A View of the Search from the Cheap Seats

I don’t author much here on SFN and there’s a good reason for that. I’m not an insider. I don’t have any inside sources. I don’t pretend to. And when I am given a nugget of info from well connected friends, I don’t go and spout them off on the interwebs.

What I saw and felt is probably a lot what you guys experienced. All the stages of grief being experienced on a daily basis. One of the worst rollercoaster rides of all time…

Initially

Sid’s gone. Man, we almost had A-listers in the bag last time around and we had Fowler running the joint – this is a no brainer. Rick Barnes would be nice, but we could do better. How about some Sean Miller.

And Then…

Miller’s out of the tournament and he’s not in Raleigh… Ok, I guess Rick Barnes isn’t all that bad. Let’s grab him! He’ll surely want to come! And if he doesn’t, no problem. We’ve got a lot of B-Listers who would chomp at the bit. That Shaka guy is in the Sweet 16!

But wait!

Barnes is out, Miller is out, BUT BILLY DONOVAN IS IN! HOLY CRAP! OH WE BACK! DID YOU SEE JULES’ TWEET?!

Reality…

He’s not coming either… why don’t we have a coach yet. Gregg Marshall will surely come… that Shaka Smart guy is attractive but he’s still coaching… Let’s just nab a B-Lister and get this show on the road.

Who wrote that letter?

That’s a rather odd letter from Debbie Yow… doesn’t sound good.

Who?

Mark Gottfried – gotta check Wikipedia. I have no idea who he is.

Many of us may not know a lot about Gottfried, but the more I learned, the more I’m starting to think that we’ll be ok. But this is what we know.

  1. Assistant UCLA (1987 – 1995); National Champions (1994).
  2. Head Coach Murray State (1995 – 1998); record 68 – 24; NIT (1996), NCAA Tournament (1997, 1998); Ohio Valley Champions (1996, 1997, 1998).
  3. Head Coach Alabama (1998 – 2009); record 210 – 132; NIT (1999, 2001, 2007), NCAA Tournament (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006); NCAA Tournament Elite 8 (2004); AP #1 (2003); SEC Champions (2002); SEC Coach of the Year (2002)

He has experience which Debbie Yow Promised. He was the Flavor of the Month candidate while coaching Murray State, widely considered a top mid-major school at the time. His tenure in Alabama ended with controversy though and, to be honest, he posted a sub stellar SEC record of 84 – 83 playing a bunch of football schools (and Florida).

I’m optimistic though. After I got through the shock of “Who?” and began to take a deep look at Gottfried, I became a bit more comfortable with the hire. No doubt this hire could be considered a failure comparing Mark to Sean Miller, Billy Donovan, and Rick Barnes. Regardless, he’s the coach now and we’ll hope for the best.

Adding to the optimism is the word around town that Dino Gaudio may join the staff as an assistant. This would be an AWESOME way to spend funds that are left unspent hiring Gottfried at $1.2 million a year. That has yet to happen – and you know how Internet rumors go. So hold on tight and keep the hope.

Welcome Coach Gottfried and GO PACK!

Debbie Yow Mark Gottfried

93 Responses to A View of the Search from the Cheap Seats

  1. ADVENTUROO 04/06/2011 at 11:10 AM #

    I posted a long (now there’s a surprise) comment on the We’re Back Up and have a new Coach….thread. I will not copy it here.

    http://www.statefansnation.com/index.php/archives/2011/04/05/were-back-and-by-the-way-we-have-a-coach/comment-page-6/#comments

    It is towards the bottom of page 6. I tried to be factual and did have some emails from Debbie Yow on Monday night that might be of interest. There is NOW a thread about the Greg Doyel comment that I referenced.

    This is a GREAT hire and but probably more correctl put…a REALISTIC hire.

    We took our best shot….we did not hit a home run or a grand slam….but our Triple drove in THREE runs….and we are NOW ahead..

    SO, I for one am happy.

    I also found out again, DO NOT BELIEVE what you see here or other places….or me, for that matter, unless they cite REAL SOURCES….which I have done.

    Read it if you have time….

    GO PACK….looking forward to meeting Debby and Mark, in person, at the Wake County Coaching Caravan….folks ought to attend. It is great.

    The WPC and the committees do a GREAT JOB.

  2. triadwolf 04/06/2011 at 11:19 AM #

    Just want to add a little perspective to this hire:

    Yesterday Dave Glenn listed ALL of the Div. 1 basketball coaches hired last year and up to date this year. Dave made the statement you can only argue that 1 or 2 other guys were possibly a better hire, the only definite one maybe being Anderson who went back to his alma mater.

    He is a better hire than Smart for the long run. Smart may end up being a star coach, but do you give the keys to your family car to the 15 yr. old neighbors kid? I think he is definitely better than Marshall as MG has proven he can coach for a major program. The only guy we may have been able to hire that would have clearly been better is Donovan and Miller. There were concerns with Barnes including is age; Stevens wasn’t coming, period; tell me who else would have clearly been a better hire?

    Are there questions; sure there are, but there are a heck of a lot fewer then there would have been with many of the other names being thrown about. There was a less than 25% chance of us getting a touchdown hire, MG at least puts us on the other teams 30 yard line, first & 10, within field goal range.

  3. highstick 04/06/2011 at 11:22 AM #

    Just to make a minor correction..Jimmy V was not run “out of town”..Out of a job at State, but not out of town.

    He’s resting quite peacefully there now!

    Good lead in on this article and the Wiki part was exactly where I was yesterday afternoon. I still don’t have enough info to make an assessment yet and I’m neither “on the bandwagon” nor have I taken my basketball and gone home. Only time will tell.

    I’m not sure if I want all of the dirty laundry of this search aired, but I sure would like to know the “real story” and that will only come out in time also.

    In the meantime, I suggest we go back to the bigger issue that we’ve ignored in the past few weeks which is making sure the Tarholes don’t slither out of NCAA’s sight and avoid some “cheating penalties”…

  4. triadwolf 04/06/2011 at 11:23 AM #

    Please get the edit function working! I have an engineering degree which only qualifies me to write small enough to fit an entire semester on a 3 X 5 card. It does not make me a good at spelling or writing clearly worded sentences for the first draft.

  5. JSRy2k 04/06/2011 at 11:30 AM #

    Do you realize we State fans are acting out the very thing the national media criticized us for when Sendek left? We’re mad at a guy who’s had previous success at a major level, and he hasn’t even coached a game for us.

    Bank on this, though: our new coach will do everything he can to prepare his team for the upcoming season, regardless of the fans’ dismay. Come next winter, if results on the floor show he has successfully moved us forward, we’ll start to see this glass as half-full.

  6. patientwuf 04/06/2011 at 3:43 PM #

    I agree with wolfpack93 about being cautiously optimistic. The biggest concern I have is why those so called mid major coaches turned us down.
    Clearly a step up for Smart and Marshall. How do you not leave Witchita State or VCU?

    I agree that Smart was a long shot with very little experience, but he turned us down. Marshall would have been a good hire but he turned us down. WHY???

  7. DC_wolf 04/06/2011 at 4:04 PM #

    SFN, thanks for changing the poll question. I would have voted B- because of the way things ended @ Alabama but that wasn’t an option. I’m trying to stay optimistic about the results on paper @ what was primarily a football school.

    patientwuf, I’ve moved beyond that question. Sure, I would like all the mid-major & max-major coaches beating on our doors to get in, but I’m looking forward & trying to get behind our new coach & the players (that remain).

    And don’t be surprised if there are player defections – we had some back when Herb left & I believe Sidney was even more popular w/the current players / recruits.

  8. Butane 04/06/2011 at 6:00 PM #

    Well, this whole process has been an interesting spectacle. Not the search itself, which I believe was handled professionally and, frankly, delivered a coach who was under everyone’s radar but in fact is a solid selection. Press-wise and from a recruiting perspective it was a smart hire. Certainly neither he nor NC State will be beaten up by the talking heads at ESPN. They have more class than to throw one of their own under the bus – unlike the “lunatic fringe” that believes they can be better ADs and coaches when all they do is spend their time blogging and throwing mud at the efforts of a pretty damned solid AD we have at the helm.

    NONE of us really know what went on, despite all the speculation. And NONE of us know how our new coach will turn out over the next three – five years. You may THINK you do, but you can no more predict the future than Nostradaumus or Jeanne Dixon. You just can’t.

    So. . . if you’re a true State fan, splash some cold water on your face and look at the facts. The A-list candidates had no reason to leave their great situations. The B-listers were offered enhancements to their current deals and, with love in the air from their recent accomplishments, decided to stand pat. Explain to me how that is DY’s fault. When those options did not work in our favor, what does she do? She goes to her well-researched list of potential candidates and pulls out a name that has a solid record (better than any new hire in our school’s history), a desire to win, a good relationship with her AND with the press, and the ‘nads to want to go head-to-head with RW and K. I think that she’s done pretty well by us, given all the facts.

    You think you can do better? Go coach a little league team. When the parents yell at you for not playing their kid enough, you’ll see in them the way you’ve been acting. Want to be an AD? Become a teacher and coach and work your way up to it. See how great you are at it. You’re entitled to your opinion, but if you can’t be positive, put a sock in it.

    This is not a disaster hire. This is a good, maybe a great hire. We all need to got on board with it and quit whining. Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way!

    I for one support Mark Gottfried, Debbie Yow and the WOLFPACK! Go State! Who’s with me?

  9. TLeo 04/06/2011 at 6:58 PM #

    Butane, you just said everything I have been thinking. It was unrealistic from the start to expect the big names to comne here ( I admit I was hoping though) and after their success I didn’t expect the others to leave their positions either. I don’t seee why some are upset at the AD for standing up for the University and herself against that litle prick Gary Williams. Are some people afraid of a strong confident leader leader who happens to be female? Look at waht a wesael Fowler was and how he constantly attacked the fans and wouldn’t even defend his University against all the crap thrown at us by the media. I bet if DY was a male some of the same folks attacking her would be applauding “him” for being a strong leader. All the whining and moaning and pissing needs to stop.

  10. ADVENTUROO 04/06/2011 at 7:02 PM #

    The posters here have a GREAT track record…

    Chuck is the greatest thing that has ever happened to NCSU Football and will win us a national championship.

    Chuck was the worst coach we ever hired….he was NOTHING without Philip Rivers.

    TOB will never win any games….he left before BC was going to fire him.

    TOB ain’t so bad….but will he be good after Wilson leaves to swing a bat…

    Herb has GOT to go….his style of play is boring…..people are leaving at half time because they can not stay awake….even if we are winning or losing.

    Thank GOD and Greyhound and ASU that Herb is gone…..we are going to get a REAL Coach….bring on that Calapara feller….he can recruit them players that are smart enough to get somebody else to take the SAT for them….

    Fowler has GOT TO GO….this coaching search is killing me….I spend more time on Flight Aware than SFN…and the boss is on me about my productivity.

    Well, it has been a month of Sundays….and NO BB Coach….Wait, Sidney Lowe and Derek Whittenberg are on a plane….which one will it be.

    LOVE the Sidney man…..we just beat UNC this year and almost beat them in the ACC Tourney in Tampa. Bring it on Roy and Mikey….when we get OUR team on the floor next year….watch out.

    I can NOT stand another season of Sidney Lowe…..

    Fowler has GOT TO GO…..he would NOT hire Stephanie Glance and Kay’s dying wish, as her brother later told us, was for her to be our coach. The man has NO Morals.

    Wow, is that a real Cougar that Fowler hired…..Look at what she did this first year….she will be phenominal next year.

    Have you seen the Women’s games…..we had Duke and USC and (Fill in the Blank) down by 20 points and the Ladies STILL Lost. This isa repeat of LOWE….

    Wow, we have a BLUE CHIPPER recruiting class. These guys have NEVER played a minute of College BB, but they will win the ACC Tourney for us this year and maybe get us back to the Final Four.

    What’s the point of going to any games….with Tracy out and that silly immature bunch of overrated blue chippers, we are toast….LOWE has GOT TO GO

    LOWE IS GONE….YIPPEE….now we can get Sean Miller or Rick Barnes or Mark Few or Brad Stevens or Billy Donnovan of whoever we want….How about that Chaka Kahn or whatever his name is…..

    Yow has GOT TO GO…..she is worse than FUF and we are paying her more….What a pitiful excuse (fill in the comments from the PR Pros here)….

    She hired WHO…..nobody can spell his name….so he has had a winning record…..so he can recruit….so he is NOT afraid of Huck and Mikey…..

    WOW….this is the Pits….I told you we shoulda kept LOWE….the team was really close to him….(this was brought up SEVERAL times by me and others and we were POO-Poohed….NOW it is the Concern of the Day)….

    I HOPE that I covered ALL the salient points….and I HOPE that there was enough sarcasm dripping for everyone.

    Sometimes I get so frustrated reading this that I want to…..well anyway.

    Gottfried is HIRED….He will do well. Do all the “guru’s like him….nope…those who are friends with GW are bashing him.

    ONE FINAL THOUGHT….as if you have read this far….

    The Coed Rumor is just that…..there is no credible evidence of anything there…unless you can cite a link and a real source, I would request that the SFN moderators KILL your post and if you keep bringing it up….terminate your sign-on.

    We do NOT need this type of publicity…..but that is what the press loves and why we are dubbed the Lupine Lunatic Lobos…or whatever.

  11. scopro 04/06/2011 at 8:34 PM #

    What kind of ball can we expect from MG?

  12. st8family 04/06/2011 at 9:45 PM #

    This search and hire could be seen as somewhat of a disappointment, but in the end, we are spending $1.2MM for a guy who has more NCAA tournament appearances than our last 3 coaches COMBINED. I’m OK with that.

    It was a decent (not exceptional) hire for a currently irrelevant basketball program. MG’s body of work suggests that he has the skills to change that though, especially if he gets a solid staff under him.

  13. Rick 04/07/2011 at 9:50 AM #

    Adventeroo,
    If you do not like the posters here please feel free to leave. You seem to think you are so much smarter than the rest of us so why would you bother deigning to spend time with us. Besides I imagine everyone else is like me in that they cannot read past the first two lines of your hard to read, weirdly capitalized novels anyway.

  14. Butane 04/07/2011 at 11:59 AM #

    To me, Adventuroo brings a voice of sanity to SFN. There’s sagacity there that is refreshing. I have no trouble reading his posts and getting all the way to the end. I try not to make up my mind about a post until I’ve finished reading it. Try it sometime – unless your ADD just won’t allow it.

    Keep ’em coming, Adventuroo.

  15. Rick 04/07/2011 at 12:34 PM #

    Butane,
    I am glad the short bus riders see eye to eye.

  16. greatstate1 04/07/2011 at 10:45 PM #

    He was sec coach of the year for cryin out loud. Give the guy a break. How many times has sean miller been ranked number one or won coach of the year in a major conference? A very underated hire. Gottfried claims to have gone into broadcasting to learn even more about coaching from inside other team’s locker rooms. Good job for debbie yow on this one and take that gary williams.

  17. VaWolf82 04/08/2011 at 6:53 AM #

    I don’t think that you can use winning COY one time as anything meaningful. Leiteo, Sendek, and Hewitt all won ACC COY one time as well.

  18. ancsu87 04/08/2011 at 11:51 PM #

    Interesting to read the LA Times take on the NC State basketball program:

    He takes over an NC State program with a rich and successful history, which includes two national titles and 22 NCAA Tournament appearances.

    http://www.latimes.com/sports/sns-sn-mark-gottfried-ncstate,0,7817580.story

Leave a Reply