Debbie speaks

Dear Wolfpack Family,

I am writing to share with you the status of the search for our new head coach for men’s basketball. There have been telephone conversations with successful coaches that did not develop into meetings — sometimes because we did not wish to pursue those coaches further and sometimes because the coach involved is happy where he is.

The conversations have been candid. We have not tried to sugarcoat the challenge of rebuilding our basketball program. Our absence for 5 consecutive years from the NCAA Tournament was noted by each coach as evidence that the program is in poor shape and will require a special effort to rebuild.

Finding a coach with the fight and fire to do this job has been a challenge. That said, we will find an excellent college coach who shares the vision of what State Basketball can become and is up for the challenge.

I realize there are multiple rumors surfacing about the nature of the search on websites and in newspapers. Once our new coach is hired, I will be in a position to bring perspective to a number of those rumors. But, right now, we need to remain focused on finding a talented collegiate coach who is a fighter, full of confidence and appreciation for the opportunity to lead our basketball program back to national prominence.

That will happen in spite of those who believe this cannot occur.

Wolfpack Basketball is destined for a revival. We will accept no less. Please keep the faith while we continue the search. Your emails and text messages of support have meant everything to me. I am blessed to be your AD.

In the Spirit of the Pack,
Debbie

About BAM

I grew up on Jones Franklin Rd with a Wolfpack banner hanging over my bed. UNCW class of 2001.

Debbie Yow

210 Responses to Debbie speaks

  1. albunde6 04/05/2011 at 8:07 AM #

    “Houston we have a problem”, after lookin at 6 large oak trees that are now “yard art”, I made call to get additional information about email. It appears that we have no one in wings, that coaches of interest are calling GW. GW says nice things about university and facilities, but does not recomend DY. Yea I know sounds like BS. that we would offer coach millions of dollars, they say no because AD is not nice when you lose. However, we don’t have a coach and the ones from last week have withdrawn their interest.

    It appears that there are some things that money can’t buy. If she blows this hire, then a resignation is in order.

    If this information is spectulation by WPC member, then I appologize, However have never known him to talk just to make himself look important. He is furious, so am I.

  2. IamGumbyDammit 04/05/2011 at 8:07 AM #

    BeVeryAfraid you were reading my mind…

  3. Howler 04/05/2011 at 8:08 AM #

    The News and Record in Greensboro reported on the letter as well:

    http://www.news-record.com/content/2011/04/05/article/wolfpacks_football_event_overshadowed

    Actually a pretty fair treatment, just focusing on how TOB is handling the traveling caravan by himself, and his appearances are being overshadowed by the basketball search.

    Still can’t get over this letter. It is obvious that right now we have no homerun hire, and it appears likely that we have been swatted back to square one.

  4. Statefan1998 04/05/2011 at 8:08 AM #

    Every fan base bitches. They are not picking on us for that reason.

  5. mak4dpak 04/05/2011 at 8:11 AM #

    Debbie Yow has not failed yet, the media is the culprit. Again she is looking for a coach with the heart and desire to put our basketball program back in the spotlight, but more importantly a coach that is capable of doing that. Not another SL. We may yet have the last laugh. I too am impatient, but I can only wait, like everyone else.

  6. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 04/05/2011 at 8:12 AM #

    When a search goes well people don’t bitch. Some may bitch about the final result, but not the process.

    If we find out 5 years from now the AD screws up the hire, we move on. If the admin screw up the process in the present, there is a huge problem.

    Getting the Heisman by two mid-majors on championship Monday, (April 4 none-the-less) followed by an appalling, insulting email to the fan base, well that is not only a problem but disgrace.

  7. SandhillsWolf 04/05/2011 at 8:17 AM #

    I am glad to see Debbie is not just hiring anyone. She truly wants to rebuild the basketball program and is searching for the right man. The letter probably wasn’t the best thing to do for the crazy lunatic pessimists that are the interweb state fans, but for me it was reassuring that she’s truly looking for the perfect fit.

    I don’t agree w/ the release of the letter necessarily, but I think she knew the fanbase was getting anxious and unrealistic.

  8. Statefan1998 04/05/2011 at 8:19 AM #

    Yeah, “unrealistic,” you do realize that Witchta State and VCU are now better gigs.

    Pull your heads out of the sand.

  9. Wufpacker 04/05/2011 at 8:20 AM #

    ” GW says nice things about university and facilities, but does not recomend DY. ”

    I find it hard to believe that Gary Williams said anything nice about NC State. Or that anyone AT NC State would know if he did. Sorry.

  10. PoppaJohn 04/05/2011 at 8:21 AM #

    Okay, who did it? Someone on this board demanded that AD Yow let us know what is going on. “I’ve been in the WPC for XYZ years, and I deserve to know what is going on.”

    So now we’ve gone public and told the world that after three weeks, we’ve got nothing to show for it. Now any coach we talk to knows that he’s way down our wish list.

    Be careful what you wish for!!

  11. Scooter 04/05/2011 at 8:23 AM #

    To the Herb/Sid Apologists: Welcome back and we hope it has been a great 15 years in sports wilderness for you! This is what Wolfpack Basketball has become after becoming comfortable with mediocrity and lowered expectations over a two-decade stretch. Wolfpack Basketball can be best compared to Rip Van Winkle — asleep for 20 years, then surprised when discovering that everything has moved on since!

  12. albunde6 04/05/2011 at 8:25 AM #

    Wolfpacker, according to feedback from process, GW is having impact due to his relationship with DY. Believe it or don’t, just sharing the information that I was given.

  13. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 04/05/2011 at 8:29 AM #

    My favorite post so far about this and how it couldn’t get worse…

    “I think you are underestimating the power of the Wolfpack. We very well may announce the program has been given the death penalty for recruiting violations by interim coach Monte Towe.”

  14. SandhillsWolf 04/05/2011 at 8:31 AM #

    I meant the unrealistic idea of a grade A coach…i’m not so sure she even offered marshall or shaka…we’ll probably never know for sure.

  15. nav 04/05/2011 at 8:31 AM #

    State fans are not along in the bitching category. All schools, at least the major schools, have their own websites with their own fans that are passionate and bitch just as loud. Have you ever met KY, Alabama, USC (the one south of us), ECU, UNC (remember last fb season, Auburn, and on and on. Unfortunately we get called out the by the media. We are the whipping children of the media it seems. I have to say that over the last 6 months we are turning the tide of the local media it seems. Most of them have stood up for us. Hell, even Greg Doyell is even standing up for us against the tide of media bashing.

  16. buclark 04/05/2011 at 8:32 AM #

    Is there a link to clarify how DY got hired ?

  17. graywolf 04/05/2011 at 8:33 AM #

    Pay the next coach 500,000K. Move all the games to Reynolds. Put the rest of the money back into football because we are officially a football school now.

  18. Wufpacker 04/05/2011 at 8:33 AM #

    ” Wolfpacker, according to feedback from process, GW is having impact due to his relationship with DY. Believe it or don’t, just sharing the information that I was given. ”

    Did you even read what I wrote or did you just assume you knew what I was going to say and then responded to that? And that’s not my handle.

  19. Wufpacker 04/05/2011 at 8:35 AM #

    “I think you are underestimating the power of the Wolfpack. We very well may announce the program has been given the death penalty for recruiting violations by interim coach Monte Towe.”

    Have to admit…I like that one too.

  20. PackAche 04/05/2011 at 8:37 AM #

    Sorry, i disagree with several things:
    1) bitchin has hurt the coaching search. really? what fan base doesn’t bitch. heck, they were crucifying ole Roy after that loss to GT. i thought they were going to march on chapel hill the guy has won 2 national championships. i don’t want to hear any crap about bitch.

    2) wait to the search is over? really? wait 5 years? is that how you buy your stock? i would hate to see your portfolio.

    3) yow is waiting for the exact right coach? so that is what Shaka is? if the guy didn’t go on the miracle run and wouldn’t even be on the radar. except for march 2011, his record is mediocre. he was the man of the hour and yow thought she could wow everyone by pulling him in. is that how she picks her stocks? find the most overpriced and overpriced stock and go all in?

    i have been a pack fan long enough. i have earned the right to bitch. plus, i am not going to blindly follow some leader over the edge. sounds a lot like politics where people with dissenting opinions are called unpatriotic.

    this coaching search has turned into another national laugh-in, with ncsu being the butt of the joke.

  21. lonewolf 04/05/2011 at 8:44 AM #

    I am a longtime Wolfpack fan back to the first National Title even though I graduated from another university which never has had a strong Bball team and I never liked UNC. I have read through all the comments and dont see any real answer to why so many of these coach’s are not interested in the job. I know some of them just dont want to make a change for personal reasons or whatever it at least looks like on the surface nobody wants the job. State has so many strong points I cant see them not taking a job because we have had a few bad years or they dont want to play Duke or Carolina twice a year. Any good coach with any “fire in his belly” would jump at these challenges. Something just does not seem right to me. Just curious for your idea what is going on here.

  22. BeVeryAfraid 04/05/2011 at 8:46 AM #

    I don’t know if AD’s read us or not. But if they hear all the national media put us down and wondered how true it might be…well, you don’t have to be too adapt with Google to end up at SFN.

  23. codebrown 04/05/2011 at 8:46 AM #

    Coach-pocalypse 2011 continues…

  24. Hungwolf 04/05/2011 at 8:48 AM #

    Hire Bob Knight, he can whip the current players into shapre, knows his x and o’s, will bring lots of good media attention to us, and can handle our cougar AD! Vitale has told us what to do!

  25. BureauOfMines 04/05/2011 at 8:49 AM #

    I hope somebody confirmed the authenticity of this letter with the university. It sure looks fishy to me.

    To: [email protected]

    From: [email protected] smarthost.imodules.com

    html format

    I read in a unix shell account with pine mail. So all I see is text. This looks different than the other emails I’ve received addressed to alumni.

    And this gem about us being out of the NCAAs for 5 years and the program being in poor shape wins the prize. Uhhh yeah. That’s why we’re looking for a coach. So the prospective candidates are expressing concern because we need a new coach? Puh-leeeeease.

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