Five Things to Know for 2007-2008

Basketball is approaching and there are TONS of great preseason previews out there! We will work our way to a few of them in the coming weeks, but thought that we would share this quick piece from ESPN’s Pat Forde today.

Congratulations to both Sidney Lowe and Dereck Whittenburg. (Isn’t it fun to say their names together? Especially at the start of the 25th Anniversary season of the Wolfpack’s 1983 National Championship?)

Coach Lowe’s Wolfpack is listed in a group with Georgetown, Tennessee, Washington State, and Indiana as the “Next Five” ‘ready to pounce if any of the (top five) teams above falter’.

It really is unbelievable. Here we sit garnering literal Top Ten national attention in only Coach’s second season after not earning this kind of attention in ANY of the previous coach’s ten year tenure?! It’s crazy. Especially in light of an Athletics Director that told you for eight years that it takes five or six years to “build a program the right way”. I’m still waiting for the apology.

Additionally, Coach Whittenburg takes home the top spot of “Coaches Doing an Underrated Job”

1. Dereck Whittenburg, Fordham: Now in his fifth year, his win total has improved every season, from six to 13 to 16 to 18.