Friday Morning Round-Up

General NCS Basketball32

====> There is a lot of great stuff below this entry on the front page. Please have a look around.

====> This morning, the blog will be shifting towards a process where you must register to leave comments. Registering is as easy as 1-2-3. The blog has grown so much in recent weeks that there is no other way to control the quality of the content and keep flamers from other schools off the site. We are committed to quality here and we will do everything that we can to preserve it. While we are on the topic, we ask that you spend a moment reading a word about the blog.

====> Technician penned this about some comments made by Lee Fowler.

The irony of Lee Fowler talking about ethics is just too classic. I’m sure that not a single student in that room had the knowledge to know of Fowler’s past role in major violations as an assistant basketball coach at Memphis State.

====> 850 The Buzz’s Blog has been doing a fine job of sharing information recently. And the format of their blog is much improved from its previous look. While we are on the topic of blogs…what happened to the N&O’s blog? It was on fire and now has seemed to have kind of given up.

====> Dave Glenn updated his coaching search entry last night at 11pm. His stuff continues to be the best out there.

According to multiple sources, Calipari remains by far the most controversial candidate among the Wolfpack’s “A-list” targets. Some prominent boosters believe he should be the school’s next priority, while others don’t think he should be considered at all.

Calipari has won consistently at the college level, with successful stints at Memphis (148-59 through six seasons) and previously at Massachusetts (193-71 in eight seasons) sandwiched around an unsuccessful stint with the NBA’s New Jersey Nets. The NCAA ultimately took away the Minutemen’s surprising 1996 Final Four berth after finding several violations involving center Marcus Camby, but Calipari was not implicated in any of the wrongdoing.

====> Since John Calipari SHOULD be the next focus of NC State’s coaching search, I thought that I would highlight an article that came out in the middle of the season from the Charlotte Observer (but was a national piece done by the AP.)

The piece very quickly highlights the difference in Calipari’s standards and those of the past (and present) regime at NC State. You will notice that “finally arriving” to Coach Cal was arriving in the Top 5…not simply squeezing into the NCAA Tournament. .

Calipari living up to the hype
TERESA M.WALKER
Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn.

The day Memphis introduced John Calipari as the Tigers’ new basketball coach, local radio and television stations carried his news conference live to fans and boosters eager to anoint him the program’s savior.
Now in his sixth season, Calipari is finally living up to expectations. The Tigers are ranked No. 5 and, at 14-2 are off to the school’s best start since 1985-86.

“Sometimes I get a little stunned,” Calipari said. “Wow! It took us six years.”

This wasn’t the timetable Calipari had in mind when he left his job as a Philadelphia 76ers assistant under Larry Brown.

Calipari had to recruit more talent and deal with issues such as stocking a weight room, refurbishing a new practice gym that now has NBA-quality video, meeting and locker rooms and renovating an academic center that now has graduated eight of 11 players.

“I said `I’m coming in here to build a program to get us into the top 10 and give us a chance to win a national championship,’ and I haven’t wavered from that,” Calipari said.

=====> Want to see something great? Go to CoachCalipari.com.

Want to see something that you would never see in a Lee Fowler or Herb Sendek program? Go to the “Memphis Hoops� tab and scroll down to the Performance Pledge and then the “Committed to Winning a National Title�

To be a part of the University of Memphis Basketball team you must be committed to winning a national title. To wage that war, we must live together, eat together, study together, condition and play together.

No one can be held to a lower standard! We all must reach the same bar. The more we sacrifice for each other the harder it will be to surrender during the season!

General NCS Basketball

32 Responses to Friday Morning Round-Up

  1. Jason2413 04/07/2006 at 7:59 AM #

    I’ve been on the Calipari bandwagon for a while now. He has been my #1 choice, even over Barnes, since earlier this week. I think we would be fools not to hire him. No one has shown any evidence of scandal in his past. Not talking to him out of fear of how it will be played in the media is exactly what the UNC/Duke homers want. We might as well let them run our athletic department if that is how we’re going to be.

    Calipari would win here, and win BIG, and from all accounts would uphold the academic and ethical standards the university has placed on the program.

    If by some miracle we end up hiring him, I think all NC State fans should send out a two word email to every Duke and UNC fan they know:

    “Bring it!”

  2. WTNY 04/07/2006 at 8:34 AM #

    Jeff,

    Thanks for the good work as always.

    One of the items I recall you discussing numerous times is “Fit”. Many, me included, felt that Coach Sendek was not a fit with NC State.

    I’d love to see Coach Calipari leading the Red and White but I think Coach Calipari will be seen by many, including some of the decision-makers, as not a “Fit” with NC State. Not from ability, effort, results but because of the taint of scandals. As unfair as it is, we can’t take a coach with any taint given our history.

    Now there are lots of good coaches that would be a good fit. Go get one Lee!

  3. NCSU4LIFE 04/07/2006 at 8:37 AM #

    We may as well face it. We will get a second tier coach like Brady here. As much as we want a top notch coach it seems as if they have no interest in us. We can throw Calipari’s name around all we want. We won’t get him and will have to resort to someone much less. It never fails us as NCSU fans.

  4. Mowgli 04/07/2006 at 8:42 AM #

    I understand some of the apprehension regarding Calipari, but I believe he’s still the best fit for NCSU. Even more so than RB. I think it’s wrong to assume that Calipari wouldn’t know that he’d be under the microscope. I think we have the resources at NCSU that would allow Cal to compete the right way. We have a great academic support system in place that we do not have to dump just because we bring in Cal. I honestly think that he would be able to bring in better STUDENT athletes than he is able to at Memphis or when he was at UMass. Just because we let Herb go, doesn’t mean we have to dump some of the good things he built. We can have a great coach and great student athletes too. We can’t be afraid of our own ghosts from almost 20 years ago.

  5. Jeff 04/07/2006 at 8:45 AM #

    We may as well face it. We will get a second tier coach like Brady here.

    In the end, i will be fine with a 2nd tier coach as long as we swing for the fences before then.

    Additionally, there will be a huge difference in reaction depending on WHO the 2nd tier coach is. John Brady is NOT a name that anyone would have the slightest excitement or optimism about.

  6. old13 04/07/2006 at 8:46 AM #

    I do not know the facts about Fowler at Memphis. Did he actually do anything wrong himself? Or was he just part of a staff that had a member who did wrong? In any case, I think that Calipari should at least be given a chance to “interview.” There’s nothing wrong about giving him some pointed questions about ethics.

  7. RAW 04/07/2006 at 8:49 AM #

    Let’s not get so pessimistic just yet guys. Lee may still make a play for Cal, and if he doesn’t, it means that Lee KNOWS Cal is dirty. I refuse to believe that Lee is stupid enough to bomb on this without good reason. He has a good job and means to keep it, I’m sure.

    Also, Brady could be really great at NCSU. But I still want Tubby!

  8. Jason2413 04/07/2006 at 8:51 AM #

    Going second tier after giving a top notch candidate like Calipari a legitimate chance? OK.

    Going second tier without even returning Calipari’s phone calls? No thanks.

    old13: As far as I know, Fowler never did anything wrong at Memphis. I think the main point Jeff has tried to make is that if you’re leery about Calipari being head coach here for “guilt by association” ethical reasons, then unless you also think Fowler should be fired for ethical reasons you’re being inconsistent.

    I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Jeff, but here we are. It’s all about what is best for NC State.

  9. TNCSU 04/07/2006 at 8:57 AM #

    Any news on Oklahoma’s search — Is Calipari mentioned?

  10. Jeff 04/07/2006 at 9:10 AM #

    Calipari supposedly removed his name from consideration at OU.

    OU is like UT. They don’t really care about basketball.

  11. old13 04/07/2006 at 9:16 AM #

    Thanks, Jason. Seems like there are four possible situations: 1) Cheating while knowing one is cheating, 2) cheating by mistake (Roy), 3) being on staff with a cheater (Fowler), and 4) having a player cheat in an area which a coach cannot control (Calipari.) To me, only the 1) situation is grounds for totally ignoring a coach; not 4).

  12. site admin 04/07/2006 at 9:19 AM #

    Wow. We knew that there was going to be a difference in the quality of the conversation when we switched over to asking people to spend 10 seconds to register before posting, but we had no idea how much improved the conversations were going to be.

    Look at the difference between this entry and some of the old ones.

    Thanks, everyone!

  13. Pakkfan 04/07/2006 at 9:21 AM #

    Agreed old13.

    NCAA rules are so vast and at times complicated I’d wager nearly every University has some violations annually. They either are’nt aware of them, or they are so minor they are ignored.

  14. TomA 04/07/2006 at 9:21 AM #

    I cannot support the “cheating by mistake” statement concerning Ol’ Roy when it has benn shown he was involved with promising players “enticements’ if they stayed at Kansas. Plus let’s be honest…a coach can always say that they had nothing to do with extra benefits if everything is handled by a second party (ie the Rams Club). As far as the coaching search I think Fowler finally knows that if he messes this one uo nothing will save him from the uproar from the fan base.

  15. Uncle Pack 04/07/2006 at 9:23 AM #

    Gregg Doyle has ripped NCSU fans. http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9361047

  16. NC Hokie 04/07/2006 at 9:38 AM #

    It is interesting following this debate on your site over the last 5 days. You Pack fans deserve a great coach who can compete and defeat at least @ home with Ol’ Roy and K. Having said all that, you guys were not Beamerized by Barnes. He just did not want to come here and face the heat!

  17. Pakkfan 04/07/2006 at 9:52 AM #

    Hokie,

    Possibly,

    With talks that lasted as long as they did, I wonder if (even though he got more money from Texas) in the end the age of his kids and their enjoyment of Austin just could not be overturned. Moving High Schoolers around can be a tough apple.

  18. BJD95 04/07/2006 at 10:21 AM #

    It’s nice not having to go through the whole process of writing out a coherent post of my own. I’ll just wholeheartedly second what Jason2413 said. It’s absolutely, 100% spot on.

    Even if he is crazy to think Marino was better than Elway. 🙂

  19. RickJ 04/07/2006 at 10:47 AM #

    Calipari’s record is really impressive. I don’t think there is very much in his history to support the “cheater� tag. He is ultra aggressive and this seems to rub some of his competitors the wrong way. Do you remember the press conference after a Temple vs. UMASS game when John Chaney threatened to kill Calipari?

    The bigger problem for Calipari is the academic performance of his teams at UMASS. There was a big investigation (maybe the Boston Globe) into his players’ grades and graduation rates. I remember pretty clearly that the performance was worse than V’s players at State. Anyway, the above information reflects he has made a real effort to not make the same mistakes at Memphis. This would be very important in “selling� him to the NC State campus community.

    Calipari survived the above said investigation because the Chancellor at UMASS supported him and took proactive measures to see the school through the crisis – What a concept! If we are lucky enough to hire Calipari and your UNC-CH friends start giving you any grief, remind them that his biggest defender at UMASS was none other than Michael Hooker, future Chancellor at UNC-CH after every high ranking Ivy League official turned down the job.

  20. WTNY 04/07/2006 at 10:48 AM #

    *in the end the age of his kids and their enjoyment of Austin just could not be overturned*

    That’s what makes this tough. Assuming we want a coach with Div I head coaching experience, and there are 330 or so jobs plus some coaches not coaching / in the NBA to make 350. How many could be considered consistently good? How many have coached more than a couple of years? How may aren’t at the alma mater and are the right age? How many are ready to move, don’t have family ties (high school kids, wife was a cheerleader at the school, etc.), don’t make a bazillion dollars, aren’t in the ACC or don’t have problems with the NCAA? How many are the right “fit”?

    As much fun as it would be to help with the search, in some ways this would be very tough.

  21. db321 04/07/2006 at 10:59 AM #

    RickJ, I think Calipari is being looked at very closely right now. If it is thought that he was not directly or indirectly involved in any of those issues, and he has or can increase his players’ academic performance, and that State’s image would not take a big hit, then the dance is on.

    WTNY, if Calipari is off the table or doesn’t pan out, then who are the top coaches after that? Is it Gillispie, Haith, and Brady? Who else?

  22. WP 01 04/07/2006 at 11:03 AM #

    I hope we’re strongly considering Calipari, Gillispie, and Haith in that order. I rate Brady slightly better than Odom. It’s my understanding that Calipari is interested in the OU job—but would want a promise to build a new arena/better facilities. That’s very important to him. We have nice facilities.

  23. BJD95 04/07/2006 at 11:39 AM #

    WP – I agree completely. Gillespie would be pretty good (a B/B+ hire), and I wouldn’t freak out over Haith (a B-minus hire, but with some upside). It’s getting into the C and D list that really scares me.

  24. old13 04/07/2006 at 12:26 PM #

    TomA, I wasn’t aware that Roy did anything other than the graduation gifts. What else was there?

  25. wolfydave 04/07/2006 at 12:55 PM #

    while we’re talking all this slimy talk, I hope Lee is aware there is a lot of rumors surrounding Brady about possibly being involved in this Junior College Scam that got the Iowa State coach canned…

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