N&O: Strickland Completes Lowe’s Staff

General NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe21

A couple of days before Sidney Lowe was hired we discussed the names that were rumored to be a part of his staff. (Click Link)

Last week, it was rumored that Strickland couldn’t come to an agreement with Lowe regarding his title/role on the staff and that former Duke player, David Henderson, was in line if Strickland wasn’t the guy. (Click Link)

Today, the News & Observer reports that Strickland will round out the staff.

“We’re thrilled to be coming back to this area,” Strickland said Saturday. “I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of a staff like this one. Sid’s going to be a terrific leader for the program and for Wolfpack fans everywhere. I think we’ll all draw on his energy and enthusiasm.”

How does the N&O do it? It’s weird. They were late to report Sendek’s departure on Saturday, April 1st. They barely touched on real details during the search. And then, out of nowhere, they broke the news about Sidney Lowe before anyone and now they break the Strickland news?

We are excited about Strickland. His reputation for a focus on fundamentals was something that we wanted/needed to hear in relation to the staff. Lowe’s staff now has TWO former Head Coaches (one of which left his job to join Lowe’s staff), and a long-time top assistant with strong local and ACC ties. This is good stuff.

Most of our staff conversations were held in this link.

Despite Strickland’s less-than-stellar record as a head coach, we are very excited about his arrival in Raleigh. Fans need to realize that he still created the second most successful tenure in the history of Coastal Carolina Basketball. And, the team that he recruited was able to advance to the Conference Tournament Championship this year in Buzz Peterson’s first season.

The role of an assistant is very different than the role of the Head Coach. From what we’ve been told about Strickland’s:

* ability to recruit

* ability to coach fundamentals and x&o’s

* connections in AAU circles

* interpersonal communication skills

We think Strickland has all of the tools needed to be a very key ingredient to a very successful staff. Additionally, his seven years of experience as a head coach will be invaluable to the new staff in light of his knowledge of NCAA compliance issues, overall organizational skills, local recruiting contacts and name recognition.

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

General NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe

21 Responses to N&O: Strickland Completes Lowe’s Staff

  1. Cardiff Giant 05/14/2006 at 12:01 PM #

    Why was his record at Coastal Carolina so poor?

  2. StateFans 05/14/2006 at 12:43 PM #

    ^ Updated original entry with more comments.

  3. cornellpackfan 05/14/2006 at 1:03 PM #

    I mean I think the fact that it is Coastal Carolina is a big factor. He did lead them to a conference title win, and he set the platform for buzz peterson’s success there so I think he will be a great addition. Also if you consider that both he and lowe are from the D.C. area I think that we will be able to tap into that talent rich region as well as our own. Strickland is a great addition to the Wolfpack staff. Don’t forget that this staff has SEVERAL head coaches on it, I think I’m more excited about the staff that Lowe has put together than his initial hiring. Putting a solid staff together is one sign of a great coach.

  4. cornellpackfan 05/14/2006 at 1:10 PM #

    sorry I wrote that wrong…. [Set the platform for buzz peterson’s success and conference title] …also if you consider the fact that when he was an assistant at Dayton the team beat a bunch of top twenty-five teams and became a legitimate mid-major program. He is definitely going to help with developing skill-sets in our players. Hopefully, we will be able to keep our basketball assistants around, and not follow in our football team’s foot steps.

  5. VaWolf82 05/14/2006 at 1:30 PM #

    Between Cedric Simmons, the originally signed 2006 freshmen, along with the key recruiting period of the 2007 class, the staff certainly has their hands full. A good performance by the staff in these three areas will certainly give the fan base alot of reasons for hope.

  6. Cardiff Giant 05/14/2006 at 2:33 PM #

    I wasn’t trying to hack the man. He seems like a very good hire. I really did question the head coaching record for obvious reasons – 70 wins versus – what? – 129 losses is muy stinko. I am much relieved by the additional information.

    I recall when the Chanticleers, back in 1991, nearly knocked out some very high seed in the first round of the NCAA. I recall cheering for them like crazy.

  7. Cardiff Giant 05/14/2006 at 3:01 PM #

    So, thinking about this, we have two former head coaches as assistants, along with Larry Harris (and his value speaks for itself). Not bad at all, this.

  8. gopack237 05/14/2006 at 3:24 PM #

    I met Pete when Coastal played UNC, friend of mines dad is good friends with him and we sat courtside. Young, fun, energetic guy…should be of great value to the staff.

  9. choppack1 05/14/2006 at 6:36 PM #

    Does it matter what his record was as a HC? He won’t be the HC for us. All in all – this is a very solid hire for a 3rd assistant. We have 2 guys on staff who have been HCs (not counting Lowe.) The other has significant experience as a Asst. Coach and is one of the top recruiters in nation. All in all – I think this staff is fantastic.

  10. TNPackFan 05/14/2006 at 7:03 PM #

    Could the aquisition of this staff possibly give us some insight into Lowe’s recruiting abilities? This final staff is exactly the same as the one SFN reported as a rumored staff on May 4, which seems to indicate that this is the staff that Lowe wanted from the beginning. Despite some hang-ups about Towe’s contract and questions about whether Strickland wanted to come or not, Lowe ended up with his guys. That could tell us something about his persistence and ability to sell the program to recruits.

  11. cornellpackfan 05/15/2006 at 1:27 AM #

    I think that this ability to get his guys also shows that he believes in what he is doing, and is selling that to everyone not just the players but also other coaches. Any person who can convince a head coach to leave his job and get an assistant back from sendek’s staff has to have confidence in what he wants to do here. It is good that we have a coach with some fire and excitement and not some apathetic geek as our new coach.

  12. Cardiff Giant 05/15/2006 at 8:30 AM #

    “Does it matter what his record was as a HC?”

    Well … yes, it is a factor.

  13. branjawn 05/15/2006 at 9:20 AM #

    Sorry to post a message not related to this discussion. CORNELLPACKFAN, are you in NC or NY? I am a lifelong native of Raleigh and obvious pack fan, but must move to Ithaca NY (Cornell U) this summer. Just wondering if you live in Ithaca or down here.

  14. BJD95 05/15/2006 at 9:58 AM #

    For a #3 assistant, his HC record is really pretty inconsequential.

  15. choppack1 05/15/2006 at 10:39 AM #

    “Does it matter what his record was as a HC?�

    Well … yes, it is a factor.”

    Uhh, if he had a great record, he wouldn’t be the 3rd assistant. I think he fits a nice niche in this staff. Reportedly solid X and Os, extensive college b’ball experience, and previous head-coaching experience. Given Lowe’s inexperience in the college game, I’m glad he’s surrounded himself w/ a staff that has tons of college b’ball experience. Do I wish all of these guys had better records of success? Of course. However, given the situation Lowe is walking into – a team that has some previous successes – and given his lack of college experience – I think the staff makes up for his biggest weakness.

  16. Cardiff Giant 05/15/2006 at 11:01 AM #

    ^ I’m not arguing with that. I am saying that you have to consider the whole body of his work when you look at him, and ignoring his record as a head coach, merely because he is serving as a assistant here, seems like a strange brew.

  17. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 05/15/2006 at 11:30 AM #

    A fantastic staff put together by Lowe and NC State. By getting Lowe we were also able to avoid the 1.5-2 mil head coach deal that would of made it difficult to pay a staff.

    I think we should all go buy new NC State Basetball T’s to show our support for the program. A spike in sells for basketball shirts would be a good thing for the program.

  18. jbwbubba 05/15/2006 at 12:20 PM #

    “ability to recruit”

    Hope he gets started soon, because our current class looks to be disappearing fast.

  19. cornellpackfan 05/15/2006 at 12:21 PM #

    branjawn, i am from raleigh, but i am a current student at cornell.

  20. branjawn 05/15/2006 at 12:33 PM #

    no way. shoot me an email so we can watch some NCSU games together! [email protected]

  21. TomCat 05/15/2006 at 10:20 PM #

    Pete Strickland, great radio interview today (Mon.) on Pirate Radio 1250 AM. Should be archived on http://www.pirateradio1250 by Tues. (Coach Mac McCarthy’s “Chalk Talk”). Good insight on his thoughts on each member of the staff, the players, style of play, NCAA vs. NBA experience & what it brings to the job, NCSU fans, Sendek, etc…. Good interview & not… just because I was one of the interviewers.

Leave a Reply