Lowe in the Media; State playing in Hawaii

The following is some biting criticism from one of the more prominent national college basketball blogs:

Let’s run through the challengers for Duke in the state of North Carolina (NC State left out for Sidney Lowe obvious reasons).

Ouch! It is very painful to continue to be ridiculed for our complete irrelevance as a competitive college basketball program. No matter how much our neighbors lose to graduation and the NBA, NC State isn’t good enough to even be in the conversation with most basketball junkies. Great job, “Coach” Fowler. Mens’ basketball is fitting in great with your growing stable of sub-mediocrities.

In other news, Andy Katz shows that despite the Wolfpack’s competitive struggles the program isn’t totally irrelevant with this long article on the Wolfpack and Coach Sidney Lowe that highlights a few interesting items:

“I know I’m going to get the phone call,” Lowe said. “But this is where I am. [Saunders] is not the only one who is going to call. One has already called. But there’s so much here. I love working with young men, teaching them and preparing them for the world.”

[snip]

Lowe is trying to upgrade the schedule. The Wolfpack host Florida in a return of a home-and-home series and do return a game at rebuilding Marquette and start a series at Arizona, which is going through a makeover project. Even though two of these three schools likely aren’t headed for the NCAA tournament, the Pack need confidence early before ACC play begins. Lowe said he is also committing to the inaugural Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu in December with headline teams USC and UNLV.

It is weird how ESPN would have such a more thorough piece than local media providers.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

09-10 Basketball AD & Department Sidney Lowe

71 Responses to Lowe in the Media; State playing in Hawaii

  1. GAWolf 04/24/2009 at 8:56 AM #

    I’m not sure if anyone else point this out above or not, but it’s pretty pitiful that the “headline teams” in that tournament will be USC and UNLV, and not NC State.

    Jebus.

  2. BJD95 04/24/2009 at 9:03 AM #

    Sidney Lowe is both coach and GM. The whole package is his responsibility.

    I expect Lowe to be out if he doesn’t make the NCAAT next season, and I think that’s more than fair. Based on what he has shown me (in Xs and Os, program discipline, and recruiting), I give him a 5% chance to make it, and I think that’s being very generous.

    It’s too late for action on Lowe this offseason (so the “patience times two” timeline is getting extended a bit – now expect a two-step process with a time gap in between), so he will get next season to prove me wrong.

  3. choppack1 04/24/2009 at 9:03 AM #

    Ga Wolf – did you read any of the articles this spring about the QB race? If you did, you would have read that the contest for the starting job wasn’t Beck, Evans and Wilson – but rather, Wilson and Glennon.

    So – who knows? Still, the fact is that TOB in his first year signed a “PG” who was pretty highly regarded…and while there’s a possibility Glennon would have struggled or that TOB would have decided to redshirt him, it wouldn’t change the fact that we are just NOW HEADING INTO TOB’S 3RD SEASON.

    It also wouldn’t change the fact that in TOBs first season, he improved on the record of his predecessor AND beat UNC. In his second season, he improved on his own record (and his predecessor’s).

    And, there’s plenty of excitement going into his 3rd year – and part of the reason to be excited is that things at that key position – QB – look more encouraging than they were last year.

    OTOH, Sid is heading into his 4th year – and we’re one injury/off-court incident away from having zero big men coming off the bench.

    And finally – it’s Sid’s fault RIGHT NOW that he doesn’t have the horses. When this year begins, he will have brought in 13 players – that’s plenty of “horses”.

  4. Alpha Wolf 04/24/2009 at 9:05 AM #

    How do you arrive at your opinion that Javi will be a force in the league this coming year?

    I don’t know about “force” but I do know I have come to love his scrappy never-say-die attitude. He’s certainly maximizing his talent, and even if he may never get a vote for all-ACC, I can respect the fact that Javi goes all out.

    My favorite player on next year’s team, however, is Tracy Smith. If he learns to pass out of double-teams and develops a short jumper he will be deadly.

  5. Greywolf 04/24/2009 at 9:06 AM #

    GAWolf
    April 24th, 2009 at 8:49 am
    Here’s a legitimate question for all of you:
    Without Russell Wilson, are we excited about football after last season?

    The obvious answer is with Glennon, hell yes, I’d be excited. I think I know what you are getting at. With Atsur we were a decent basketball team and Sid was a good coach. Atsur graduates and Sid sucks. The only worse place in sports is goalkeeper on a hockey team. You make one mistake and they turn on a flashing red light to let everybody know it.

    One injury and without quality depth, you are in trouble. True for fb and bb.

  6. Thinkpack17 04/24/2009 at 9:07 AM #

    “I’ve read a lot of opinion by the experts on this list that Javi will never be an 1st rate ACC player. How do you arrive at your opinion that Javi will be a force in the league this coming year?”

    He will be an experienced starter in a land of unproven PGs. He has shown that he can get to the cup, he has shown that he can knock down an open three, he has shown that he can operate in the open court. I don’t think he’s going to win the Cousy award but he can be a force. No Grevis, No Lawson, No Hurdle, No Douglas, No Rice, No Teague, No McClinton, Shumpert is probably moving to the 2 to make way for the GA freshmen. Like I said, if Lowe can’t send our PGs to the next level in this field…I may have to concede that he is not our guy.

  7. Thinkpack17 04/24/2009 at 9:10 AM #

    “My favorite player on next year’s team, however, is Tracy Smith. If he learns to pass out of double-teams and develops a short jumper he will be deadly.”

    I am huge on Tracy Smith…people really sell him short. I think he’s going to be a monster.

  8. Alpha Wolf 04/24/2009 at 9:10 AM #

    chop, I see exactly where you are coming from, but the tempest in the teapot of your argument is that TOB was an established college coach with a staff that already was recruiting or establishing relationships with players that ultimately came to NC State. Lowe had none of that.

    That’s not a write-off excuse, however, but it does have some bearing in a comparison between the two coaches.

  9. packbackr04 04/24/2009 at 9:10 AM #

    also, TOB has a proven track record of knowing what the hell he is doing in building a team. i dont think i am alone in thinking that Sid is totally lost at this point.

    BJD: You are not alone. In fact, you have lots and lots of company (even in “high places”). And yes, it’s only logical to give a proven coach like TOB the benefit of the doubt – Lowe came in as an open book, with more to prove.

  10. Noah 04/24/2009 at 9:15 AM #

    No Grevis, No Lawson, No Hurdle, No Douglas, No Rice, No Teague, No McClinton, Shumpert is probably moving to the 2 to make way for the GA freshmen. Like I said, if Lowe can’t send our PGs to the next level in this field…I may have to concede that he is not our guy.

    So Gonzalez isn’t getting better so much as the rest of the league is falling back?

  11. Alpha Wolf 04/24/2009 at 9:16 AM #

    ^ True, completely true.

    I’m just trying…hard…to find anything to be optimistic about at the moment.

  12. packfan1 04/24/2009 at 9:16 AM #

    There is an article on WRALSportsFan.com from yesterday concerning John Wall that is titled: “Wall to visit Miami this weekend, Duke believed to be the leader.” In the article it states: “Duke is believed to be the leader for Wall, followed by Kentucky, North Carolina and Miami.” It doesn’t mention NCSU on the list. Is he no longer considering us? Anybody know the latest?

  13. Thinkpack17 04/24/2009 at 9:20 AM #

    “So Gonzalez isn’t getting better so much as the rest of the league is falling back?”

    That is absolutely part of it. Like I said…with the field coming back next year, if Lowe can’t push these kids (PGs) over the hump then I would be forced to agree with you guys. I can see us getting drug by Lawson…Getting drug by a freshman Mfon Udofia? Not cool. Hey sometimes you need some luck to get back on track, and that list of kids leaving is lucky for us.

  14. Thinkpack17 04/24/2009 at 9:23 AM #

    “Is he no longer considering us? Anybody know the latest?”

    He is considering EVERYONE, now Florida has joined the list. They’d have to pay the writer for 3000 words if they wanted to list ALL his options. He still has us in his top 5…but he’s a ghost, forget about him.

  15. wufpup76 04/24/2009 at 9:27 AM #

    “Without RW, wouldn’t some of the fans have already started second-guessing the TOB hire?”

    ^I’ve seen some question it even w/ Russell … a few are going to be like that no matter what (i.e., the “Fire Roy!!!” crowd after the holes lose a basketball game).

    But I get your point – I think a few more probably would question the hire due to impatience and the overall suckitude of nearly all State sports. That said, I think most would probably give it the benefit of the doubt b/c of TOB’s proven track record. We nearly made a bowl game with Evans under center in TOB’s first season (after an admittedly disastrous start). And, there have been other obvious improvements as opposed to the previous regime even taking RW out of the equation.

    That’s the thing with Sidney’s hire … I’ll state again that he has my full support and I hope he starts to do so well that all discussions like this can be rendered moot – but there’s absolutely nothing that suggests that things will turn around like magic. He had zero college coaching experience, and no track record other than his time in the NBA. I think he knows the pro game in-and-out and is still adjusting to the college game. He’s shown signs that given the right personnel he can help orchestrate a highly efficient offense (against man D – zone has been another story). Of course, we all know there’s been plenty of negatives – but it would be a bit disingenuous to say there’s been no positives (I want rehash all that stuff now).

    Do we necessarily owe him another year or two? No – but I said 4 years and I’m sticking to it. I don’t think all hope is lost, but I tend to agree with BJD that some of the stuff above has some spin to it. Let’s face it – there have been some really bad signs / red flags the first three seasons, and this “my guys vs. his guys” stuff kinda comes off as excuse making. It is his job, afterall, to make what he has work.

    All that said, all the reasons for patience and understanding (trying to help the program; no experience; no first recruiting class; etc…) remain going into this season. But this coming season is it for me – and I think it’s time that measurable results really count for something (i.e. – more than one good non-conference win; .500 or better in the ACC; making the NCAA tournament … stuff like that).

  16. Moose Hunter 04/24/2009 at 9:32 AM #

    “I’m excited to get these young guys in here and see how much better we’re going to be, see how more mature Mays will be who led us in the ACC tournament game,” Lowe said. “We were winning games down the stretch with great play from Julius, C.J. [10 points in Wake win; 16 in a win over Virginia] and Dennis [11 points in BC win].”

    Lowe said in practice the reserves consistently beat the starters toward the end of last season. “I feel good about that,”

    That quote from the Katz article makes me feel better. There were times last season where the young guys really seemed to get it. Lets see what they can do.

  17. Thinkpack17 04/24/2009 at 9:39 AM #

    Lowe needs to take Carter Jordan on the recruiting trail with him. Jordan signed ANOTHER wrestling national champ…that is nuckin’ futs.

  18. choppack1 04/24/2009 at 9:39 AM #

    Alpha – That’s definitely true – and it points out again, what an incredibly risky hire Sid was.

    I’ve used the analogy before, but Fowler essentially pushed all in on 2-8 off-suited. There was no reason whatsoever to believe that Sid was qualified to be a head coach in the ACC. It doesn’t mean that it won’t work (just like you could lose if you pushed all in before the flop on pocket rockets to that 2-8 off-suited) – it just means that it was a decision not made based on factual info.

    The most encouraging thing about Sid so far is that he hasn’t been worse. He has shown some signs of improvement – whether it will continue or he’s the kind of person whose improvement in one area is offset by a decline in another – remains to be seen.

  19. BJD95 04/24/2009 at 9:59 AM #

    I also find it amusing that Lowe is spinning Mays’ ACCT performance as such a great reason for optimism. Lowe admitted after the game that Mays wouldn’t have played if not for the Degand suspension.

    And Mays’ performance was extremely notable because everybody else basically shit the bed – including “his guys.”

  20. Thinkpack17 04/24/2009 at 10:14 AM #

    ^^True but our seniors should have gotten us through that game. We shouldn’t have been looking to CJ and Julius to finish that game off. Courtney, Costner and McCauley should have manned up. I say that and McCauley is my favorite player, he had a good offensive game but on the defensive end we had no leadership. Still pisses me off…losing to those midgets.

  21. choppack1 04/24/2009 at 10:16 AM #

    BJD – that is funny isn’t it. I mean after Mays hit the winning shot vs. the “U” – everyone goes, “that’s what he does in practice every day.”

    He sees a little time vs. VaTech, UNC and Central, then proceeds to play a grand total of 1 minute in our next 7 games. But…Lowe is optimistic about him, and the 2 guys who logged all of that time are coming back. Odd indeed.

  22. Gene 04/24/2009 at 10:24 AM #

    And Mays’ performance was extremely notable

    The same Julius Mays, who had like 10 turnovers against Gelph, or who ever it was they played in Canada, in exhibition games?

    Mays had a freshman learning curve and improved dramatically during the course of the year, but given his struggles earlier in the season, I can understand a coach going with a more experienced player.

  23. triadwolf 04/24/2009 at 10:38 AM #

    Harrison Beck probably threw 50 yard TD passes all the time in practice. Problem was the 4 or 5 picks in between each one.

    Lowe probably went with who he felt would turn the ball over the least and still be able to run the offense. Javi obviously had the switch come on and progressed. Degand over Mays – well, that is a bit of a mystery.

  24. Alpha Wolf 04/24/2009 at 10:47 AM #

    ^ For that matter, Davis was a stud in practice.

    I still say, however, that Jay Davis would have prospered under Bible.

  25. Thinkpack17 04/24/2009 at 10:54 AM #

    Degand only needs to see the floor next year as a hatchet. He needs to come in to lean and hack, just to wear the other PG down. Other than that…I really don’t see him bringing much to the table.

Leave a Reply