This is going to be a “fun” week. Lots of pain…lots of frustration…and lots of dissension in NC State world right now. Let’s take a quick look around some related issues that aren’t so directly focused on the current state of Wolfpack Football for a little breather.
===> As any Wolfpacker would feel — I am not the world’s biggest Ron Green, Sr fan. Regardless, I know interesting points when I see them…as he shared in today’s Charlotte Observer. The first comment was as follows:
“Here’s an idea: when you fire the losing coach, fire the athletics director who hired him. Outside of raising money, an AD’s most important job is finding the right people to coach his or her teams.
Contrary to what many of them seem to think, that doesn’t always mean hiring someone who went to school there, is or has been an assistant coach there, who grew up in the state or the players think is a swell guy.”
As much as Ron’s idea intrigues me, it has a major problem with its reasoning — typically the AD is the one doing the firing of the coach. You already have some AD’s who simply won’t fire anyone. Chancellors and Trustee Boards would usually rather not deal with such issues (nor are many of them qualified to do so). This leaves you in quite a conundrum when you need to fire a coach. No AD would ever do so.
===> Did you know that Coach K has a conference on leadership? Interesting stuff. Some fans will believe that such a conference is a natural extension for any coach that has been around as long as K. Others will realize that people don’t pay so much money to hear from a speaker just because of experience. People not only pay to hear K speak about leadership…but, they pay to watch his teams perform at the highest level and succeed at the highest level while performing. Most coaches don’t get to be as ‘experienced’ as K without succeeding. That is why the two normally go hand in hand.
===> I know that we don’t get as much solace from the failure of others as we do happiness from our own success. But, just for a second, let’s take a look and ‘celebrate’ East Carolina‘s newfound success against the backdrop of just how bad the Pirates have been recently. ECU won at SMU on Saturday marking the first time that the Pirates have won two games in a row in its last 45 games!! (since the middle of the 2001 season). Additionally, the N&O added, “The win moved ECU to .500 this late in the season for the first time since 2001 and allowed the Pirates to match their victory total from the past two seasons combined.”
===> Terrence Holt was featured in a nice article in the News & Observer on Sunday and he responded by recovering a fumble in the first quarter of the Detroit Lions loss against the Carolina Panthers. The announcers said:
“Holt always seems to be around the ball…whether it is interceptions or fumble recoveries…he’s got a nose for it.”
===> Julius Hodge’s (preseason) performance against Nate McMillan’s Portland Trailblazers on Saturday night was a typical for that of a rookie. Hodge led the Nuggets with 28 minutes but he scored only one point going 0 for 4 from the field and 1 of 2 from the FT line. Additionally, he committed 6 turnovers and earned 7 assists.
===> Remember how excited Wolfpack Nation was about 6 to 7 years ago when the new Entertainment & Sports Arena was getting close to completion? (Wow…has it really been that long? As I look back on it…I can not fathom just how few “classic” memories have been forged in that place after six full seasons. It seems Reynolds annually produced as many all-time favorites &/or comebacks than the RBC has produced in aggregate. But, I digress) Well, the folks in Charlotte (if there are any ‘real’ Bobcats fans out there) are experiencing a similar feeling right now as their new arena is about to open. You can check out a full spread on it by clicking here.
===> A parting shot from Ron Green’s column:
“Duke football fans have it all over North Carolina and N.C. State fans, and to some extent, Wake Forest fans. Duke fans know from opening day it’s a losing season. They don’t have to sweat it, do the slow bleed as losses mount, don’t have to argue about firing the coach, don’t have to give big chunks of money to be sure they keep their reserved seats at the stadium.
And you can’t insult them about their team. They’ll just smile and invite you to Cameron Indoor Stadium, any day, any time when roundball season begins.”
Again, nothing to argue with there.
