If we go get two to three serviceable big men, next year is shaping up to what *should* be a decent year. We’ll have DSJ replacing Cat, TH back, Dorn ready to go and hopefully enough big men to be able to go 2 deep and play 4. If that team can’t be a top 25 type of team and solidly on the positive side of the bubble, then maybe Gott will get some heat.
Until then, I suspect he’s getting a free pass from Yow. She seemingly likes him personally. They share the agent. There was “the letter” that showed us just how bad her basketball coaching search was (and thus likely not something she wants to repeat). There is the TH injury to help make for a convenient excuse. TL is harder to excuse because the staff wouldn’t have Rowan if not for Lacey’s departure.
There’s enough there along with the extensions and the two Sweet 16s to get a free pass this year. It’s not a mulligan, but it’s highly unreasonable to think any real pressure will come to the basketball coach the first time he misses the NCAAs after the previous four years. Yow really can’t do anything other than give Gott a long leash because of how the last search went, and the stuff with GW. If she’s trigger happy with Gott, then no good coach in their right mind would walk into that situation while she’s still there.
To 92owen’s point though, I don’t have a ton of faith that Gott’s the guy that is ever going to break through at NC State. Am I pleasantly surprised and appreciative about the results thus far? Yep. I think we’ve seen about the ceiling though (maybe an Elite 8 run in there). There’s nothing that I’m seeing that suggests we’d ever win a conference or national title. I think it will eventually get to a HWSNBN type discussion of just how much is good enough.
I’m just more saddened by the Miller brothers. Sean seemingly wanted the job when we hired Lowe but Fowler wouldn’t do it. Now he’s on a roll at Arizona. Arch wanted it when we hire Gott, has done well at Dayton and will probably be hired this year or next by a high major. In fairness to Yow, I didn’t think Arch was seasoned enough at our last hire, but it is going to be a shame to watch him tear it up at another high major that is not NC State because of bad timing.
