If we don’t get Archie, I won’t be mad at Yow. I think she’s clearly trying. If we get him, we get him, but if we don’t we will have tried. That is all I wanted from Yow — to make a REAL run at Archie and not piddle around with Gott when it was obvious he wasn’t the guy. The NC State path would have been to go with Gott again next year and have Archie wind up at Indiana, Ohio State, etc. where we’d likely not get that chance. We made the bold move (even if Yow had to be drug there), got out early and SHOULD know by now whether Archie is serious.
I don’t think the other “good” candidates are really in play (Marshall, Holtmann). They may both end up at other jobs this offseason, but I just don’t see them landing here.
That leaves the Wade/Keatts level. It’s a roll of the dice with either one. Keatts has at least built something, and has the Hargrave experience. He’s ready to move up, but it might be a big jump from UNCW to here (Brownell went to Wright State in between UNCW and an ACC job). Wade’s improved Chattanooga, and has kept the seat warm at VCU, but nothing there seems “can’t miss” to me. It screams Sendek (young, super smart, good coaching tree) and DD (didn’t screw up a rolling mid-major). Both may be great, but both may bust out. My concern with Wade is that we’ll be “on the hook” much longer with him (ah la the 10 years of Sendek), and that he fits Yow’s hiring profile better. I like how Keatts’ teams play, but the stats aren’t good and he’s yet to knock off anyone really bigger.
