Fowler Talks to 1090…no…really..he does

General NC State Administration NCS Basketball Quotes of Note14

Even though this is dated, I couldn’t let it go by without chronicling it. “Coach Fowler” gave a 10 minute interview to Triangle Sports Talk 1090 a couple of weeks ago.

To be fair…I thought that his comments were pretty good. The problem is like the little boy who cried wolf — he just talks and talks and talks and talks SO MUCH that nothing he says really has much value. There is nothing ‘special’ to hearing from the NC State Athletics Director since we here from him infinitely more than other ADs..

Some of Fowler’s comments about this year’s basketball team that I found worth noting:

(1) Chance to Be Special.

“I think this team has a chance to really do something special”

(2) Pro-longed success is just around the corner. Remember that?

“It a situation where he can be competitive, and be competitive at the Top 20 level for many years to come”

Hmmmmm…..where have I heard that before? Oh yes. From Lee Fowler. Except, over the last (almost) 5 years, he has changed his perspective from winning national championships to “being competitive at the Top 20 level”.

On January 13, 2001, Charlotte Observer’s Gregg Doyel penned an article “Wolfpack Must Crawl Out of Hole�?. (Does that one sound familiar?). In the article, Lee Fowler proclaimed to the world:

“I’m not saying I don’t care what (outspoken fans) think, but I’ve got a background in basketball, and you hear things about everybody. “The one thing I ask (of) Wolfpack fans is support your coach. Fans want a national championship. The way Herb’s doing things, when we do get there – and I don’t think it’s far away – it will stay there.

In FIVE YEARS we have gone from ‘national championships not being far away’ to being told that we are going to compete at the Top 20 level for years to come. Considering that we’ve finished NONE of the last FOUR regular seasons ranked in the Top 20, is it too much to ask for a little more in which we can believe?

(3) My favorite one

“We think that we can compete with both those programs (UNC & Duke). Even if you can, or come close to it, you are still at Top 10, Top 15 program and that’s what we’re trying to do”

In a clear departure from his previous classic comments last season, Fowler suddenly thinks that NC State can “be competitive” with Duke and Carolina. Of course, he says this without defining what “competitive” means and also adds the caveat as to how good we can be even if can never beat Duke or Carolina.

To be fair, Fowler is correct in his perspective that any team that competes (defined as being on the same level) with Duke and Carolina are Top 10 / Top 15 programs. Unfortunately for NC State, it is generally expected that “Top 15 programs” actually can defeat other Top 15 programs. Since, NC State has managed a single subjective ranking and a single RPI finish better than #25 in the last decade because of our continued stuggles to beat Top 50 teams on a regular basis, the mention of being one of the nation’s Top 15 program almost burst my side with laughter.

General NC State Administration NCS Basketball Quotes of Note

14 Responses to Fowler Talks to 1090…no…really..he does

  1. Class of '74 12/12/2005 at 12:48 PM #

    How long does one have to achieve this top 15 goal? 10 years, 15 years a lifetime?

  2. Jeff 12/12/2005 at 12:54 PM #

    Until he gets his next job and get out of here without having to make any decisions.

  3. Jim 12/12/2005 at 2:29 PM #

    True Jeff, but why would anyone hire that doofus? He hasn’t accomplished anything here.

  4. Carlos 12/12/2005 at 2:41 PM #

    Kinda funny that someone that likes being called “Coach Fowler”, can’t make a simple coaching decision as cutting someone that isn’t performing. Looks like the only way we can get “Coach” to do his job is by putting his daughter on the team. Notice the Volleyball Coach isn’t around to add to the 1 ACC win in 5 years record. Sooo….(now hear me out)… I think we should have Fowler’s daughter on every Sports team, just in case he has to do his job. Apparently she complains a lot better than all of the Wolfpack Nation. She doesn’t have to dress for all the games just sit on the bench. That way she can do her school work, I’m not trying to take the student out of Student-Athlete.

  5. JeremyHyatt 12/12/2005 at 3:39 PM #

    Nah…Newcastle Eagles man, champs. you’re thinkin of Chuck Kornegay or Danny Strong (he stole my wallet).

  6. Rick 12/12/2005 at 3:55 PM #

    Is there anyway to be comfortable with this guy at the head of the athletic department? I liken him to the Titanic captain that “maintained current coaurse”.

  7. Alpha Wolf 12/12/2005 at 5:06 PM #

    I’ve met Chancellor Oblinger, he was a neighbor of my in-laws just outside Blowing Rock until they sold their place this fall.

    I’ve said to him the same things that I say here: that NC State fans are by and large results-based and that they want the sports teams to reflect the overall quality and excellence of the university. I also said that we preferred that we compete against the best all season, and not just inside the ACC conference.

    I did not, however, make a pitch for any coach to be fired. He did not ask, nor did I recommend it — because I knew that he would not heed my counsel and that he would further disregard anything else that I said. However, by saying that we a “results-oriented” and that we as alumni and fans want excellence, only a dolt would miss my point. It was: “Either or do or not do.”

    Bottom line is that we have stepped up beyond the WPC and the university’s wildest dreams in terms of providing facilities and commitment. Now, Flower, Oblinger and everyone else associated with Wolfpack athletics has to live up to what the donors have provided for them.

    My take on Herb Sendek is that 2004/2005 is his make-or-break year at NC State. He has the facilities, he has the players, and he has opportunity because the ACC is not as top-heavy as it is most years. Should Herb succeed, and actually win something that belongs on a banner, he is here for the long haul. If he does not, the pressure will become unbearable.

    As for Amato, my expectations are slightly longer term, and the only reason for that is that 2006 is in all liklihood a rebuilding year for the football team from a player standpoint. We stand to need to rebuild our defense at several key positions, and next year may reflect that. On the other side of the ball, however, they must perform in 2006 for the team to have a chance at a winning record. With an experienced QB, with RBs with a season under their belt, with Ant Hill and with new blood on the O-line, they simply must plan to carry the team. My guess is that it will be a 7-4 year, if we play well.

    If either team melts down (again) it will be ugly.

  8. Alpha Wolf 12/12/2005 at 5:11 PM #

    Oh, and meant to say, but submitted too soon is this: Fowler is often perceived as part of the problem by an ever-growing cadre of fans and boosters. He will eventually need to make a hard decision and go in a different direction if either major revenue sport trends southward. If he does not do that, he too will be caught up in the ever-warming cauldron that has basted Sendek for years and Amato for half of a season. State fans have passion, but do not have never-ending patience. Fowler must realize that where he hangs his hat on these issues will ultimately determine his fate.

  9. blpack 12/12/2005 at 9:44 PM #

    The facilities are coming along. That should not be an excuse. We are scratching the surface of our potential in athletics and it is up to those in charge to direct a path to achievement or make room for someone who can.

  10. SaccoV 12/12/2005 at 10:08 PM #

    I liken the AD spot with that of other CEOs and high-ranking executives in this sense–no one wants to be known as the mouthy AD lest he or she never receive that cushy spot again at a big university. With Fowler’s most recent, and yet somehow most irrelevant comments, we find again the inescapable products of a yes-man. Fowler consistently gets public media airwaves and column space to basically say that (1) things are ok; (2) Herb’s moving the right direction; (3) only now have we been able to compete with Duke and Carolina; and (4) we’re continuing to demand excellence despite never making anyone accountable for that excellence to be acheived. It breaks my heart that someone of Fowler’s position in a sports-hungry conference like the ACC is allowed to keep his job. Having run an office in the past, I know what results are, and I can assure you, Fowler’s results are nowhere near the average manager’s of any business, and yet he’s beyond reproach. Equally confounding is the real lack of media attention Fowler’s non-success has garnered. I wish those journalism majors from UNC would do to Fowler what they did to Baddour so many years ago–put a few sets of eyes on his real record here and stop taking the shovelfuls of feces he so readily throws at them to divert attention from his coaches. Time to liquidate. Given him a golden parachute with an anvil so he can plummet back to Tennessee and blow sunshine up Phil Fullmer’s rectum for the Vols 2005 season!!!!

  11. Class of '74 12/13/2005 at 6:31 AM #

    Fowler just signed a contract that keeps him in Raleigh for at least 4 more years so I can’t see much change until then.

  12. Rick 12/13/2005 at 9:20 AM #

    That just makes me sad.

  13. Luminox 03/11/2006 at 11:15 AM #

    Good day I found your blogg when doing a search, not what I was after but hello anyway 🙂

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. StateFans Nation » Blog Archive » Flashback: Fowler BEFORE the Season - 02/04/2007

    […] On December 12, 2005, Lee Fowler took to the radio airwaves (I know…I know….that is a big shock) and made some comments about his thoughts on the 2005-2006 NC State Basketball season. […]

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