We didn’t feel too good on Thursday night because we were struggling with news that Lee Fowler/NC State had been unresponsive to overtures from John Calipari’s people and that NC State’s courtship with Rick Barnes had come to an end.
However, we are feeling a lot better today!!
Since our afternoon update and analysis we’ve been doing some digging and we feel even better about some of the objective/analytical comments that we shared.
John Calipari
* The most exciting item of the day comes from the news that someone not named Lee Fowler who is as close to the NC State search as possible has had major contact with John Calipari.
* The conversations with Calipari have evolved to the point of discussing specific criteria/stipulations that need to be in place for Calipari to accept the job.
* One example of a stipulation for Calipari would be that NC State create a formalized internship program for its basketball players like the one Memphis has at Fed Ex. Calipari wants his kids to have the opportunity well-rounded college experiences and build their overall resumes. Additionally, having his players earn NCAA-approved money in a controlled environment reduces the need and temptation to look for money from agents &/or rogue boosters.
* We were obviously very concerned last night when we reported that the “officially unofficial” search team had not yet reached out to Coach Cal despite his overtures to State. Our concern was rooted largely in the frustration that some of Cal’s contacts were expressing to us. We knew that State was already going to need to work around the “ego issue” created by the appearance that Cal resided on the #2 spot State’s list.
* We do not know if the NC State administration has completely “signed off” on Calipari as of yet. But, WRAZ-TV news in Raleigh reported tonight that Calipari had risen to the status of #1 target of the Wolfpack’s search. There is extra reason to listen to WRAL/WRAZ because the stations are by Capitol Broadcasting, the same company who own the media rights to NC State Athletics.
* Dave Glenn made an appearance on Raleigh radio on Saturday morning basically concurring with our comments. He also mentioned that there may be still be some division amongst some key NC State figures regarding Calipari’s potential candidacy.
* We suggest that anyone whose opinion matters in the search and who has expressed hesitation about Calipari needs to meet with him. Doesn’t anyone deserve at least that courtesy before you make a sweeping decision regarding his career and our program? We have 100% confidence that anyone who meets Coach Calipari won’t have any concerns after the meeting. Our biggest fear is that some of our own idiots would scare him away in such a meeting!
* We believe that if Wendell Murphy puts his stamp of approval on Cal, then Lee Fowler will follow. We also believe that if Murphy and Fowler sign-off on Cal then Chancellor Oblinger will follow.
* NC State’s administration and athletics department have worked damn hard for the last 17 years to create a balanced and academic-focused athletics program. Additionally, Chancellor Oblinger’s reputation amongst the academic side of the University (and the community) is sterling. If the leaders of NC State give their stamp of approval to any candidate, NC State deserves the benefit of any doubt and trust of the entire community/media that nothing would be done that would risk our strong academic reputation.
Rick Barnes
* One of the reasons that the Rick Barnes chapter is not closed is because NC State upped our offer when Barnes was leaning towards saying no (but never told us to go away for ever). The annual compensation numbers is now rumored to be north of $2.0 million.
* Evidently, Barnes’ interest in the job was very high at the beginning of the week and gradually faded as the week progressed because of family concerns – his children are very integrated into Austin and UT. And that is reason #2 million why Lee Fowler’s decision not to fire Herb Sendek five years ago (when Barnes was only three years into living in Austin) was one of the worst in the history of our institution.
* If you were Texas, would you really pay Barnes $2.2 million in light of the fact that he has never won a Big 12 Tournament Championship and only made one Final Four in 8 years? We’re not so sure Texas is inclined to pay but so much when they could turn their attention 90 miles down the road and steal Billy Gillispie from Texas A&M for a million dollars less per year.
* So why would NC State pay Barnes that much? For NC State, it has been because of the uncannily strong “fit”. It may now be evolving into an ego thing. Barnes (and we believe Calipari) is like that one piece of a collection that you don’t have. Individually, that single piece is only worth x. But you are willing to overpay for that one piece because of its impact and the fit with your entire collection.
* As great of a fit that Rick Barnes is with the Wolfpack’s program, NC State now runs the risk of looking whorish in their pursuit of Barnes. Coach Calipari is reportedly not seeking nearly as large of a financial commitment from NC State, and it seems that Calipari may be more genuinely interested in saying yes than Barnes. Why not save $750,000 (in the event that we need it for football one day) and get the coach that has been more successful on the court (Calipari)?
John Brady
* Based on digging from the NC State side, we feel more comfortable about our hypothesis that the John Brady talk today has little merit.
* Based on this article from Baton Rouge, it looks like there is no reason to fear a Brady hiring from the LSU side. We hope that Coach Brady found a way to get his raise wrapped up quickly.
A phone call has not come from North Carolina State, nor its athletic director, Lee Fowler.
Brady said he was aware of his name being linked to the N.C. State opening Thursday by ESPN.com’s Andy Katz, but said there was no substance to the report.
* We are starting to think that some people close to the search just like throwing out some names to send fans on wild goose chases.
* If Lee Fowler pulls off a Calipari hiring, he (and team) will deserve significant credit for the results of the process. We can’t wait to be the first to congratulate him/them!
