Weekend Basketball (and coaching position) Review

10-11 Basketball30

A lot of discussion in the comments section of our open thread related to the Wolfpack’s win on Saturday vs Georgia Tech. But, while we are on a good thing then lets not ignore some highlights and the game stories below.

The most prominent thing I gleaned from watching those reports – in addition to learning CJ Leslie shot 1 for 10 – was the attendance as evidenced by the empty seats in the RBC. It was a SATURDAY ACC game played at 2pm in the afternoon and the building didn’t look half full; it certainly didn’t have anything near its full student allotment.

I have noticed recently that there is a faction of NC State fans – and some lost media members – trying to position Coach Lowe for one more year on the Wolfpack bench. (I knew that Steve Martin wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed…but this depth of ‘analysis’ makes me glad I penned this entry regarding the appropriateness of journalists trying to execute analysis when it clearly isn’t a strength of their profession.)

If you fall in this camp of ‘support’ for an individual over what is best for NC State, do yourself a favor and stop! Stop thinking that whatever you think is best is the right way to go and step back and look at the overall support of the program that is shriveling and dying right in front of you.

In the end, none of this subversive push for Sidney is going to matter. Both NC State’s and Coach Lowe’s lawyers have been engaged in negotiating the exit agreement for almost a month. Barring a late season miracle that may require more than winning the ACC Tournament, then we will all be moving into the next chapters our respective journeys next year.

Outside of Raleigh, this was the first weekend that I started paying attention to college basketball this season. The sport, in general, has deteriorated to a point that it doesn’t excite me anywhere close to how it once did. Nonetheless, I have started to shift into second and third gear as we head to March and we will start to do a little more here on the blog in preparation for March Madness.

This thread served as a little repository for some college basketball conversation and links during the weekend. Please feel free to add to it if you run across anything of value.

* Did Virginia Tech FINALLY get off the NCAA bubble with their win over Duke?

* Herb Sendek lost AGAIN. This time, they only scored 46 points vs USC in a 16 point loss. That is TEN games scoring under 60 pts this yr

* Baylor beat Texas A&M again. They may be on their way to the Tournament. Don’t care what some people say, I love Scott Drew.

* Sean Miller is doing a fantastic job at Arizona in only his second year. But, they don’t have enough talent or depth yet to avoid road pitfalls like today’s trip to UCLA.

Just saw the Dook game, watched (once again) the Devil’s D get away with riding the VT players with constant handchecks and even forearms. #3 for Dook was guarding a VT player and literally had has forearm on him all the way down the court. Of course no call. Next trip down the other way, the VT guy has good guarding position then there’s some slight contact… foul. VT guy gets fouled on a fastbreak, no call, ball still in play VT player picks it up and drives – charge. Par for the course, but frustrating to watch. Equally frustrating, Dickie V proclaiming that Duke would win throughout the second half until… they didn’t. I he stated a retraction I didn’t hear it.

As a parting comment…I would like to encourage you to spend just five minutes checking out our Message Forums and sharing some of your thoughts &/or some links to news that you find interesting. (Link to Forums) It is time to get a more active push in our communities heading into March. Thanks!!

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10-11 Basketball

30 Responses to Weekend Basketball (and coaching position) Review

  1. Cosmo96 03/01/2011 at 6:46 AM #

    “In the end, none of this subversive push for Sidney is going to matter. Both NC State’s and Coach Lowe’s lawyers have been engaged in negotiating the exit agreement for almost a month.”

    Wow…very interesting, indeed. I didn’t realize that things were this far along with regard to moving the program forward. Thanks for the insight.

  2. Wufpacker 03/01/2011 at 7:53 AM #

    Mods and a few others have been hinting for weeks that regardless of how the season ended (barring a feat of miraculous proportions) that the road was already being paved for Sid’s exit. None have mentioned anything specific (at least not that I saw) and this is the first specific piece of information regarding that. Given their hints, but then going silent when posed a question about the hint, I can’t say that hearing this is a big surprise.

    Hopefully this is a sign that DY is handling things to prevent embarrassment for ANYONE involved, especially Sid. He’s earned AT LEAST that.

  3. camel77 03/01/2011 at 9:16 AM #

    Do you have inside information or just wishing?

    If we could get a Scott Drew or Sean Miller,that would be great. They are two coaches I think that could keep this team together and still keep the momentum in recruiting. Drew already recruits this area well and Miller is familiar with the area from his time previously here.

  4. TOBtime 03/01/2011 at 9:29 AM #

    Scott Drew’s Baylor team again looked good against TX A&M.

    Two coaches who get mentioned for NC State (at least on here) are now looking to salvage their once promising seasons. Both Barnes at TX and Wright at Villanova have watched their teams collapse. The 21 pt. comeback by CO against TX brought back memories of the NC State era preceeding the one we are currently in.

    There, that wasn’t half bad to not mention his name!

  5. Alex_01 03/01/2011 at 9:32 AM #

    ^raising a national championship banner AT LEAST earns you that, I can’t imagine how badly Fowlup would have butchered this. I’m sure he would have found a way to piss off every one of our former players in the process.

    I assume that DY is acutely aware of the bad press from the last transition. I think the best case would be for Sid to fall on the sword and resign followed by DY giving him a job in the athletic department, with a “Sidney is valued part of the wolfpack family, etc statement.”

    Perhaps if this situation is handled with some grace and dignity we can change the media “perception” of our school and the lunatic fringe.

  6. Gowolves 03/01/2011 at 9:36 AM #

    I too have grown tired of college basketball. I could watch any game on TV no matter who was playing. Kinda like football now. I used to love it in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s. In the beginning I thought we would turn things around when we got rid of Les Robinson. Then we have had one crappy hire after another. The love is gone. I no longer think we will ever see those days again. I am sure people will differ with my opinion. Thats fine. I also think the changes with the one and rules have also tainted college basketball. You dont get the chance to follow players or groups of players through several years. I think the NCAA sees this and thinks that expanding the field to 96 will help their dying regular season product. It will make it worse

  7. JT 03/01/2011 at 9:41 AM #

    Hell, at least in this case there isn’t any sort of “running the coach out of town” storyline. I’m glad Lowe is getting some love, even if he is effectively gone.

  8. tann84 03/01/2011 at 10:12 AM #

    I really hope if they do fire Sidney then the next coach better have immediate success. It would be ashame to have to waste another 5 years like the last 5 years especially when Sidney is now gaining some traction on the recruiting trail. Recruiting is 80% of the battle in college basketball and it takes time. When you’re competing against teams who have had top 5 recruiting classes who are now juniors and seniors you have a uphill battle that season. Sometimes you have to realize you may need to give a coach more time. You have to give the team time to grow.

    You can’t just keep switching coaches and expecting results. The only place I’ve seen it work is in the NHL. I’ll gladly take Sidney lowe if we can’t hire anyone better. I’m not talking about the last time they tried to hire a coach, one of the worst summers in my life having as a NC State fan, seeing coaches come and go just to get a raise. If we go through the same thing this year then I’m afraid there will be no hope for this program, not for a while at least.

  9. bradleyb123 03/01/2011 at 10:51 AM #

    In the end, none of this subversive push for Sidney is going to matter. Both NC State’s and Coach Lowe’s lawyers have been engaged in negotiating the exit agreement for almost a month.

    This is the FIRST concrete statement I’ve seen regarding Sidney’s status. Before now, it’s all been speculation. He will get another year. He won’t get another year. He should be fired MIDSEASON. But I have yet to see such a concrete statement of fact that says Sid is on the way out.

    I’m curious what your source is. Do you have a source? Or is this just your firm belief?

  10. randygupton 03/01/2011 at 10:54 AM #

    I am surprised by your post regarding the future of Sid. Not surprised that a change is likely ~ just surprised that you lay stake that Coach Lowe and NC State’s lawyers have been engaged in his exit for nearly a month.

    Not that I doubt you ~ simply curious as to where you are hearing this from. Can you elaborate?

  11. packof81 03/01/2011 at 10:57 AM #

    “You can’t just keep switching coaches and expecting results.”

    So how long should ineffective coaches be kept?

  12. camel77 03/01/2011 at 11:15 AM #

    “It would be ashamed to have to waste another 5 years like the last 5 years especially when Sidney is now gaining some traction on the recruiting trail. Recruiting is 80% of the battle in college basketball and it takes time. ”

    I agree with you except it may not be five years but probably be at least two to three years. But that gap will be like starting over.

  13. tractor57 03/01/2011 at 11:24 AM #

    I have absolutely no inside information but it isn’t a stretch to think the talks have been underway for a few weeks.

    I trust our current AD and coach Lowe to manage the PR side of things.

    As discussed in another thread the program is probably ahead of where it was when Lowe was hired even if the team performance is not.

    I’m not so certain there will be a significant down period – at least not when compared to the last 5 years.

  14. Alpha Wolf 03/01/2011 at 11:41 AM #

    “You can’t just keep switching coaches and expecting results.”

    The new chancellor and the new athletic director change the operating paradigm significantly from the past, with its stagnant status quo as being good enough attitude. If there is one thing about Randy Woodson, it is that he talks the talk of excellence and will hold a manager’s feet to the fire when they do not achieve that goal.

    It is clear that the men’s hoop program has not come close to reaching even mediocrity, and as a wise man once said, “only fools repeat things the same way and expect different results.” Randy Woodson nor Debbie Yow are anybody’s fool.

    As soon as a new hoops coach is hired, along with assistants, State has cleaned house and can finally end the Sendek era and begin to build towards a brighter future. It cannot afford even one more year of accepting 10th, 11th or 12th place results. It needs to start fresh and start now.

    Hell, if it were me, Coach Lowe would already be relieved, and it looks like that’s what’s being done behind the scenes. The only difference between what seems to be going on and what I would do is that it wouldn’t take an ACCT win for Lowe to keep his job, it would take a Final Four.

  15. SandhillsWolf 03/01/2011 at 11:46 AM #

    “The sport, in general, has deteriorated to a point that it doesn’t excite me anywhere close to how it once did.”

    This bothers me too…the NCAA and the NBA have got to come to some agreement about early entry…I like the baseball rule personally…get the John Walls of the world out of college basketball and let in program players.

  16. Clarksa 03/01/2011 at 12:09 PM #

    “The most prominent thing I gleaned from watching those reports – in addition to learning CJ Leslie shot 1 for 10 – was the attendance as evidenced by the empty seats in the RBC. It was a SATURDAY ACC game played at 2pm in the afternoon and the building didn’t look half full; it certainly didn’t have anything near its full student allotment.”

    I do believe that everyone should this this as a clear sign that there needs to be a change..here is the picture I took at tip off:

    http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/5696/img4967a.jpg

    Notice that the Student WPC seats aren’t even full…

  17. Alpha Wolf 03/01/2011 at 12:13 PM #

    ^ If there’s any reason for anyone to be excited about going to a State hoops game other than blind loyalty, I can’t see it.

  18. Rochester 03/01/2011 at 1:24 PM #

    Not only do I not expect us to suffer a setback next year with a coaching change, I expect we’ll actually improve immediately. There’s enough talent on hand that someone capable can come in, coach them up, and win. And unlike last time, when we hired someone with zero college recruiting experience (who wasn’t even allowed to recruit until he passed his recruiting test that summer), if we bring in an experienced coach, he’ll already have contacts and relationships with HS kids, coaches, etc.

    Just because it was a complete mess last time doesn’t mean that’s how it has to be or how it will be again.

  19. hball57 03/01/2011 at 1:37 PM #

    A question that just popped into my head. Do you think Lowe has been hampered by the assistants Fowler “forced” on him? I respect Monte Towe, and he has done some good things (Scott Wood), but would Lowe have had a fighting chance with different assistants?

  20. Clarksa 03/01/2011 at 1:40 PM #

    ^I heard Smokey Glenn on the radio say that Lowe doesn’t get a lot of help from his assistants in terms of coaching. Just an off hand comment from Smokey, no idea if it is even remotely true.

  21. packalum44 03/01/2011 at 2:02 PM #

    The mods have sent subtle but clear signals that Lowe has been done for some time. Guess you have to read enough to pick up on their tendencies.

    Thanks SFN, I will be winning a bet real soon.

  22. packalum44 03/01/2011 at 2:06 PM #

    And of course they won’t share their source(s), that would be silly. Just realize that they don’t make declarative statements unless they mean it and also and they usually specify when they are speculating.

    One thing clear to me is that Tubby’s name just popped up seemingly out of the blue about a month ago, well after initial coaching names were thrown out. This is not coincidence – he’s on Yow’s radar and likely near the top (if not the top) of her list.

  23. novawolf 03/01/2011 at 2:36 PM #

    Thanks for the news. My day/week/month has been made!!!

    Regards downtime or learning curve from a change, this should be minimal. We should get an experienced college coach, who knows what to expect in college assistants, when to call timouts, how to recruit, and all the other intricacies of the college game. We won’t be waiting 5 years to get back to the Dance. We should be there next year, as the talent is there now. And with a swift selection, the players should get to know who the new coach is relatively quickly, which greatly reduces the chances of anyone bailing.

  24. Lunatic Fringe 03/01/2011 at 6:52 PM #

    Outside looking in, it felt like Lowe was less tense and more at ease over the last month or so as though he already knew his fate. Ironically, I believe that it has transferred to better performances of the players & team as a whole in that timeframe.

  25. tann84 03/01/2011 at 9:01 PM #

    How long should it be before you change coaches? There is no exact number, sense each situation has different variables to take into account. I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I know the answers. All I can do is tell you my opinions. I’ve seen many programs, college and pro, shuffle coaches because they were impatience and are doom in a cycle of poor results. I don’t want that to be NC State thats all I’m saying.

    I can’t guarantee that Sidney will ever get it going at NC State.
    In the same sense you can’t guarantee me that things will get better with a coaching change. Things could actually get worse. We could get a coach that ruins what ground lowe has made during recruiting and still not be able to win.

    I know that most of you are willing to take that gamble at this point but I’m not. If you can’t get a proven winner then I don’t want to open pandora’s box. I think our next coaching hire has to be a success. The more coaches we go through the more it will believe that you can’t win here. The longer period that we are irrelevant in basketball the harder it will be to become irrelevant. I want the next hire to at least have us trending upwards, thats all I’m saying.

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