State Loses Recruiting Steam?

Basketball Recruiting General NCS Basketball41

I kind of gave up trying to follow or care about recruiting in recent years. After about a dozen times of being told by those close to the program that players like Adam Simons, Mike O’Donnell, Trey Guidry, Dom Mejia, and Justin Flatt are real “sleepers” who are going to be able to surprise people and help the Pack I just gave up on the whole process.

But, the whole coaching change has re-energized me a little on the topic.

The Durham-Herald Sun has a very nice article on some interesting things about State’s basketball recruiting in today’s paper that you may be interested in reading. (Link)

Evan Turner, a 6-7 forward (and top-25 player in the Class of 2007) from St. Joseph High in Westchester, Ill., said Saturday afternoon that he was ready to commit to N.C. State before Sendek’s exit.

“This weekend, I was going to come down and commit,” Turner said after leading the Illinois Wolves to a 74-54 victory over the Tallahassee Wildcats in pool play of the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions at the Smith Center. “But he left a couple of months ago.”

Turner has started over with regard to picking a school and now considers himself “wide open.” He has taken an unofficial visit to Ohio State — he has family in Columbus, Ohio — and said Duke assistant coach Chris Collins recently contacted him.

The Wolfpack’s potential loss — Turner said he has not heard from anyone on new N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe’s staff — could turn out to be even greater. N.C. State also was recruiting Illinois Wolves point guard Demetri McCamey, who is Turner’s teammate at St. Joseph. The players said Saturday they don’t have to play their college basketball together, but they also said they wouldn’t mind it.

I am scratching my head furiously right now.

Hasn’t heard from anyone on Sidney Lowe’s staff?

Isn’t this EXACTLY the reason that made Larry Harris such an important component of Sidney Lowe’s staff?

Does anyone have any insight into this evolving situation?

Basketball Recruiting General NCS Basketball

41 Responses to State Loses Recruiting Steam?

  1. Dan 05/30/2006 at 2:20 PM #

    Red, you are preaching to the choir as regards Fowler, but Lowe is in charge now. Know that. Know that everything the staff does is at Lowe’s request. They are in constant contact, and they are proceeding in the manner they feel is best. I’m sure Lowe is depending greatly on advice right now from Harris, Strickland, and Towe and is directing them accordingly. If you have a problem with how the staff is behaving, you have a problem with what Sid is telling them. And, really, no Wolfpacker should be second guessing Sid at this point. Its both bad timing and incredibly uneduacated.

    It is also unbelievable unfair to put any blame on Harris, or any other assistant, for any ill will you hold for Sendek. Anyone that has a boss knows that there is a time to disagree, but in the end it is the definitive role of the boss to make the decision. Not to mention, Sidney Lowe made the decision to hire Harris. We need to be behind these decisions. Especially now. I also think Harris should get some credit with those who disliked Herb for being so willing to leave Sendek as soon as Lowe was hired.

    This is a good staff. Its as good of a staff as Lowe could have hoped for. Losing recruits is part of switching coaches. Transfers are part of switching coaches. Anyone who didnt know that before hand doesnt follow basketball. Unfortunately, the penalties of the coaching switch at NC State were magnified due to the AD’s handling of the situation. If you disagree, see how Seton Hall and Bobby Gonzales reaped the rewards of well handled process. I wont blame Sidney Lowe for a poor season this year, although I still do not expect one. That I put on Lee Fowler. I will be watching the ’07 recruiting process very closely. If Lee’s baggage holds Sid back for that class, the ’08 class will be the definitive moment of the Sidney Lowe era at NC State. Lee Fowler created a situation full of excuses that any coach could use if things dont turn out right. Lets hope that Sid doesnt need any of them. One thing is for sure. If Fowler’s baggage is too much for Sid to overcome, we absolutely cannot afford to have Fowler in place for another coaching search. He has already set us back 5 seasons in “Sendek years” which is sort of like dog years to the rest of us.

  2. Dan 05/30/2006 at 2:27 PM #

    From GoPack’s interview with Larry Harris posted on May 11th. The Werner release was the first to be given on May 10th.

    QUESTION: Dan Werner, who signed a letter of intent with NC State back in the fall, but has been given a conditional release from that. What is his situation and that of other recruits Larry Davis and Dennis Horner?

    HARRIS We talked to everybody involved with that, the coach, the father and I can see where they are coming from. That’s fair. Larry Davis is going to be in the same boat. I don’t think he is going to be out shopping around like a crazy man, but he is going to take a look at one or two other schools. Dennis has not indicated that as of yet. Those two guys will get a conditional release, which means Sidney will get the opportunity to go in and talk to them again. If they go elsewhere, they would be required to sit out a year.

    Red, I’m not sure where you got that Harris was not in the loop. You have a link to a quote that says something else?

  3. redfred2 05/30/2006 at 2:34 PM #

    ^Dan

    I think you misconstrue earlier conciliatory promises, by an AD who was scrambling in every possible direction while trying to make up for his own idiotic mistakes, with the dates the actual releases were granted. The concessions may not yet have been formalized, but they were the “give you every avenue to go elsewhere,” stipulations understood by the recruits that were told to them by Mr Fowler earlier on in the process.

  4. Dan 05/30/2006 at 2:38 PM #

    Red, whatever the rumor was, no real release as given before Lowe and Harris were in place. The GoPack interview proves that Lowe and Harris were more than involved in the decision process there. I would seriously question any other article that disagrees with a direct quote from Harris himself. Even then, I’ve read a lot of articles, but havent seen anything from Harris that makes me believe he has been in the dark once.

  5. redfred2 05/30/2006 at 2:43 PM #

    Dan

    I can’t remember, sorry. But Larry Harris was represented in the article as having a totally different understanding from the reporter’s when confronted with the news of recruits being set free to contact other schools. He did not know that that decision had already been made, in advance, for the coaching staff.

  6. redfred2 05/30/2006 at 2:59 PM #

    ^Dan, here’s an excerpt

    “Adding to the confusion — hah! — Ed Wicelinski, Werner’s high school coach, recently indicated that Fowler has promised Werner a full release from his letter of intent if Werner decides on another school after meeting face-to-face with Lowe. Meanwhile, NCSU assistant coach Larry Harris recently stated that any Wolfpack signee who switches to another school will be required to sit out the upcoming season.

    Obviously, either Wicelinski misinterpreted what Fowler told Werner, or Harris is unaware of the plans of Fowler, the only State official with the authority to release a player from his letter of intent.”

    Are there any reasons not to look at every other available option with those kinds of conditions already laid out? NC State is a defenseless bystander, every recruit is fair game for anyone who wants to scoop them up, and Fowler put his early blessings on it.

  7. redfred2 05/30/2006 at 3:07 PM #

    That was a May 9th article. The events transpired sometime before that day, but otherwise, it was still printed in advance of Werner’s formal release.

  8. Dan 05/30/2006 at 3:11 PM #

    Red, you are right. In a way, we both are right. Lee Fowler is a walking calamnity.

    I do think as regards Davis, Lowe and Harris were well involved in that early on.

  9. redfred2 05/30/2006 at 3:45 PM #

    Dan

    Maybe so, but there was nothing the coaching staff could do, Fowler had sealed the deal. He had already eliminated any advantage gained with the signing of a national LOI and left NC State, Larry Harris, and all of us scratching our heads, wondering why everyone else out there now has a leg up on these kids. We’re also left to ponder why we are forced to waste valuable time, struggling to recruit kids who were already commited to NCSU.

  10. redfred2 05/30/2006 at 4:50 PM #

    I have decided that none of us should be really surprised with the events surrounding these young recruits and their willingness to forget NC State at the drop of a hat. They weren’t recruited to become part of NC State University itself. The man who recruited them, had no idea what NC State or ACC, basketball stands for. He had no idea what it means to be a life long Wolfpack fan and it wasn’t ever a concern for him. These kids were recruited because of how they would supposedly fit neatly into a pre-packaged system. NC State University itself, was just a side bar for the players and their coach, an important place to showcase the latest theory, and not really that really important in the whole scheme of things.

    I have cheered my ownself up without any help from anyone.

  11. redfred2 05/30/2006 at 8:26 PM #

    I can’t leave this topic alone, as you can tell.

    Let’s just suppose that Herb Sendek had shared a good word about NC State University, every once in a while, out on the recruiting trails. That he had had been out pushing the university, as he was HIS JOB. That he used the history and the fans as a major selling point to these recruits. But we all know better than that. He couldn’t understand what Wolfpack basketball meant to people around here and the fans are scary and considered lunatics by him and his boss.

    If Herb Sendek had ever sold the recruits on NC State to begin with, wouldn’t they be interested in hearing more from the new staff right now? The man didn’t understand his responsibilities to promote the university. Instead he was salesman for his own product and promoted his agenda just for what it was, one man’s approach to the game of basketball. I must admit he was great at it, I couldn’t understand the draw. The university was never a factor in recruiting these young kids. It just happened to be that NC State University, was where the coach was practicing his theories at the time. Some of the evidence for what I am saying will never see a day in Wolfpack RED.

  12. packfan4343 05/31/2006 at 12:25 AM #

    any word on if we are going to try to sign anyone else for the 2006 class since we will have at least two free scholorships maybe four depepnding on mccauley/brackman? I know there are some people still out there, but there probobly out there for reasons like prep school? Im sure someone knows more then me

  13. Dan 05/31/2006 at 8:59 AM #

    “I have cheered my ownself up without any help from anyone.”

    If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.

  14. Wulfpack 06/01/2006 at 5:49 PM #

    Red,

    I have to say your ante-Sendek bias is getting very old. He isn’t our coach anymore, it’s a brand new ball game. I wish you’d just leave him alone and accept the fact he did a solid job. He didn’t do anything but do his job, and the majority of the college basketball universe holds the opinion that he did a darn good job of it. Your thoughts and utter disdain for the man verge on lunacy — you feed the sportswriters’ appetite. I just can’t understand some of you. He made our program better than it was. And you blindly fail to even acknowledge that. And now nobody is 100% happy with the current state of affairs. If this thing falls apart in year 1 it has absolutely no bearing on Sendek or anyone else. If NCSU wins the whole damn thing it also has no bearing on Sendek. It’s a new ship. There was a coaching change, our new coach can’t coach yet…there are bound to be some hiccups. It isn’t that hard to understand, happens all the time if you haven’t been paying attention. Lowe will survive these first few years and do a fine job. I’m happy to have him as a coach, just as I was happy with Sendek. He represented us well.

  15. redfred2 06/02/2006 at 1:53 AM #

    Wulfpack,

    Now, I will admit that I am much happier having Sidney Lowe as head coach at NCSU, but even with that, I won’t allow myself to be blind to his mistakes, and I won’t let a bunch of dumb asses from the sports media tell me if he is good or not. I watch the games for myself, I’m a grown man, I don’t need others to tell me good from bad, I have enough sense to make those judgements on my own.

    Granted, Herb Sendek improved the program, the first two or three years, he did. I gave him a chance, EVERY SINGLE YEAR, after that. Nothing different ever evolved, player wise, win wise, or anything. Nothing but a flat line.

    If you think he was out there pushing the merits of NC State University, you are sadly mistaken.

  16. sautz 07/02/2006 at 1:08 PM #

    Update: Turner to OSU. Wright’s favorite is Georgetown.

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