Chronicling the Criticism

General Media NCS Basketball On the Record Quotes of Note Sidney Lowe91

We need your help!

As you are well aware, a significant number of national and local media members have been openly critical of Sidney Lowe’s hire as Head Basketball Coach at NC State. Although this criticism is very relevant, we have chosen not to dwell and focus on it. But, we don’t want to ignore it completely.

So, what we would ask you to do is use our comments section for this entry to share criticisms that you have heard/seen on television and radio, and link to articles and commentaries on the internet. Feel free to include a quotation or two from the article that is particularly critical so if the source chooses to remove the article in the future, we will have the commentary chronicled.

We ask that you do NOT share your own commentary or thoughts on this entry. We just want links, quotes, and recaps. We are trying to compile a single entry with all of the criticism so that we can have it chronicled in one spot. We would LOVE to be able to come back to this entry in a few years and serve up a bunch of crow.

Thanks!

Example–

Randy Capps @ Shelby Starr

http://www.shelbystar.com/story.php?ID=1693

Recent hire trades substance for style for Wolfpack program

He’ll show up at little Johnny’s house, spin a few yarns about the N.C. State glory days and drop a few names from the NBA. It’ll be a good show right up until Roy Williams shows up with a shiny national championship ring and a laundry list of players he’s coached into the pros.

State fans, and apparently, some players got their wish. When Sendek left for Tempe, they got rid of a boring coach with a boring offense.

“(Lowe) told us he wanted us to be free and have fun,‿ said sophomore Gavin Grant. “(Sendek) wasn’t focused on having fun. He was more focused on we’ve got to win and it was this way or no way at all.‿
Yeah, sure. It’s all about fun now at N.C. State. Let’s get it up and down and stick out their chests when they play Duke and Carolina.

It’s a page out of the N.C. State football playbook. Walk loudly and carry a twig.

What you have here is a trade-off that most State fans will welcome. The straight-laced, soft-spoken coach that wins more than he loses firmly in the shadow of his neighbors for the tough-talking State alum that isn’t scared to yell at Coach K or Skip Prosser to fire up his team.

Style over substance never works over the long haul.

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General Media NCS Basketball On the Record Quotes of Note Sidney Lowe

91 Responses to Chronicling the Criticism

  1. Gopack80 05/08/2006 at 10:01 AM #

    From our good buddy Douchehelmet Doyel.

    http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9419409

    “Until Saturday, you thought North Carolina State’s search for a basketball coach was going badly. You thought wrong.

    Until Saturday, N.C. State’s search was going beautifully. The Wolfpack hadn’t done anything smart like hire one of the ACC-ready head coaches in their own state, but they hadn’t done anything irreparably stupid, either.

    Like hiring Sidney Lowe. ”

    This guy is such a prick, it’s almost funny. Almost.

    SFN – Thanks! We don’t like linking to Doyel, but we’ve got to allow it in this case. We heard that Scott Fowler wrote some stuff in Charlotte on Sunday?

  2. cfpack03 05/08/2006 at 10:17 AM #

    Lowe won’t make a difference in Raleigh
    http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/5578106

    “Whether it’s Sidney Lowe, Rick Barnes or John Calipari, it doesn’t really matter. There’s no way N.C. State will be able to topple the powers-that-be on Tobacco Road. “

  3. ncsu96 05/08/2006 at 10:19 AM #

    DeCourcy criticized hiring Lowe on Adam Gold on Friday; Don’t remember specifics but it was very much based on ‘he hasn’t coach college, recruited, etc.’ with at least some logic to his comments. This was a bit dissappointing as I respect DeCourcy more than most (not sure if that saying much).

    It seems most of the critical articles are from national media or at least media outside the triangle. Perhaps, it’s b/c triangle media doesn’t want to start out on wrong foot with Sid but I think it’s more evidence national media 1) doesn’t have a clue and 2) is lazy and sensationalistic. Very similar to ‘NC Statefans are mean’ articles…

  4. cfpack03 05/08/2006 at 10:23 AM #

    Scott Fowler/Charlotte Observer – “Lowe hired on ties, not victories”
    http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/colleges/14505311.htm

  5. pacNWPackfan 05/08/2006 at 10:36 AM #

    The article cfpack03 has referenced is by Jeff Goodman. Goodman has had a fairly negative tone about NC State through the whole search. He seems to be convinced that all Pack fans will be crying over Sendek’s departure at some point. That’s fine if he wants to peddle that point of view, but his declaration about Lowe in his most recent article is petty, unfounded and reeks of an a*%hole.

  6. jwolf 05/08/2006 at 10:37 AM #

    Scott Fowlers article has some truth to it….doesn’t it?

  7. Mr O 05/08/2006 at 10:44 AM #

    Personally, I don’t follow the criticism of the hiring whatsoever. Criticizing him over his NBA record is ridiculous…no coach was going to win with those two franchises at the time.

    I can understand criticizing him for his lack of college head coaching experience. That makes sense. But where Fowler and Lowe made this a non-issue was ig getting Larry Harris, Monte Towe and potentially 1 other former head coach between Strickland and Henderson.

    Scott Fowler wrote:

    I’m asking, No. 1, whether Lowe and N.C. State will ever finish first in the ACC? And, No. 2, will Lowe ever get an N.C. State team to the Final Four?

    My guess is he won’t. If Lowe does either one of those, I will write a huge “I was wrong” column in this newspaper and make a large donation to the charity of Lowe’s choice.

    I saw Scott Fowler criticize the hire because we most likely won’t make the Final Four or finish in front of Duke and UNC.

    Fowler really went out on a limb there.

    How many programs each year make the Final Four and would be good enough to finish in front of Duke and UNC??? There might be one or two teams each year that can accomplish this feat, so Fowler would have to criticize every hire made in college basketball essentially every single year.

    And besides, how many times in 10 years did Herb Sendek finish in front of UNC and Duke and make the Final Four? Why isn’t he criticizing Herb Sendek?

    To be honest, I can’t figure out why people in the media and our rival fans are critical of the hire in the first place…unless it is just because they like to criticize NC State.

    The hire makes sense for a lot of reasons. Lowe has loads of coaching experience at the highest level. His overall success will be determined by how well he recruits – that is the bottomline.

    On that basis, Lowe is going to have one of the best recruiters in the business and two other collegiate head coaches on his staff. In terms of closing recruits, I can’t think of a coach in the country who can do a better job of selling NC State.

    Lowe understands NC State. He understands our tradition. He understands that we can compete with Duke and UNC despite what anyone says. He has an ACC title ring, an NCAA championship ring, an NBA championship ring. He has 4 years of coaching experience in the NBA. He has been an assistant in the NBA for a decade. Does he have college experience? No, but he has the support and experience in having Larry Harris, Monte Towe and potentially another former head coach at the college level. He has the RBC, the basketball practice facility, an uptempo system, etc….

    Our success is always going to be determined by recruiting first and foremost. IMO, we have a much better story to tell now than before this change was made.

  8. Fletch 05/08/2006 at 10:47 AM #

    http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/14504975.htm

    “Despite nine postseason tournament appearances in 10 seasons and NCAA Tournament showings in each of the past five, Sendek essentially was run out of Raleigh by N.C. State’s boosters. He need not feel alone; the Wolfpack faithful did the same to Norm Sloan, Jim Valvano and Les Robinson before him.

    Lowe will face the same wolves as soon as his teams get drummed by Duke and UNC and fail to reach postseason play. It is a fate that would have awaited Marshall had the job been offered.”

  9. cfpack03 05/08/2006 at 11:13 AM #

    Scott Fowler bashed us several times over the past month.

    Wolpack does wonders for rich coaches – 4/13
    http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/colleges/14330599.htm

    Texans blew it by bypassing Bush – 4/30
    http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/football/nfl/carolina_panthers/14464238.htm
    “Within moments of the NFL draft’s official beginning Saturday, its biggest mistake was made.”

    And various other times in his Q&A column. This really should come as no surprise since he’s a UNC grad (’87), just wrote a UNC Sports History book, and his website, http://www.scottfowlersports.com/, has dozens of tarheel photos. It probably won’t be long before he leaves the CO to join Doyel at UNCBS Sportsline.

  10. Wulfpack 05/08/2006 at 11:18 AM #

    http://www.newsobserver.com/769/story/436177.html

    What about Whitt? Caulton Tudor, Raleigh News & Observer

    What’s perplexing is that, while Lowe was hired after other targets declined, Whittenburg, the head coach at Fordham and Lowe’s former teammate at State, apparently was never seriously considered.

    Count Lorenzo Charles, another member of the 1983 NCAA championship team and the guy who turned Whittenburg’s airball into the title-winning bucket against Houston, among those trying to figure that out.

    “I love Sid, and I’ll back him with all of my heart, but I still don’t quite understand it,” Charles said Wednesday. “What was wrong with Whit? That’s my only question. He’s just as qualified, and he wanted this job more than anyone. Maybe I’ll understand it one day, but I don’t right now.”

  11. beowolf 05/08/2006 at 11:20 AM #

    The “Wolfpack faithful” most definitely DID NOT run Coach Valvano out of Raleigh.

    That was accomplished by the feckless NC State administration — kowtowing to the N&O witchhunters and the UNC snoots tired of watching Saint Dean getting eclipsed in Durham AND Raleigh.

  12. goobnav 05/08/2006 at 11:25 AM #

    Amen, beowolf, apparently they all migrated to Charlotte

  13. jwolf 05/08/2006 at 11:30 AM #

    Has Sidney Lowe won a NBA championship. Dont’ think he has as a coach (may this year), but wasn’t sure if he had as a player??

  14. Wulfpack 05/08/2006 at 11:31 AM #

    http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060506/SPORTS03/605060372/1051/SPORTS03

    Lowe comments in Detroit Free Press

    And Lowe, 46, will find himself coaching in a state where North Carolina and Duke dominate.

    It’s a lot to take in. But Lowe seemed realistic about the situation, saying he wants to use the basketball knowledge he has gained in the NBA to make the Wolfpack prominent again.

    “I’m not going down there to compete with Coach K and Coach Williams,” Lowe said of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina coach Roy Williams. “They have their programs, and they’ve done obviously extremely well. If this thing happens for me, I’m going to go down there and establish something good at N.C. State and set a benchmark for ourselves. …

    “Obviously, when you’re playing games you want to beat them, but it’s not Roy Williams, it’s not Coach K, it’s not Sidney Lowe. It’s N.C. State. And we want to make sure we represent the university well, and we’ll see what happens.”

  15. Jeremy Hyatt 05/08/2006 at 11:40 AM #

    If you look closely the Goodman article is relatively well-balanced in content despite its title “Lowe won’t make a difference in Raleigh”. Still, his conclusion I believe relates to fans’ unrealistic expectations.

    Well if there is anyone that understands these expectations its Lowe. Regardless of what happens all indications say he is the right guy for the right time.

    Oh, and if we see more of the Doyle-trolling perspective, realize that you don’t have to be a Carolina or Duke alum to adapt their agenda. Acknowledge these 2 schools are “brand names” now, kind of like Red Sox, there are fans all over the world. But we are not just competing against Carolina, and Duke, and all their non-native fans, we are competing against the media which benefit from their success.

  16. WilmingtonWolf05 05/08/2006 at 11:44 AM #

    I think this thread is an excellent idea. When Sidney wins an ACCT or NCAAT this thread will return and emails will be sent. There will be plenty of invitations for a crow buffet. Thanks SFN! GO WOLFPACK!!!!

  17. whatmeworry 05/08/2006 at 12:09 PM #

    Jeremy Hyatt makes several great points that should be remembered. I used to think that NC State’s biggest down fall was not having a journalism school but now I believe it to be not having a strong marketing arm. It seems to me that most journalist (sports journalist included) suffer more severely from laziness than bias. Duke & UNC not dominating regional college basketball would upset the paradigm with which they build their story column template.

  18. WearRed92 05/08/2006 at 12:50 PM #

    Hit it on the head, Jeremy Hyatt. Everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon when teams win, and when teams win consistently under a coach with a “story” (aka K with almost 30 years at Duke or Roy coming back home), then it becomes a brand like you so well said. Every time you see some kid in Oregon with a Carolina jersey, you know this is true. So now we have our own coach with a story, someone who came home and has made good on several predictions from years past. The coach on the floor has become the coach on the bench and he is fully capable of building the brand at State.

  19. BJD95 05/08/2006 at 1:11 PM #

    The ACC Basketblog, hitting below the belt (IMHO):

    http://accbasketblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/daily-roundup-freethrowfriday.html

  20. choppack1 05/08/2006 at 1:31 PM #

    OTOH, John Delong, of the Winston Salem Journal, has done some good work lately. 3 of his last articles hit the nail on the head.

    1) The Why not Whitt article
    2) The state fans aren’t lunatics for wanting to beat UNC-Ch and Duke and win championships. (This was Saturday I think)
    3) Today’s article mentions touches on Sidney’s degree situation in a very fair and even-handed way. (Even mentions he’ll get his degree next month, which will concern some of us who were thinking it would be in May.)

  21. Elrod 05/08/2006 at 1:32 PM #

    “It’s a page out of the N.C. State football playbook. Walk loudly and carry a twig.”

    Cute. I like this one better:

    “It’s a page out of the BBU student manual. Walk lightly and carry a condom.”

  22. Jeremy Hyatt 05/08/2006 at 1:34 PM #

    BJD95: I was very unfond of that entry when i saw it.

  23. NCSU4LIFE 05/08/2006 at 2:01 PM #

    If I were a player on the team or Coach Lowe I would print these out and throw them up in my locker. They would be good motivation for the upcoming season. I am printing them all off to save.

  24. ldr of pk 75 05/08/2006 at 2:25 PM #

    Give me break for Christ sake, it’s the press we’re talking about here. Other than Hollywood there can’t be an industry that remains so disconnected to reality as does the press. Doyel previously, and Fowler presently worked/work for an organization (Knight-Rudderless) and Newspaper (Charlotte Disturber) that think all community, social, political, sports problems can be solved by throwing money at a situation and having little if any accountability. Come check Charlotte out sometime if you think money can do it all. Nice place, but bordering on the ridiculous in so many ways. They may be good at blowing smoke up your ass in writing a cheesy little article a couple of times a week, but know little, I’d expect, about making hard adminstrative decisions based on cost, production, return, etc etc. I never thought, from the start, that we needed a big name high profile hire. What we needed was a change in our system of play, mainly a change to “todays game”. Sidney doesn’t have enough of a record with a team of consequence to judge the real transfer value to the college game. I may be wrong, but administatively (personnel) he wasn’t anywhere long enough to be able to get to the upper level of the NBA. What he brings, and any assistants being mentioned also bring, is an understanding of a faster paced game. That alone, regardless of our talent level next year, will bring enthusiasm. They are still young enough to relate to recruits. Given a chance, and being “family” I think he will understand where we’ve been and know we can get there again. Unlike Doyel and Fowler, Sidneys been there as a State man and knows we don’t have to take a back seat to any shade of blue just because the press says that’s the way it has to be. Do you think Bill Foster worried about Carolina and State some 25+ years ago when he started the rebuliding process at Duke and they had been through about 15 years of wandering in the wilderness? Did Coach K cower coming in against Dean? Did Dean worry about State and Duke when first hired as a “nobody”? The answer all way around is not hardly. They rolled up their sleeves and went to work just like Sidney and whatever staff he puts together will do. The work is cut out to do, but lets get behind him and if we’re lucky, in the not too distant future, we’ll be able to remind Fowler (newspaper type) that he owes an article of apology to say he was wrong. Next order of business is to work on the management end of the football team. Time is over to talk the talk, it’s time to do some bigger walking than has been done. Still behind them though. GO PACK.

  25. BLUE SUCKS 05/08/2006 at 2:39 PM #

    All the HATERS can catch us LOWE!

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