Worst Loss of the Sendek Era?

General Headscratchers NCS Basketball161

I think so. It was disgusting to watch this overachieving Carolina team come in and outwork us like that. They wanted each loose ball, each rebound 1000 times worse than we did. To his credit, Sendek didn’t try putting any lipstick on the pig, admitting that we were outcoached, outplayed, out-everything. And that pretty much sums it up. It was humiliating, and it will take more than a 12-win ACC season to make up for it. And I really don’t want to see the “0 for Roy” streak extended in the ACC semis.

What will make up for it? An Elite Eight or an ACCT title. Anything less, and this season will leave a very bitter taste in my mouth.

More thoughts in the morning. I need some freaking sleep.

TWO LAST THOUGHTS: The game got so out of hand that Quinton Thomas got significant minutes. Quinton f’ing Thomas! And they extended the lead with him in the game. Also, my last fuse was lit when we refused to speed up the offense or press on defense down 18 points with 5 minutes to play. But when Roy sent in the blue team in the last minute, we pressed ’em with our regulars! Way to show some real stones there, Coach!

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

General Headscratchers NCS Basketball

161 Responses to Worst Loss of the Sendek Era?

  1. Jeff 02/24/2006 at 9:32 AM #

    Prove me wrong…but I think the reality is that State will have a very difficult time joining the ranks of a Duke or a Carolina in basketball.

    Therefore, we shouldn’t even want to try. And, I honestely don’t say that facetiously. It is truly the way that our leadership and a growing proportion of the Wolfpack community truly feels.

    If you want to strive for success…take my advice and spend your time and money on programs that truly strive for what you believe is success. In basketball, NC State strives to pad their record with horrendously bad out of conference opponents and to squeeze into the NCAA Tournament in any manner possible.

    That’s it.

    That’s not a bad thing if that is what you want. But, if you want more than that….then you need to stop fighting the losers at NC State and start supporting programs that match your goals. Because this ain’t the place for you.

  2. scott 02/24/2006 at 9:44 AM #

    I agree entirely with Fish and Jeff.

  3. class of '74 02/24/2006 at 10:21 AM #

    I wish Bobby Purcell would read Jeff’s posting above.

  4. lumberpack 02/24/2006 at 10:36 AM #

    It’s sad that I can remember when we were not second or third rate. It was a recently as the late 1970’s. Our football, basketball, swimming and baseball were all nationally competitive although the facilities then sucked. Then after a slow slide in the late 80’s Montieth, Hophenburg and Turner de-emphasized athletics right before everyone’s eyes.

    Their job was successful. There is an entire generation of North Carolinians who remember NCSU as a second and third rate school for athletics.

    I wonder if they thought that would improve the academic image of the school – funny how that part of it did not work because academically NCSU is still considered a 2nd or 3rd rate school – academically.

    Behind the Ivy League and super privates like Duke, Stanford, Carnige-Mellon, Emory, etc., and behind the Public Ivy’s like Virginia, UNC, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech and California.

    NCSU is still just a cow college amidst the ranks of Auburn, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State.

    Oh well.

  5. topOtheorder 02/24/2006 at 12:37 PM #

    The only way Sendek can have any hope of changing the mess/dynamic that is State basketball is to have a magical run THIS YEAR!! Given, that’s WAY past due, but he’s still here, and we have to deal with reality (if Sendek had completed the magic in 1997 by beating UNC for the ACCT Title or not lost to Duke twice in the ACCT Final, we might all be having a different conversation and concern right now, but he didn’t…and we have to deal with that reality too). Herb’s real achilles heel has always been his recruiting misses, especially in the backcourt. Almost all of the meltdowns and close games we have suffered with Sendek can be traced to our lack of quality guards, specifically a floor leader and a heat-it-up scorer/shooter who can create his own shot or get so hot that 5 people in his face can’t stop him from putting it in the hole. In the college game, you are never out of it and rarely do you give it away if you have great guards. A little bit of success, again WAY later than should have been, helped Herb land Chris Wright. A GREAT run this year would help Herb complete that class with, hopefully, a lights out shooter (as well as frontcourt support). Those are the seeds for taking it to the next level just like landing Hodge was the seed to get back to the NCAA’s. Herb will NEVER be Jimmy V (but, then again, Jay Wright and all of the other coaches du jour will NEVER be Jimmy V either), but part of V’s greatness came from the fact that he started with a great college backcourt tandem, Lowe and Whitt, and ended with a great backcourt tandem, Corch and Rodney. In between, he maintained a fairly consistent stable of NBA guard talent from Spud through Nate and Vinnie. You win a lot of games with guys like that. The reason Herb is always close but no cigar is because he never brings those kind of guys in. Don’t get me wrong, I cheer for and support everyone who commits to and gives it all for the Pack from Gainey through Archie and on to Engin, but, let’s be honest, you don’t beat the world unless have worldbeaters, and those guys’ upside always had a ceiling—and that ceiling carries over to the program. The magic run this year is a dream way out of this mess, but I would rather dream than think about our nightmare version of the Wake-GT demise that we may suffer next year with Engin leading a bunch of untested guys into battle…

    Of course, my other dream scenario is, we have a great finish to the year and sign a great class next November while Texas wins it all this year—leaving Rick Barnes with no reason to stay in Texas, business finished. Then, if Herb melts down next year ala Wake and GT this year, the switch is open for the taking, Barnes comes in and unites our rabid nasty fanbase (so we start off every game with the energy that we had to start the UNC game the other night) and guides Chris Wright and his merry band to the next level…Rick Barnes is NO Jimmy V either, but, very importantly, he would unite the fanbase (i.e a house divided always falls). Plus, he *may* be the only big name coach that we have a chance to get—IF he had his title or maybe another Final Four. Jay Wright, Rick Pitino, etc are NEVER going to come to State. If we are going to end up with some upstart nobody knows and has no flavor, we *may* be just as well with Sendek (i.e. better the devil you know than the one you don’t). Of course, if we finish with a whimper this year and totally meltdown next year, I would be willing to replace Sendek with ANYBODY, the church league guy, the guy down at the Y, ANYBODY…

  6. topOtheorder 02/24/2006 at 1:11 PM #

    ^^^^^

    Lumberpack,

    You are exactly right. The administration totally screwed the sports programs trying to act like they had to go to draconian measures to clean up the perceived Valvano academic mess and act like State had any chance of ever becoming a “public ivy” or anything close to it. In the end, nobody gives a damn. State is a big public school where you can get a great education if you choose or stay wasted if you choose, no more and no less. Kentucky was an absolute cheater in basketball, and, when Pitino turned them around, nobody cared to remember their cheating or academic standing. Alabama (and every other SEC school except Vandy) cheats like hell in football, but nobody equates their academic standings with what is going on in the sports programs. Gary Williams gets great kudos for reviving the Maryland bball program after the Wade debacle, but very few of his players went to class enough to graduate—but does anybody really care that he was basically doing things the same way Lefty did them?? No, Maryland scapegoated Lefty, suffered through the Wade mess, and then brought Gary in to go back to the same old Lefty way of doing things: get the DC athletes, say the hell with student part, win games, and nobody cares in the end.

    I like that Herb brings in good kids and doesn’t cheat (and we should never cheat), but one of his biggest obstacles is he is a Carnegie Mellon guy coaching Cow College.

  7. class of '74 02/24/2006 at 1:27 PM #

    ^”I would be willing to replace Sendek with ANYBODY, the church league guy, the guy down at the Y, ANYBODY…”

    That was just LOL funny! I laughed so hard my face hurts!

    Would you be willing to take one Dereck Whittenburg? Don’t laugh with the vancancies coming up it could happen.

  8. class of '74 02/24/2006 at 2:18 PM #

    ^ spell ck vacancies

  9. topOtheorder 02/24/2006 at 2:56 PM #

    ^ Actually, I wouldn’t be too excited about Whitt. Hate to say it, because I love the guy, but I always heard that he was a little lazy and not so great on the recruiting trail down at GT. Maybe that was scapegoating at the end of the Cremins era, but their recruiting definitely fell off. Whoever we *were* to get would absolutely have to work as HARD at recruiting as Sendek & Staff do, but with more personality and success.

    As far as former players go, I would be excited about Nate McMillan. I think his legacy at State (ability to tell V stories, etc) and the NBA (as a player and coach) would go a LONG way with today’s recruits who are more likely to listen to a former NBA star than a well-meaning brain like Sendek. Plus, he was a point guard, and the backcourt is where we REALLY need to improve to get to the championship level. Sadly, as far as players go, the only other guy on my list would be (drum roll please) Archie Miller. I know he has some seasoning to go, but the guy was a player that bridged us from the dark days to back in the NCAA’s, and he just seems to have the energy and personality and brains to be a great coach someday. He is already paying dividends on the recruiting trail…

  10. class of '74 02/24/2006 at 3:44 PM #

    ^A warm bowl of oatmeal has more personality and life than Herb. But I would agree on McMillan as a great choice. Miller would be after Whit in my book due to age and experience.

  11. class of '85 03/15/2006 at 11:44 AM #

    JohnPack, Now after the reg. season and ACCT, what do you think? I think you were right saying that “mediocre” does not describe Herb and his program. I think “terrible” is a better word. Maybe you can come up with some more lame excuses as to what went wrong. You can always say the players were not fired up against Wake either time, I mean why would they be, they are not from the state of N.C.

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