Ryan Harrow has a message for Wolfpack fans

Let’s try this again.

There is a healthy amount of discussion on the forums about this already. This letter originally showed up on PackPride a couple days ago.

“To all my Wolfpack fansI want to say thank you for all the support and faith that ya’ll have in Lorenzo and I.   We are very excited to be coming to such a highly-regarded school. Lorenzo and I have talked about playing basketball at NC State together and with the rest of the players that will be there for a long time. We are looking to come in and make the team better by the hardwork we put in before practice, during practice, and after. We have winner mentalities and hopefully that will rub off on the players that are in a slump this season.

Me personally, I have always been excited about coming to NC State ever since coach Monte Towe and Coach Lowe walked into my high school gym my freshman year. Coach Lowe believed in me when a lot of coaches thought I didn’t have what it takes. Sad on those coaches behalf haha. Now I am what I am and I’m sticking beside Coach Lowe because of the loyalty he showed me. I feel if a person treats you with that much respect and has that much faith, then I must show that same courtesy back.

Myself and Lorenzo are on NC State’s blogs and forums everyday and we look to see all the support you give us, but now a days we see so much negative and it has become really discomforting to my godbrother and I. The things that are said about the fans giving up and not wanting to show the support like I know ya’ll can. I was at the Duke game. Our fans can get crazy lol. Those statements matter to me. I came to the school at first solely for Coach Lowe but when I come to see games and people are greeting me, saying ” thank you so much for joining us”, it made me realize I love the atmosphere to. These fans can get better. I hate going on the forums reading those things.

Also Lorenzo and I see the statements about coach Lowe and it really makes me think, ” what am I getting myself into”. Coach Lowe works hard and is very passionate about the game. He just needs people and players around him like Lorenzo, Luke, C.J., and me to transpire that fire onto the court. Every bad game we cannot criticize coach Lowe. It comes down to the players performing on the court. I know Coach Lowe is going to help my game and make me the best point guard I can be. But it will come in time.

The 2010 class will be a great one, especially adding to the players that’s already at the school. We will get better as the year goes on. But ya’ll have to remember, even though I think myself and Lorenzo are two of the best guards out there in the nation, we are coming into a new experience so we have to learn a little first. So if we don’t get the results ya’ll want right away, plz don’t give up on supporting the team and don’t say we need to fire the coach. We are going to be a great team and one of the best teams to come through NC State. It just takes time. I hope Lorenzo and I have not offended anybody and would hope that ya’ll understand where we are coming from. My family and Lorenzo’s family are Wolfpack until we die now, but we need support and comfort. Thank you and Go STATE!”

Tim Hall of WRAL put his thoughts about NC State’s current situation and the Ryan Harrow ordeal on WRAL Sports Fan this morning. Pretty interesting stuff.

This year is gone. It’s done. The NCAA Tournament went out the window with a six-game ACC losing streak. It has been almost a month since the Pack’s last conference win. They’ve been beat up by a depressed North Carolina team, twice. They’ve been bloodied by everyone, including Virginia and Maryland.

With five games left, the Pack has to play Maryland, Wake Forest, at Miami, at Virginia Tech and Boston College. Maybe the Wolfpack can win two of those. But it will be a fight to keep the 14-12 record at .500 by season’s end.

But look to the future. Don’t fire Sidney Lowe. Don’t kill the momentum, as small as it may seem, because the talent level is about to go up in Raleigh.

10-11 Basketball ACC Basketball Recruiting College Basketball Sidney Lowe

66 Responses to Ryan Harrow has a message for Wolfpack fans

  1. packfan03 02/16/2010 at 9:55 AM #

    bradleyb123,

    Same question from before, what changed? Earlier in the year you supported the notion (not necessarily the coach, entirely) of Lowe returning for a fifth year to coach a team with the talent he recruited for his system. Obviously now, you’re vehemently opposed to this.

    Note: I acknowledge that you have been consistent regarding the inevitable failure of a coaching search navigated by Lee Fowler (I agree).

  2. quacko 02/16/2010 at 10:04 AM #

    why did this article disappear, then reappear, sans all the comments?

  3. JeremyH 02/16/2010 at 10:09 AM #

    Perhaps a steering away from us shooting ourselves in the foot? There is certainly a meta-debate going on between the lines.

  4. Pack05 02/16/2010 at 10:18 AM #

    I’m glad the article/comments were removed… thanks for doing that, it was embarrassing reading some of those.

  5. Wolfy__79 02/16/2010 at 10:18 AM #

    fantastic letter! i’ve never seen such a measure from a young man. this letter reeks of a true NCSU WOLFPACK family member. i’m really excited about these young men joining tracy & co. i’m equally excited to hear nate say he’s ready to hit somebody.

    in addition, something for me to pull for. since the javi vs. vasquez saga began, our javi has yet to get the better of the two. two being, he also battles himself. anyway, i’m ultimately hoping we can pull of the upset.. but more importantly, hoping javi can win this personal battle he has with vasquez. i really despise him! these days, beating maryland is almost as good as beating one of our in state rivals. i also hope to see painter with some minutes as well as josh davis.

    ryan, luke, lorenzo, cj.. you are a very welcomed group of young men into the NCSU WOLFPACK. keep up the good work, do something nice for someone else every day and we look forward to you joining us 100%. if you stay with us long enough, you will grow to understand why NCSU is the best!!

    sincerely,
    carlton gainey

  6. quacko 02/16/2010 at 10:20 AM #

    so, you’re ok having your actions and thoughts dictated to you by a 17 year old and the ostensible adults that have an odd fascination with him?

  7. Wolfy__79 02/16/2010 at 10:22 AM #

    hell yeah quacko, i’m literally obsessed with him. not, i just think its a very nice thing for him to do. just read it literally, forget disecting motives into it!

    sfn, can you update us on some of the 2011-12 recruits?… that might also lighten the mood too..

  8. HPWolf 02/16/2010 at 10:24 AM #

    I have not read the previous posts on this message by Harrow due to the fact I was mourning our 8th defeat in a row to the A holes from the hill, so this might have been said already but it is sad that the only positive encouraging thing I have read or heard lately on NC State BB is from an incoming recruit. Sid has not been upbeat or positive in his interviews or his demeanor on the court. Its no wonder the team lacks confidence. In a down year in the ACC we are still unable to break out of the cellar. UNC is having one of their worst years ever with injuries and poor play and Williams still slaps Sid around. Freakin pathetic! Maybe Ryan Harrow can lead this team along with Brown because I dont see Sid being able to do it.

  9. packplantpath 02/16/2010 at 10:24 AM #

    I’m glad they are excited to play here, though I can’t fathom why they would be. I’m glad that they see potential for athletic greatness here, because they are right. There is potential for greatness with NC State athletics.

    But, doesn’t anybody else wonder why they care? Did they grow up state fans? What connection do they have to NC State. We have been irrelevant for nearly a decade longer than they have been alive.

  10. packfan03 02/16/2010 at 10:28 AM #

    “so, you’re ok having your actions and thoughts dictated to you by a 17 year old and the ostensible adults that have an odd fascination with him?”

    If “reacting” to the letter is the same as having our thoughts and actions “dictated” to us, yes. We are all reacting to this letter in different ways. No matter what your opinion is, most of us can agree that this circumstance is highly unusual.

  11. Thinkpack17 02/16/2010 at 10:28 AM #

    ^Sid believed Ryan was going to be a great player before anyone else would give him a chance. When someone believes in you that goes a long way, especially when people have been telling you otherwise.

  12. LRM 02/16/2010 at 10:37 AM #

    Everytime I hear about how a recruit is going to save us all, all I can think about is how Damien Wilkins was the Next David Thompson.

  13. Thinkpack17 02/16/2010 at 10:39 AM #

    ^I have never seen footage of an entire DT game, but based on what I have heard about him you should have slapped that person across his lips.

  14. quacko 02/16/2010 at 10:40 AM #

    No matter what your opinion is, most of us can agree that this circumstance is highly unusual.

    And that passes the smell test with you? from an athletics administration and SI department that has, if not worked actively against the interest of the fans, has at least ignored and/or condescended to?

    Ryan may take credit for the letter, but I have serious doubts that he wrote it of his own volition.

    the fact that this article, once populated with many comments, disappeared for a while after mysteriously losing some content, doesnt do anything to dispel those thoughts.

    in short, i just reject the notion that a 17 year old kid is telling me, an owner of multiple state degrees, how i need to act and what i need to say.

  15. LRM 02/16/2010 at 10:41 AM #

    It wasn’t any one person. It was by the same folks who say every year “Just wait until we have Recruit X.”

  16. packfan03 02/16/2010 at 10:41 AM #

    ^^^To further comment, Ryan has publically stated this numerous times. He says this in his commitment remarks at Sammy’s (which can be found on YouTube).

    Ryan Harrow to NC State happened several years ago when we were the only school that recruited him.

  17. packfan03 02/16/2010 at 10:44 AM #

    Recruits failing to live up to their expectations should not lower the expectations of future recruits. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Statistically, one of these guys has to work out!

    I say that facetiously, however, comparing future recruits to past failures (in different coaching regimes) does not add to this conversation.

  18. LRM 02/16/2010 at 10:46 AM #

    I agree with quacko. I have no doubt there is a long list of State fans that are far better fans than myself. However, no one gets to be on that list without, at the very least, a State diploma hanging on their wall; and they certainly don’t have the right to tell me what kind of fan I should be.

    And that’s one of my gripes about the mass fawning over this letter. If it indeed came from Harrow, then I believe he was out of line to write it. If it was encouraged upon him by anyone invloved with his recruitment, then I’m astounded at their condescending arrogance to those of us that will be State fans long after they’re no longer around.

  19. JeremyH 02/16/2010 at 10:47 AM #

    For Maryland, I say put Smith, Howell, Painter, and VBerg in there together, and have the guard throw it up against the backboard and have them go at it.

  20. quacko 02/16/2010 at 10:48 AM #

    have the guard throw it up against the backboard and have them go at it.

    how is that any different from what happens now? other than the dutch guy?

  21. Thinkpack17 02/16/2010 at 10:51 AM #

    “It wasn’t any one person. It was by the same folks who say every year “Just wait until we have Recruit X.””

    There is a big difference in a group of fans saying “Just wait until this guy suits up, we are going to be much better.”

    And saying…”Just wait until this guy suits up, he is going to rival not only the best player we have ever had, he may be the best player the conference has ever seen.”

    The first could be described at worst as blatant homerism…the second is freaking disrepectful. Who goes straight to the top with these comparisons? I am a Chicago Bulls fan and I have never been heard a rookie be described as the next Michael Jordan. And we have sucked for over 10 years…so we have had some GOOD draft picks. Cowboys fans don’t throw around “The next Emmit Smith” and Yankees fans don’t throw around “the next Dimaggio”. Where’s our respect? It’s heresy!

  22. packfan03 02/16/2010 at 10:54 AM #

    “in short, i just reject the notion that a 17 year old kid is telling me, an owner of multiple state degrees, how i need to act and what i need to say.”

    Reading his letter, I don’t understand this sentiment. At one point, he asks for support and patience. Since when did asking for support and patience solicit such extravagent responses?

    I am a graduate of NC State, but welcome fans without a degree. It is aggravating when degree-less UNC fans talk smack to me, but, I envy Carolina for having marketed themselves that well (i.e, having the success to attract the band wagoners).

  23. formerpackplayer 02/16/2010 at 10:59 AM #

    As a former football player at State that has become a high school football coach in Georgia, I read these postings and mostly laugh. The overwhelming majority of the comments on this site that are made by fans come strictly from a fan’s perspective. And by that I mean they’re made by people that have never played the games (mainly football or basketball). I truly love the passion people have and because of this I never really feel compelled to respond. To my knowledge I’ve only posted twice in the five or six years I’ve been visiting this site. At least I haven’t until now. After reading Ryan’s open letter I was genuinely moved. I was moved because I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him and spending time with him on three separate occasions. His high school coach is a very close friend of mine and I’ve heard through his coach that he’s a passionate kid. I found it very refreshing that Ryan (who at only 17 years of age) felt the need to defend his coach. He feels that way because when anyone visits this site it has become a “bash Sidney’s coaching/bash Harrow’s grammar/bash Lee Fowler” type of website.

    Now, let me explain something. I played for Dick Sheridan in the early 90’s and lived at the College Inn on Western Boulevard. I went to class at Haralson, Poe, Tompkins, etc. I walked on the brickyard. I was in Chapel Hell the night King Rice hit one of our female basketball players he was dating at the time which got him arrested. I partied at ACC Tavern on Wednesday nights and wooed a young lady or two at the “Whisper Tunnels.” Sue me, it was romantic and I didn’t have much money… Anyway, when I came to Raleigh, I was young and immature. I was passionate and thought I would change the world. I said and did some things that at 18 and 19 that weren’t necessarily the most mature things at the time.

    I’m asking people to use their better judgment. Take what Ryan’s written for what it is- a letter from a kid who’s been made nervous by the growing number of negative posts taking up for his future coach. He’s not putting anyone purposely on “blast.” He’s not purposely “calling out Wolfpack Nation.” He’s not purposely saying that his future teammates are not very good. He’s defending his future coach. Nothing more, nothing less.

    Some more side notes: Chucky Brown didn’t make the amphibious comment. I would call Chuck a friend, not a close one, but a friend and Chuck’s very bright. I hate it when people make those types of mistakes. Even when I know it’s an honest mistake I still get frustrated with that. Charles Shackelford was the culprit. And no matter what people may want concerning Sidney, he’s GOING TO BE GIVEN NEXT YEAR, 2010-2011. Those of you that want otherwise, sorry. It ain’t gonna happen. About Harrow- he’s athletically the best guard since Spud Webb and a much better shooter. Does everyone remember the hype surrounding CC Harrison and Ishua Benjamin? He’s much better than either. And Lorenzo… Wow! We’ve not had a recruiting class this good since Sidney’s class that had him, Whittenburg, and Bailey. Now, having said that, I’m not saying they’ll bring us a national title but let’s remember that Sidney wasn’t left with players as good as what Jimmy V inherited when he took over for Sloan. We should all try to be realistic about the expectations for the program. It takes time to build the right way. Would we have more wins with a Calipari? Probably. But he’s been two other places in college and both those schools have had to vacate their best seasons. Go figure. I learned some very valuable lessons from Coach Sheridan. Sometimes, doing things the right way can take a long time. Sid’s kids go to class, seem to stay out of trouble (knock on wood), and represent the program in a class manner. I’m not sure that Sid’s the right guy, but I’m also not sure he isn’t either. Just remember, Duke wanted K gone. Took a while. Carolina hung Smith in effigy. Took a while. Give Sid this last year. Not because of what Harrow wrote but because there’s not been a class brought in like this in over 20 years. Give him the chance to coach them.

    Pack61- Harrow shot off an email, not a piece of literary work to be graded in Freshman English. Cool out. We’ve had presidents that wrote poorly. Again, he’s a 17-18 year old kid.

  24. quacko 02/16/2010 at 11:04 AM #

    I came to the school at first solely for Coach Lowe but when I come to see games and people are greeting me, saying ” thank you so much for joining us”, it made me realize I love the atmosphere to. These fans can get better.

    lso Lorenzo and I see the statements about coach Lowe and it really makes me think, ” what am I getting myself into”

    So if we don’t get the results ya’ll want right away, plz don’t give up on supporting the team and don’t say we need to fire the coach.

    there’s 3 quotes from the letter. The fans can get better? who is he to say i need to get better?

    and he’s explicitly saying to fans not to say fire the coach.

    if it had been a letter merely stating his love for nc state, that’s fine. but to include instructions for fans regarding the coach that he’s loyal to, and his hope that fans can get better just doesnt sit right.

  25. Thinkpack17 02/16/2010 at 11:10 AM #

    The fans in attendance I have been impressed with. The fans on the blogs…absolutely (can improve). The minute he signed his LOI he became a pack fan, this site is full of pack fans that pull no punches…so why should he? Because he doesn’t have his degree yet? Please.

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