Evtimov: Sendek Supporters “Idiots”?

General NCS Basketball Quotes of Note35

Here is a quote that I haven’t seen anywhere but here.

Sunday, March 19, 2006’s Charlotte Observer included a side panel for the “NCAA at Dallas” written by staff writer, David Scott. In the side panel, the Charlotte Observer included the following:

“I’m sorry, but I would have to call them an idiot”
* NC State’s Ilian Evtimov, referring to people who think the Wolfpack’s prorgam doesn’t beling with the elite in the ACC

I don’t know what Evtimov was trying to plant into the public consciousness, but the seed didn’t take root as I have seen nobody talking about this quote over the last couple of weeks. If the Charlotte Observer’s representation of the quote is correct, then I couldn’t agree ore with Ilian. Unfortunately, Evtimov’s feelings encounter significant resistance from his Head Coach and his biggest supporters.

Ilian’s comments are obviously NOT directed at the large majority of NC State fans that are exhausted with Herb Sendek’s failure to create elite success after ten years of:

* operating with some of the most luxurious resources in college basketball with

* a fan base that is so passionate that they sent 12,000 fans to an open practice on a week night after 9 consecutive years of failing to make an NCAA Tournament, and

* whom have ranked amongst the top 20 in national attendance almost every year since the RBC has been built

I don’t know a single a State fan who prays for a change that doesn’t think that NC State’s program should be elite. Isn’t that what all of the fuss is actually about? – A large group of Wolfpackers who want to have some kind crowning achievement on which to hang their hat? Wolfpackers who understand the difference of truly being good from manufacturing bloated overall records in an attempt to do nothing more than squeeze into the NCAA Tournament with no hope of real success? Wolfpackers who want to be elite against the status quo of ‘mediocretes’ who are fine twiddling their thumbs in oblivion?

Try having a conversation with the members of the HSSS who are not legally retarded. Try to get one of them to agree with you (and Ilian) about where NC State’s place is in college basketball. In between their whiny-ass excuse that refers to how “tough it is to compete against Carolina and Duke” you won’t hear anything about it.

You see, if they were to admit that NC State’s resouces and tradition should translate into an elite program should, then they would be admitting that Herb Sendek has failed at succeeding at NC State (since nobody in their right mind could confuse NC State for the elite of college basketball).

The acceptance of ‘good is more than good enough for NC State’s administration and a small portion of fans’ has recently been chronicled by both The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer. Enjoy the links and don’t hesitate to keep those conversations rolling.

^Those articles really nail the crux of the data analysis — nobody argues that what Sendek has achieved at NC State is elite and the decision makers deeem Sendek’s accomplish more than good enough. It’s that simple. I wonder how these folks fell being indirectly called an idiot by the “Philip Rivers of the NC State Basketball program”.

I think that Ilian Evtimov hit the nail on the head, anyone who doesn’t believe NC State should be an elite program is an “idiot.” I just wish that he would have added that anyone who thinks that we are currently elite falls into that category as well.

POST-SCRIPT: As the conversation in the comments section of this entry indicate — it seems as though the Charlotte Observer may have really screwed up the interpretation and significantly mis-represented Evtimov’s comments. (Go figure. The Charlotte Observer completely miss the mark on something? Surely they do not wonder why they just got purchased?) This entry was based on what the Observer included in the paper on Sunday, March 19th. I can’t help it if people that get paid to be accurate fail in their responsibilities.

General NCS Basketball Quotes of Note

35 Responses to Evtimov: Sendek Supporters “Idiots”?

  1. choppack 03/29/2006 at 4:00 PM #

    “I think this is what he was saying and he should have kept his mouth shut. It is bad enough when the AD and coach are derogatory towards the fans but when the players start something has to change.”

    Why – many of our “fans” sit there and bash Ilian over the years. Unlike most of us, he’s actually seen Herb in action the last 5 years. Here’s a kid who’s poured out his heart and soul for NC State athletics the last 5 years, has good grades, graduated in 4 years, and fought through numerous injuries. Understandibly, he’s a little bitter and I don’t blame him one bit.

    Hey, fans want to stuff, but when a player voices his opinion, he’s out of bound -nope, doesn’t work like that.

    It’s a shame that people are venting in such a way that this is his response, but it is what it is.

  2. Mr O 03/29/2006 at 4:10 PM #

    Here are more of his comments in their entirety from the latest ACC Sports Journal:

    “One thing that wasn’t in question as the season ended was the support Sendek had from his players, even the ones who clashed with him at times and spent time in his doghouse. They didn’t simply speak up for their coach while in Dallas; they passionately defended him.

    Most outspoken throughout the team’s mostly disappointing trip through the postseason was forward Ilian Evtimov, a fifth-year senior.

    “People are going to say what they want,” Evtimov said. “The media is going to say their opinion. That’s their job. It’s their job to look for different stories and have a good story. But at the end, when you look at the record and look at the last five years, we’ve done nothing but progress and done nothing but have 20-plus wins.

    “For the coach to get criticized, I mean, to me is stupid. There are a number of coaches that would love to have that kind of record in that conference. Obviously, we have a lot of competition with Duke and Carolina right next door, but those are teams that have been dominating college basketball for the last 20 years, and we want to be a team just like that. We’re making progress. We’re getting there.

    “So that is the way I feel. Anyone who doesn’t feel we’re successful either one, doesn’t know anything about basketball, or two, is a complete idiot and just doesn’t like the program.”

    Evtimov contended that there is much about Sendek and the program that the media and the public don’t realize.

    “The media, the fans who disagree, they have not been to practice, they have not been to our preseason workouts and conditioning, in the pregame, at halftime or postgame,” Evtimov said. “They don’t know what we’ve been through. So I think it’s really unjust for them to make any kind of assumptions about our program when they don’t know much about it.

    “We’re a good program, and for those who don’t buy that, that’s their perspective, but they might as well be a different team’s fan.”

    Senior swingman Cameron Bennerman, who seemed to buy into Sendek’s philosophy this season after clashing with the coach often through his first three years, also stood up for Sendek. Bennerman was the one who revealed a meeting between athletic director Lee Fowler (a staunch Sendek supporter all along) and the team, in which Fowler assured the players that Sendek had the administration’s support.

    “He’s done too much for the program,” Bennerman said. “He’s done too much for the student-athlete. Guys are graduating, are doing good in their academics, and are becoming more mentally stronger. The things he is working on are the things that people really don’t see. I think if the media would take more time to write a positive article or a positive column about what he does well, I mean, that would be great. But people just choose to focus on the negative things.”

    Bennerman said Sendek’s biggest strength is getting his players to understand the need to do things the right way.

    “I have a tendency to say too much, and he’s gotten on me a couple times,” Bennerman said. “But that all goes to wanting to keep that good image. That’s really true. Keep a clean program. Say the right things. Be a gentleman. Have character. That’s what he’s all about, and that’s what we respect him for. Some of the stuff he says and does may sound corny, but that’s how he is.”

    I agree with Choppack.

  3. class of '74 03/29/2006 at 4:25 PM #

    ^Hey he just lost and he feels bad and he wants to defend his coach which is completely understandable. But none of this changes the fact his coach is not the guy to lead NCSU to any kind of sustained high level success. The man has a track record of not being able to beat top 50 level talent. And what I say or what Ilian says can’t change that record! He has proven he can’t do this in 10 years so why does anyone think magically this will change in the future is beyond all logic!

  4. Rick 03/29/2006 at 4:53 PM #

    I have never bashed IE other than to say he was out of line for criticizing the fans. But if he wants to throw out things like that he can expect them back.

    As for us not “seeing Herb in practice” or whatever else he was rambling about, I can see the product put on the floor. I could care less if they play hop scotch as long as they win.

    And I agree it is a shame it has come to a player having to defend a coach. If that coach had any real feeling for these players he would do what Davis did. But then again that woudl cut into his paycheck.

  5. choppack 03/29/2006 at 5:01 PM #

    c of 74 – I see your point, but I think you try to understand where Ilian is coming from as well.

    When he came here 5 years ago – we hadn’t been to the NCAA tourney in 10 years. Now, we’ve been 5 time in a row. I asked you on a previous thread what you thought 5 years ago when Sendek wasn’t fired? You answered the question that you thought he should have been fired…but I doubt you or anyone else thought that we would have made 5 straight tourneys – heck , I didn’t. We’ve had double figures in conference wins 2 of the last 3 years. When was the last time that happened? (Yes, it’s true that the conference has changed.)

    Remember, Ilian wasn’t even born in ’74. The NC State he knew was the laughingstock of the ACC.

    Thanks for putting in the full quote there. It’s also interesting to see Cam’s quotes as well. That the players feel this way about their coach does give me some hope if Sendek is retained – because the results we saw on the court gave one a different impression (although no one could question Ilian or Cam’s dedication down the stretch since both played hurt and left everything they had on the court.)

  6. Mr O 03/29/2006 at 5:16 PM #

    IE is fully invested in the program. With as much criticism as our program receives from fans, then his reaction is only natural because it is his program that is being criticized as well.

  7. class of '74 03/30/2006 at 6:34 AM #

    Yes I would have fired Sendek five years ago and it would have been the right thing to do then. And who could say his replacement would not have exceeded Herb’s record for the past five years? Look at UT this year do you think they expected to reach the heights they did in Bruce Pearl’s first season? Does their future look bright with Bruce Pearl?

    Whether it is athletics or business or personal decisions you make in your life you should make them with the best information you have at that given moment. Not every decision we make will be correct naturally, but if you are constantly worried about your choices, and looking in the rear view mirror, chances are good you will be frozen as we presently are to make necessary changes. Lee is more concerned with what people might think of him for making a bold decision and his fear has us frozen with a guy that can’t reach past achievements IMHO.

  8. Mr O 03/30/2006 at 8:35 AM #

    Class of 74: Nobody can say definitely what would have happened, however if Herb had been fired then L’ville definitely would have been a lot better. As far as NC State, we would have spent the previous four years without one of the best players in our program’s history and the most important NC State player since the early nineties.

    The UT situation didn’t have a franchise type of recruit that was tied to their former coach’s future at UT, so you aren’t exactly comparing an apple to an apple. Julius Hodge was not going to NC State unless Herb Sendek remained our coach.

    We made four NCAA tournaments with Hodge. IMO, we would not have made four without him. Might we have been better off now? Possibly, but it was probably unlikely in the short term(2-3 years) because of how important Julius Hodge was to our program.

  9. class of '74 03/30/2006 at 10:59 AM #

    ^But you and I will never know what other great players would have come here that did not as a result of Herb’s remaining. Julius played hard and loved the game as very few do but he is not in my top 10 all time wolfpackers regardless. He was a very good player that did not improve as much as he should have or could have with a better coaching and system to play under.

  10. Wuf62 03/30/2006 at 7:40 PM #

    I believe this year’s team, when they “played,” was actually better than at any time with Julius. Julius really didn’t fit Herb’s offense, and when he was out there forcing the action, the rest of them tended to stand around and watch the proceedings. To say he is one of the best players since the early nineties isn’t really stepping out, is it? One of the best in history? It would be hard to put him in the top 50. Where is he today? Listen to TB’s audio from the radio. Julius is in the developmental league. I’m not trying to knock Julius. He’s an emotional competitor. But we could have lived without him and probably been just as mediocre.

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