See here for details. Take it for what it’s worth, but Dave Glenn usually has pretty solid sources. Obviously, Glenn believes that the “dramatic turn” has fallen through, as none of these names possibly qualify. We break Glenn’s options down, in order of preference (“preference” being used very loosely):
1) Dereck Whittenburg (Fordham)
Strengths:
* Fanbase will accept (at least at 75% rate)
* Would be accepting his “dream job” and would stay forever if he succeeded
* Has recruited in the ACC
* Strong ties to NC State – even better, one of its “glory years”
* Has improved his team seven years in a row
Weaknesses:
* Lacks polish
* Has never taken a solid program and made it better (a different skill set than lifting up a moribund program)
* Inherent “red flags” in hiring a very popular alumnus
2) Steve Lavin (ESPN, formerly at UCLA)
Strengths:
* Good national media attention (they love their own)
* Arguably a good recruiter – could possibly bring infusion of athletic talent to NC State
* Could have learned a great deal from ordeal at UCLA (was hired too young)
Weaknesses:
* Strengths are mostly hypothetical
* Was constantly under fire and ultimately dismissed from one of the three best jobs in college basketball (UNC and Kentucky are the others, FYI)
* Some ethical concerns
* Arguably, an inconclusive recruiter – my cat could sell UCLA
* No other program – including bottom feeders like Purdue (a job Lavin really wanted) – has been willing to give Lavin a second chance
* No ties to the ACC, or more broadly, the east coast.
3) John Beilein (West Virginia)
Strengths:
* Recent post-season success
* ?????
Weaknesses:
* Hire will make well over 50% of the fanbase furious
* No “fresh start” (essentially hiring an OLD Herb Sendek), which is desperately needed
* Princeton-like offensive system better designed for historically disadvantaged programs (like WV), not schools with all of the infrastructure in place to compete for titles (NC State)
* Large buyout
Botom Line?
In the name of all that is good and holy, just hire Whitt now. As soon as he completes his first press conference here, the fanbase will be reasonably united again. He has good experience, and boundless energy for THIS job, and for North Carolina State University. Yes, he carries some risk, but his hire will not signal that NC State has accepted second-class status that needs a gimmick just to stay above water (unlike Beilein). Whitt will approach this job believing with all his mind, heart, and soul that NC State should take a back seat to nobody, and that winning a third national championship is not a Quixotic pipe dream for the “lunatic fringe.”
After all, he was one of the driving forces behind Championship #2. Why should he back down from Roy and K, when he already slayed the dragons of Dean Smith, Ralph Sampson, Clyde Drexler, and Hakeem Olajuwon?
