We pay Herb Sendek to be a leader. Doing nothing is not leading, especially when the situation is dire. If Sendek had nothing to contribute, he should have bought a ticket and watched from the stands like the 18,000 happy Tar Heel fans.
It is time for leadership for Wolfpack basketball. It is time for leadership on the court, where Julius Hodge seems have precious little, and it is especially time for leadership on the bench, on the practice court and in the public eye, where it is so sorely lacking that the RBC is slowly becoming an echoing empty mausoleum. The funeral comes in March, and the Wolfpack basketball, the patient, is on death watch. The Wolfpack team endured “NIT!” chants from the Tar Heel students last night, and if that is the case, I do hope that Lee Fowler and Herb Sendek have the grace to turn down the bid and let the carcass of the 2004/2005 season die with some diginity.
To Herb Sendek, I say: Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.
= > “FTF: An Open Letter from a Carolina Fan to the Wolfpack Faithful” . Also, click on the comments and read Ed’s comment (the 8th one)
…it is not hard to understand why you State fans feel that Herb Sendek is not the man to lead the Pack back to the upper echelon of the ACC…Remember, this Carolina team has been “down” for 4 seasons, plenty of time for Herb to take advantage and give State a step up.
Knowledgeable NC State fans measure the program in a more appropriate fashion: by the hardware and the rich history. Everett Case dominated and was a giant. Norm Sloan was 14-22 against UNC…..with a National Championship. Jim Valvono was 7-18 against UNC…..with a National Championship. Les Robinson was facing a no win situation and beat some of the best teams to ever where the baby blue, going 5-7.
Herb’s problem is not North Carolina. His problem is the history of a program that he can’t live up to.
What I think you do expect, and deserve, is high quality basketball with a chance to contend for Championships once every 4 years or so. That is the history of NC State basketball. Case did it. Sloan did it. Valvono did it. Herb has not. At a school with 1440 all time victories (24th best in the country), Herb has not had a national contender once in 9 years. He has had only one legitimate conference championship contender.
In the last nine years, Maryland has won the ACC Tournament, been to two Final Fours and won a National Championship. Maryland was in much worse shape then NC State was when Gary Williams arrived to take over. Maryland has stepped in State’s path back to glory!
In the last nine years, Wake Forest has averaged better than 20 wins per year, won 2 ACC Tournaments, and had a national contender at least 3 times, including this year’s squad. Wake has stepped in State’s path as well!
What team is next: Virginia Tech? Georgia Tech? Virginia?
Here’s what Herb can’t fight: There are only two other ACC programs ahead of NC State on the All Time wins list in NCAA history. North Carolina (#2) and Duke (#4). State is #24. There is not another ACC program among the Top 50!
State fans, I know you don’t measure the success of the program against Carolina. You measure success against the nation, as you should! You are a national program with national championships! Nobody else in the ACC besides the aforementioned should even be close to you.
As a Carolina fan, I’m telling you Herb, you’re failing these folks.
Carolina is not the thorn in your side… your school’s history is.
= > Dave Sez ruminates about Caulton Tudor’s article earlier in the week when he asks, “Is Good Good Enough?”
= > Patrick Eakes says, “Hello NIT”
As a general rule, a team must not have a losing record in its own league to be considered for a bid to the NCAA tournament. This means that State must win five of its last eight games just to reach an even mark of 8-8. Since five of those games are against ranked opponents, State will have to win against three unranked opponents and pull off two major upsets to even gain consideration for the NCAA tournament.
Unless that unlikely scenario unfolds, this will go down as the most disappointing season for the Wolfpack in decades.
