you could take the whole nation throw myself, Tom Izzo and anybody else into the equation and those two guys would be better than all of us for the job.
ESPN’s Pat Forde has compiled of short list of what ESPN is calling ‘likely candidates’ and the names include the following:
Tom Izzo
Thad Matta
Sean Miller
John Pelphrey
Travis Ford
I guess I continue to have to ask the legitimate question — if Herb Sendek is as good of a coach as the media constantly trumpets, why is he not a candidate for the Kentucky job nor is he ever mentioned as a candidate for any of the dozens of good jobs that have been filled in the last ten years?
Amazing that Pelphrey is on any short list … He did ok at USA, but this season was a complete flameout at Arkansas.
Izzo is the guy you’d probably want to to get from Forde’s list, after that I would say Matta or Miller – though this the first time I’ve really heard their respective names pushed.
Ford looks like a real possibility as the names ‘Calipari’ and ‘Donovan’ are missing …
And I agree that asking about Herb is legitimate. If the guy is “excellent” and a “proven winner”, then why is his name not here? Seriously. This in no way is meant as a shot at Herb; he is supposed to be John Wooden II so where is his name for this obvious fit?
I’ve defended Herb in the past but even I can see he isn’t the right guy at UK. You’ve got to have balls of steal for that job. Herb doesn’t. The criticism is as intense as anywhere in the country — 10 times more than NCSU probably.
Herb has a proven track record as a program builder. However, UK does not need this the way N.C. State and Arizona State did. They are UK, one of the top 5 basketball havens in the country. He isn’t the guy to lead any program to Final Four appearances and National Championships. I’m not saying that Pelphrey or Ford are either, maybe they are, but I think it’s safe to say that even Pitino realizes Herb is not the guy for UK. Hell, you can damn well bet Herb knows. He’s happy just doing his thing in Tempe where there are no expectations, no microscope to speak of. And that’s fine. He has been very successful there by their standards and one can only assume he will continue to be. But don’t go expecting him to chase down UCLA and Arizona (when they hire a great coach) for conference titles and national titles.
Uhhh.
How is it again that Herb was publicly spurned?
Guess Wright, Dixon, Calipari, Knight, etc., got left at the alter too.
I’m certainly not a Herb honk, but what is it with this fixation of ours?
Just because of the media? Who the hell are they?
Sometimes it seems like the ex-girlfriend that keeps showing up at the same parties with the new guy/guys and ya just can’t let it go.
Just my observation.
“I guess I continue to have to ask the legitimate question — if Herb Sendek is as good of a coach as the media constantly trumpets, why is he not a candidate for the Kentucky job nor is he ever mentioned as a candidate for any of the dozens of good jobs that have been filled in the last ten years?”
Amen! Now lets allow Herb to stay in the desert and let bygones be bygones.
Herb Who?!
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^To make another point while speaking of investments, that’s the same way I see this rift in the views on the BB program at present. Some fans are more conservative financially, they are/where totally content to have a safe and modest return, and one that kept on repeating itself year after year. While others of us are more than willing to take a hit over the short haul, especially if ANY change means that a door MIGHT open to much bigger returns in the future.
Um, so is Lee Fowler supposed to be Allen Stanford in this economy metaphor?
Herb is mentioned in this list, as is Leonard Hamilton:
http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=16376
It lists potential candidates with UK ties …
I hate to backhandedly defend Herb, but at least a division 1 program (ASU) would have hired him vs our current coach who no one but Fowler would touch.
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Fred,
today, WE AGREE!
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fred,
It’s likely that NCSU administration and BOT thinks that the way to distinguish our greatness is through it’s research achievements, it’s schools of architecture, forestry, computer science, engineering, agriculture and other academic means — playing to it’s strengths so to speak — not through winning a few more basketball games and going to the Great Eight in the NCAA tournament.
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Regarding HS — in all fairness I don’t interpret media and coaches comments about HS as indicating that he is a top of the line coach with national championship caliber achievements, the kind of achievements that would have a UK or anyone else think that he is the coach capable of returning UK to the place of prominence and prestige that they and apparently others think they warrant.
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On the other hand we are the only ones in the college basketball universe who thinks that NCSU is of that stature. We won with a team and coach that truly was a National Champion in 1974 with a won-loss record to go with it. We lost the coach who won that championship when the “esteemed” Willis Casey tried to keep Norman Sloan here at half the minimum that he deserved. When FL offered Sloan something comparable to what nationally recongnized coaches of his caliber earned, Casey offered to match it. I guess Willis hadn’t counted on Sloan telling him what amounted to, “Fuck you, you cheap son of a bitch. You had your chance.”
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Our miraculous run and National Championship in 1983 is viewed by media and coaches as just that, a miracle, not as part of an ongoing legacy. Jimmy V was NOT a great coach and we were NOT known as a dominant program under him. We all love JV but JV’s ACC record at NCSU is 71-69. Jim Valvano did not have a single player he recruited graduate in the 10 years he coached at NCSU, which is probably why he is not revered by the faculty and administration. NCSU lost scholarships after an NCAA investigation, probably unfairly so, but oft maligned, Les Robinson had to operate under that disadvantage. Les often had as few as 7 players to dress for conference games. His replacement was a good coach, not a great coach and as such will never be mentioned for positions at instituions with histories of basketball greatness.
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As far as NCSU is concerned, we can point all the fingers we want at LF and blame him for our place in the basketball queue of greatness, but Willis Casey is the real culprit. I’ve read here in here on SFN how wonderful that slime ball is. It’s bullshit. Go back in history and put Norm Sloan back in as the HC at NCSU instead of U of F. `
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Norman Sloan was National Coach of the year twice during his 14 years here. In stead of NCSU where he wanted to be, he spent fifteen years coaching at Florida – not exactly an national power with a rich basketball tradition – where he won CC’s and was successful by all measures.
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Try to image Norm Sloan coaching during the time that covers both the Valvano AND Robinson years. We would not know who Herb – boring – Sendek is if Willis Casey hadn’t fucked the dog and pissed Sloan off so badly. Blame Lee “the buffoon” Fowler for our bungling the search and for hiring Sidney Lowe, if you like for our basketball ills, but the real culprit is Willis Casey. BTW LF did not hire HS and did not have the OK to fire him from the Chancellor and the BOT.
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Lobbying the Chancellor and the BOT to fire Lee Fowler because he, in the eyes of the “fan base,” embarrassed NCSU in a coaching search is as likely to succeed as me going to my wife and lobbying for permission to go get some strange because I’m not getting as much pussy as I would like to get. How much pussy I’m getting at age 71 is about as high on her priotity list as our concerns about winning big are on the BOT’s priority list. What is a priority is academic achievement and representing the school in a way that bestows credit on the school. Valvano’s failure to graduate a single one of his recruits IS embarrassing to the BOT, not Sidney Lowe’s won/loss record.
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Pissing and moaning about the media NOT making fools of themselves by promoting HS for HC at UK is not exactly going to up our stock as knowledgable. Sitting on our nuts, squealing about our not being amongst the basketball elite, is not exactly going that either. IMNSHO It’s best to ride a horse in the direction it’s going in.
Wow, people are worked up today. Here is the thing that the article is missing – the media loved Herb at NC State and thought he was a very good coach. Sadly, through 20 years of complete basketball irrelevance the media thought Herb was “good enough” for us and even “more than we deserved”.
Kentucky is still a prominent program. Even if the media thought Herb was the best coach for us, there is no way they are going to say the same thing about Kentucky. We are on totally different tiers. It is sad but true.
I only brought up our current coach to illustrate how far we have fallen in that no one else would have hired him. Herb is great for ASU, but not great for Kentucky. Even the evil media can see that.
So summary: Media thinks Herb is good for NC State and ASU as they don’t matter and generally suck. Media would not think Herb is good for Kentucky as they are elite. I wouldn’t really call that hipocrisy.
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Yes, I agree. And that was a huge problem in getting him out of here (which he should have been gone year 5).
Let it die please. He is gone… has been for 3 years now. More than past time to move on.
How can true Wolfpack fans let it go when we are routinely hit in the face with it by some media outlet through out the basketball season?
I think that we could if the media would!
sautz
March 29th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Wow, people are worked up today. Here is the thing that the article is missing – the media loved Herb at NC State and thought he was a very good coach. Sadly, through 20 years of complete basketball irrelevance the media thought Herb was “good enough” for us and even “more than we deserved”.
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2001 would have been the mid-point of Herb’s time here thereby marking the start of the 20 years of complete basketball irrelevance. That would include 1983. Sautz, you’re not on the BOT are you?
^ Love to ‘let it die’
It is just that each season we continue to experience tons of ‘professionals’ in the media who won’t let it die.
All we do it respond to the topics brought up by the media. Sorry.
wolfpack4evermore
March 29th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
“How can true Wolfpack fans let it go when we are routinely hit in the face with it by some media outlet through out the basketball season?”
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The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. If we could only acknowledge the truth of the media mentions, it would set us free, i,e., let it go. THAT is some deep shit, bro.
http://kentucky.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1383&tid=126614608&mid=126614608&sid=888&style=2
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