I think the article is fair.
Like mentioned earlier – too much emphasis is placed on simply making the tournament. Making the tournament should happen roughly 75-80% of the time.
I think a fair expectation of an established program in the Acc of our “overall package” would be something like
Conference record 6-12 to 8-10 one year (and no dancing)
9-9 to 10-8 and bubble bid
11-7 to 12-6, bid, no bubble.
+12 conference win, top 4 ACC finish, top 5 NCAA seed.
Gott’s problem was that he never really got to that fourth level.
In year 6, when it should have been obvious he was building something, he was having his worse season ever. Worse yet, there was no hope for the future.
Sendek came much closer to building something than Gott. The administration should him patience by allowing him a 6th year. The risk paid off in that Sendek made 5 consecutive tourneys and had a couple of solid seasons. However, his teams collapses made it very hard for fans to be optimistic about the future with him at the helm.
Personality and leadership are critical. I have always thought that under a different AD and Chancellor, things could have turned out differently. The marketplace has demonstrated that his coaching alone isn’t going to build much without tremendous advantages.
So, NC State just needs to find a coach who will demonstrate he is building something AND give fans some very special moments.
We haven’t had that since V….So, Yea, we get more and more frustrated.
