Lowe resigns(J.P. Giglio); Decock: NC State needs to pursue Brad Stevens

This is both a sad and exciting day for the NC State community. All the authors of Statefansnation would like to thank Sidney Lowe and his staff for their efforts over the last 5 years. We also wish them the best in the future.

Credit goes to rswilli2(poster from www.Packpride.com for this shot of Mr. Wuf after Sidney’s last home game.

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I am just adding links as the day progresses. Sorry for the lack of organization. Read from the bottom up if you want to go in chronological order.

Technician reports:

The source also said that two coaching candidates, Oliver Purnell of DePaul and Mike Brey of Notre Dame, have already expressed interest in in the job and have contacted Yow about the possible vacancy.

However, the N.C. State Athletics department deferred questions about possible coaching candidates to Yow.

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NC State needs to pursue Brad Stevens:

Tom Crean has the recruiting pipeline open at Indiana. Purdue’s Matt Painter isn’t going anywhere. John Belein is hanging on at Michigan. So while Stevens may prefer to be patient, he shouldn’t wait until his moment has passed. Butler, after all, didn’t win the Horizon regular-season title this year and had to win its way into the NCAA tournament. The mid-major pyramid is not a stable one; the team at the top can topple at any time.

So if not the Big Ten, where? Why not the ACC? Why not N.C. State?

While the national media continues to denigrate the N.C. State job, for the right guy it has everything: glorious, if faded, tradition; resources and facilities; the challenge of coaching in the ACC and going head-to-head with two giants of the game on an annual basis. It’s a great job for someone willing to embrace that challenge.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/15/2143052/nc-state-needs-to-pursue-brad.html#ixzz1Gh2oBBii

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Lowe resigns according to J.P. Giglio

RALEIGH — N.C. State needs a new basketball coach.

Sidney Lowe resigned on Tuesday, ending his tenure at his alma mater. He went 86-78 in five seasons, with a 25-55 mark in ACC play….

….Arizona coach Sean Miller, a former N.C. State assistant, and Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon, who once worked for Roy Williams at Kansas, are expected to be among Yow’s targets.

Picked to finish fourth in the ACC in the preseason, N.C. State posted a disappointing overall record of 15-16 and finished 10th in the ACC (5-11). After Thursday’s first-round loss to Maryland in the ACC tournament, Lowe spoke passionately about his love of the program and the hope for the program’s future.

“This is my school, I love this school,” Lowe said Thursday night in Greensboro. “It was my hope and dream to come back here and do something special again.”

I have to give Giglio credit for describing the program Sidney inherited accurately instead of trumpeting the world renowned “5 straight NCAAs” that so many lazy journalists have used over the years.

A tweet from DraftExpress regarding CJ Leslie:

DraftExpress: Despite Sidney Lowe’s imminent firing at NC State, C.J. Leslie will NOT be entering this year’s NBA draft, sources tell DraftExpress.
2011-03-15 01:39:17

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Update 1:45 pm

All over the Internet, TV and talk radio different folks are reporting that the anticipated meeting of Debbie Yow and Sidney Lowe ended around 1 pm today. Driving through campus today, I saw news trucks from TWC 14, WTVD11, and of course we all know that WRAL5 is immediately across Western Blvd from the Weisiger-Brown Athletics Building which is also the location of the Dail Basketball Practice Facility. Everyone is perfectly aware of the end result of this meeting, so none of this is actually news. However, these reports certainly represent the official beginning of the search process. Hang on to your hats.

Reports are that a press conference will occur later today.

Full link

Despite a flurry of Internet reports that Lowe had been fired, the meeting between Yow and Lowe ended just after 1 p.m. and an official announcement was not expected until late Tuesday afternoon.

If we don’t update the site frequently this afternoon, then please continue to the discussions in this entry and provide links to the press conferences, news articles, tweets, etc.

Here is a link to names thrown out by the N&O.

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Earlier entry

NC State basketball is in a time of transition. We all want a resolution yesterday, so we can be excited about having a new coach in place. It’s Human Nature 101 to fill the gap microanalyzing what’s being said (and not said), and freak out a little bit. This morning, I just wanted to remind everyone that there’s no need.

Sidney Lowe will not return for a sixth season as NC State’s baketball coach. Both Yow and Lowe have known this for some time. As we’ve told you (with varying degrees of directness), the lawyers for each side have been working on the paperwork for quite some time. That part is 100% a done deal.

Yow has made the strategic decision that she doesn’t want the job open long. I’m reasonably confident that NC State’s next head coach still has his dancing shoes on. I’m absolutely certain that our top targets all do. Thus, I would be surprised if the Lowe announcement is made before Thursday morning or Friday afternoon (when game action will absorb most of the local and national media energy). I would be equally surprised if we get any new, credible intel on where we stand with our main target(s) until early next week. Any random nonsense that you hear in between now and early next week is likely just that – random nonsense.

Just relax, and remember that responsible adults are in charge this time. What a refreshing change, yes?