Delong’s Delights

General NC State Administration NCS Basketball Required Reading Sidney Lowe89

Just after Sidney Lowe was hired, John Delong of the Winston-Salem Journal wrote an outstanding piece that we never chronicled here and wanted to take a couple of minutes to get it on the site.

Good Call: In Lowe, State gets what it needs … a State guy .

This piece was fantastic. It was the absolute BEST article that we saw in the mainstream media regarding Lowe’s hire. The piece highlighted more of the different complex different elements related to Lowe’s hire.

We will quote Delong’s most recent piece in the comments section of this entry. These are great pieces and we wanted to have them chronicled forever in case you need/want access to them.

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General NC State Administration NCS Basketball Required Reading Sidney Lowe

89 Responses to Delong’s Delights

  1. class of 74 05/16/2006 at 4:50 PM #

    Lowe’s mentors: Wooten, Sloan and Valvano. Hard to top that trio.

  2. redfred2 05/16/2006 at 5:19 PM #

    ^Wulfpack

    May I be so bold as to ask your age?

    Cameron Bennerman was defending the man who recruited him, the only college bb coach he will ever know. I would suspect you may be in the same boat with regards to your expriences with NC State basketball coaching. Everybody defends things when they don’t have a different point of reference. First girlfriends, home towns, even parents. Cameron B had some awesome physical talent and basketball skills, where did misguided loyalty get him? I will let you answer that.

    “IMHO, Sidney will not make us into a top-10 program any time in the near future. There’s no way”

    I guess you are saying that because you think Herb was right on track. If that is the case, then what is your definition of “near future” anyway?

    You can throw out all of Sidney Lowe’s capabilities that don’t fit your mold as to what a coach should be, and call them useless, that is your prerogative. Your cranium has apparently been so numbed by your last exprience in coaching, to the extent that it can’t accept that there may actually be someone better for NCSU all the way around.

    If you consider the last ten or fifteen years of basketball as something to consider as success, then you should excited as hell, there is not much room to fall any lower, and a lot of room to move on up.

  3. redfred2 05/16/2006 at 5:24 PM #

    ^Wulfpack

    I do agree on one thing.

    “….and K had excellent mentors at the college level.”

    Hell, everybody knows that.

  4. redfred2 05/16/2006 at 5:51 PM #

    I could tell where this was leading long before I got there, I could feel the doom and gloom scenario building before I read the words “torn ACL.” and I read no further after that.

    What if he steps out in front of train tonight while helping his grandmother home from church? Or what if his turns his ankle on a curbside and does irrepairable damage? Can we talk about Len Bias? Maybe Darrell Stingley?

    How about if Cedric Simmons gets the right encouragement and becomes the nation’s premier big man next year and lights up the ACC? What about his future then? Is that too upbeat to consider?

    Maybe I should have read on.

  5. redfred2 05/16/2006 at 6:34 PM #

    Top professional draft picks were unimaginable for NCSU athletes until when?

  6. redfred2 05/16/2006 at 6:56 PM #

    May last post didn’t come through but it said:

    Does remember way back to when the #1 professional draft selection in any sport came from NC State University? Pretty big surprise, but it is now a reality.

  7. jwrenn29 05/16/2006 at 10:29 PM #

    GREAT article. It said (in media print no less!) what we’ve all been feeling.

  8. redfred2 05/16/2006 at 10:29 PM #

    SFN- Please do me a favor and delete my last two smart a*s posts. I know what you’re thinking, but just the last two and the blank one in between, not all of my posts.

  9. forst8 05/16/2006 at 10:53 PM #

    Redfred2 said —-

    “I gave Sendek five years to come around, it didn’t happen in ten. Give Lowe and staff the courtesy of five good years and see what happens.”

    I say — Amen to that. If all Pack fans give Sidney the same latitude that was given to Herb, he will have adequate time to prove his worth to our basketball program. I, for one, believe Sid will be an outstanding recruiter and coach but we must give him time to get his program in place and fine tuned. I think the vast majority of Pack fans will do this.

  10. class of 74 05/17/2006 at 6:23 AM #

    ^Agree, Sid will do just fine. He should receive 5 years as should any coach to install his program and prove himself. I think all of the rational fans do understand this.

  11. Wulfpack 05/17/2006 at 10:59 AM #

    http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/

    Former Duke benchwarmer and McDonald’s All-American Eric Boateng announced earlier this week he would continue his college career at Arizona State with former N.C. State coach Herb Sendek.

    This strange spring just keeps getting stranger and stranger. Will Boateng, who has to sit out the 2006-07 season, be the next Marcus Melvin or he’ll be the next Jordan Collins? Either way, the 6-11 center won’t be playing with his back to the basket.

    Pretty good coup for Herb, though.

    http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/colleges/14588494.htm

    According to Strickland, all three assistants will share recruiting, game planning, scouting and practice preparation duties. He said the job will be easier because former coach Herb Sendek, who left for Arizona State, had success with five straight NCAA tournament appearances.

    “The foundation has been laid in a solid, solid way,” Strickland said.

  12. Dan 05/17/2006 at 11:25 AM #

    Boateng doesnt want to play with his back to the basket. He is rail thin, from London, and plays a more Euro style of ball. He was a target for Sendek while he was at State. He really should have come here given his style of play.

  13. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 05/17/2006 at 12:07 PM #

    Didn’t Herb average about two escapees a year during his first four or five years?

    Does anyone else remember that during his first practice at State, Herb sent three players to the hospital? The program went from no discipline under Less to having Bear Bryant. I suspect Sid can find a happy place in between.

  14. BillyTheKid 05/17/2006 at 12:16 PM #

    Wulfpack, or anybody,
    is there any word as to what is going on with Towe? Did they ever get all the “i’s” and “t’s” taken care of?

  15. redfred2 05/17/2006 at 12:47 PM #

    “Does anyone else remember that during his first practice at State, Herb sent three players to the hospital? The program went from no discipline under Less to having Bear Bryant.”

    But without any of the Bear Bryant like results. Just an overbearing, micro manager.

    I think Herb will have some success at ASU now. But it won’t accomplished by doing things the way he did here at NC State. He will use that now to move on to something different. Something more, that he couldn’t allow himself to do here.

    I do not want to hear about every Herb Sendek win or loss from here on out, but it is inevitiable. If the losses are piling up, you won’t hear from me. If they are wins, it will because he has finally chosen to move foward and learn from the past. His expriences here, should have taught him lessons that will make him a better coach, in every aspect, for ASU.

  16. Dan 05/17/2006 at 3:00 PM #

    “Does anyone else remember that during his first practice at State, Herb sent three players to the hospital? ”

    Yeah, I remember it well. I was a student for the transition. Marco Harrison quit after the first practice. That big, fat, soft excuse for a basketball player reportedly threw up and almost passed out. I’m not even sure he ever landed anywhere of note. That was back when Sendek was inspired though. The other loss I remember was Ivan Wagner. A loss I regret much more than fatboy Marco.

  17. StateFans 05/17/2006 at 3:11 PM #

    ^ Because Wagner went on to start as Texas’ point guard and win a Big 12 Title and evolve into an All-Conference player?

    Marco quit because he couldn’t handle the discipline.

    Wagner was pushed out by Sendek who wanted the scholarship. Might have been one of his very first big mistakes.

  18. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 05/17/2006 at 3:11 PM #

    There was Adam Harrington, Wilkins, Seems like another Harrington tried to go pro instead of come to State. I know there were several other but I just don’t remember the names. Some argued that most of them never became did much but I don’t think that was the point to the fact so much as the fact that so many kids wanted to leave.

    Unrelated to the above topic but back in the 90’s didn’t we have a player take his life or is my memory playing tricks?

  19. redfred2 05/17/2006 at 3:25 PM #

    I am as guilty as anyone, I jump right in, head first, when people are still out there defending their lost cause. Herb Sendek decided to leave NCSU on his own. It doesn’t matter what anyone says, he choose to leave. Herb had built a foundation five or six years ago, and since then, it has just sat there idly waiting for him to add to it.

    I will try to bite my tongue the next time I see someone still harping Herb Sendek as the greatest coach NC State basketball could ever ask for. I’m sure that is as it relates to just their lifetimes anyway, so that is taken into consideration. But the reality is, you can’t make his past at NC State any better than what it was in reality. Herb Sendek is history now. Blame him for leaving you behind. No matter what you say, you can’t change anyone’s attitude about him now.

    Trust me on this, I know something about harping on lost causes. Pull up a chair, let me tell you a little story about a great, hall of fame coach, who has had teams in no less 35 post season tournaments. The one who mentored Coach K and has a record that K would die for. The one whose team was seeded 8th (above NC State) in the 2004 NCAA tourney, and whose talents are all being wasted down there at…….

    My wife caught me slipping back into a self induced, semi conscience, sweat producing stupor, and threw a cold glass of water in my face. Thanks Honey! I’m back, now where was I? …..graduates basketball players at a rate of 98%, a rate higher than all of the general academia at every school in the nation, except one, Harvard University….

    Does that matter now? Does anyone really want to hear that now?

  20. Wulfpack 05/18/2006 at 9:27 AM #

    “Your cranium has apparently been so numbed by your last exprience in coaching, to the extent that it can’t accept that there may actually be someone better for NCSU all the way around.

    If you consider the last ten or fifteen years of basketball as something to consider as success, then you should excited as hell, there is not much room to fall any lower, and a lot of room to move on up.”

    Objectively speaking, Sendek has taken teams to the postseason in 12 of his 13 seasons as a head coach including the NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons, joining Mike Krzyewski as the only two ACC coaches to hold that distinction. He put together five 20+ win seasons at NCSU and was voted as the 2004 ACC Coach of the Year.

    If Lowe tops this kind of success then we ‘should’ all be very happy. I beg to differ about there being room to fall any lower. With 12 teams now in the mix (and the obvious two firmly entrenched as premier programs), there is plenty of room for a decline. I’ll say it again, Sendek had success –but he simply did not meet many of your expectations. I suspect this is some of the reason why high caliber coaches rejected our offers.

    I will support Sidney Lowe through and through, just as supported Herb Sendek. I am proud of my university and its standards. I am proud of our tradition, and optimistic about our future. Sendek may go down as a poor coach in your minds — but the history books will certainly contradict that. There were much worser eras in our history. And many in the profession have spoken out about his promising future. The numbers objectively indicate that he is a very strong coach. Lowe will certainly have his work cut out for him by these standards.

    That’s it…I’m done.

  21. Dan 05/18/2006 at 11:21 AM #

    “The numbers objectively indicate that he (Sendek) is a very strong coach.”

    I was a Sendek backer too, but for maybe different reasons. I’m not sure you can make a solid argument for him based on his record. You cannot simply divide teams into NCAA tourney teams and non tourney teams. Four of those five years, we were barely an NCAA tourney team. Most of the time we’ve been in the second tier of the at-large pool. I think our record only reinforces that as we’ve had very few wins against the teams that are in the top half of the at-large pool. The thing about Sendek was that he was very consistent about being in that 2nd tier.

    I’m not sure that simply making the NCAA is good measure of success for a school considering 65 teams make it in. Now, I’m not saying we have to hang NCAA title banners every year, or even sweep Duke and UNC every year. I just think we should at least consistently find ourselves in that top half of the at-large field. And that we should be competive against those top half teams.

  22. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 05/18/2006 at 11:43 AM #

    “…including the NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons, joining Mike Krzyewski as the only two ACC coaches to hold that distinction.”

    This may be the single most stupid, dumb, moronic statement that can be made. It is repeated over and over as if this is somehow convince people that Sendek is a great coach. Wintrop has done about the same thing. After 10 years at NC State Sendek could only find a job at Arizona State for the god’s sake. With all the good job openings around the country this year why is the man at maybe one of the worst places for a college bball coach? He had a better job when he was 30 years old at Miami (Ohio).

    Coach K has been to something like 9 Sweet 16’s in a row and 6 ACC tournament championships in the last 6 years. Please for the sake of sanity stop mentioning Herb’s 4 awful and one decent trip to the NCAA’s in 10 years as somehow equal to K’s work at Duke.

  23. Dan 05/18/2006 at 12:00 PM #

    Tct, no reason to take this argument into the insult mode of Lee Fowler. And Wintrop hasnt done anywhere near the same thing. Winthrop would not have won 7 games in the ACC the past 5 years.

    And Arizona State is a better job than Miami U for a lot of reasons. First off, they tend to add an extra zero to your pay check. Second, you can make the dance without winning the conference. Lets not jump off the deep end on Sendek. He did ok here. He ‘might’ have done better. He ‘might’ not have. We’ll never know, and that’s fine. Ok, just isnt what we want here. We want to be an upper tier team as a rule. Herb never really competed with the upper half at large teams. That doesnt mean he sucked. He just wasnt superb.

  24. redfred2 05/18/2006 at 12:18 PM #

    ^Wulfpack

    Your stats and numbers are not to be denied. I can’t argue the consecutive post season appearances, I could argue the route, but Dan touched on that already. There is no denial in the fact that the basketball program is better off now, than it was ten years ago. But is it achieving much more, from year to year?

    I have said, many times before, that I can watch a mediocre NC State basketball team lose all day long, and feel fine about it. That is if, all of their talent is being used to it’s fullest, they are confident in what they are being told to do, and there are ever changing strategies used to try to come up a with winning formula on any given night, and even if they lose, they leave it all on the court at the end of the game.

    I saw none of those things. There has been more than mediocre talent involved, at varying degrees, for years now. There was always untapped potential left to stand around wondering what the coach wanted them to do next, only to be schuffled out door after their elibilty ran out. That lack of real direction and passion, has tainted our perception of the players who have played at NC State over the past decade now. That’s not fair to the players, I don’t blame them, they did exactly what they were told. They will not be remembered like they expected to be, it’s not their fault, and I hate it for them.

  25. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 05/18/2006 at 12:49 PM #

    I did not say anything personal- I was commiting on the statement not the person making it. That is the most worn out statement of the last 3 months and it means nothing. You win 10 games playing the VMI and UNC Ashvilles of the world you almost would have to try and not make the tournament with the lack of top to bottom talent in the ACC over the last 5 years.

    Yes, the program is better off than it was when Les left but far behind where it was when V left. The 16 years of Les, Turner, Sendek and Fowler have been a awful for the school and the program. Les should of been let go after year 4 as should Herb.

    It amazes me that people that seem to be rather smart can buy this line that we are “turning the corner” for 6 or 7 years. While schools like UNC take 2 or 3 years to fix problems like the Coach Gut dismantling of UNC basketball. 2 years after Gut stopped recruiting at UNC, Matt had maybe the best class in the history of the game. Then they let go the National Coach of the Year a year later. It is shameful that NC State would pay someone $900,000 to perform as Sendek did… And like it.

    Herb may be making more money at ASU because they are desperate much like when Fowler was pursuing Barns. I think I would much rather be a Miami (Ohio) than ASU for almost any reason if you exclude the money. I have felt for years that Herb only cared about Herb and his cash grab seems to prove that is about right.

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