Sunday’s Sidney Wrap-up

General NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe46

The NC State point guard that wore #35 in route to winning the 1983 National Basketball Championship was formally announced as NC State’s 7th Head Coach in the post World War II era yesterday after a 35 day search.

Pack Pride did a super job covering yesterday’s Sidney Lowe events with both a comprehensive webrun of articles and multimedia coverage of yesterday’s events. (video of Sidney at track / audio of players reaction)

Pictures from Saturday’s Press Conference

I thought that Lowe/Fowler did a very good job of laying out the search timeline in a manner than helped insulate Fowler/State from further crticism. During Saturday’s press conference, Coach Sidney Lowe talked about how he had stayed in contact with Lee Fowler throughout the process of the Wolfpack’s search but didn’t really become a candidate until the last couple of weeks. He mentioned he kept telling Fowler that:

“We needed someone who understands NC State, the tradition and the history. . . we needed someone who understands the ACC . . . we needed someone who understood that when you walk out of your house, your neighbor might be wearing blue . . . I realized that was me.�

If you were at Saturday’s events, then please feel free to share thoughts in our comments section. I also welcome you to share any particular quotes from any of the days articles that you like.

Lowe, 46, couldn’t stop smiling Saturday. At his introductory news conference at the Dail Basketball Complex, he looked out into an audience that had so many old friends and familiar faces, that included his new players and some of his teammates from ’83 — Ernie Myers, Cozell McQueen and Alvin Battle among them…

…After flashing the wolf sign with his right hand, Lowe used a bullhorn to address the crowd. “I can’t explain how touching this is,” he said. “I know how passionate our fans are and I look forward to being home and playing Wolfpack basketball. We’re going to restore this thing to where it should be. We’re headed in the right direction,” Lowe said. “We just want to continue to grow and go a little further in the tournament and do a little better.”

Having Fun
Coach Lowe has come back to Raleigh stressing few rules and the importance of family and fun. The Winston-Salem Journal‘s piece this morning focuses on the “fun” angle or yesterday’s events.

I was definitely impressed with the way he talked to the team,” guard Gavin Grant said. “He told us he wanted us to be free and have fun. Herb was more of a – I don’t really want to talk about Herb, but he wasn’t focused on having fun. He was more focused on, ‘We gotta win’ and it was his way or no way at all.

“I think Coach Lowe is going to let guys express themselves and play like they want to play. The Princeton offense, I don’t think that offense fit me and a couple other guys on the team. I think now that we have a coach who understands where we’re coming from that played like some of us here, things should be better.”

The Fayetteville Observer also touched on the topic with some additional quotes.

(Courtney) Fells and his teammates were also refreshed by Lowe’s emphasis on having fun, something that may not have been stressed enough under former coach Herb Sendek.

Lowe let his players know what he is about, exciting them with his talk of playing up-tempo and his vision of winning it all.

“The way he stressed having fun, that really brought smiles to our faces,� Fells said. “And I’ll be truthful, we really haven’t been smiling the last couple of months. Now we’ve got a new energy.�

General NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe

46 Responses to Sunday’s Sidney Wrap-up

  1. wxpack 05/07/2006 at 2:20 PM #

    I am excited about watching this team next year. I do think there is talent at hand to compete. Hearing that Atsu will come back for his senior year is very good news. We need his experience and depth in the backcourt.

  2. 1roofgod 05/07/2006 at 2:20 PM #

    thanks guys, some of us self-employed have less personal time than we’d like, though i did just return from Richmond for my 1st race in 10 years…Go Pack!

  3. Dan 05/07/2006 at 2:57 PM #

    “Sid’s “funâ€? philosophy will mean more fun for us, the fans, as well. ”

    We all want exciting basketball. But you want fun? Win. Winning is fun. Losing sucks.

  4. PennPack 05/07/2006 at 3:30 PM #

    FAMILY, FAMILY, FAMILY, WOLFPACK FAMILY. You just can’t over emphasize this aspect of what Sidney Lowe brings to the U and the Team. I was thrilled to see the picture of Coach Lowe, flanked by Cozell McQueen and Ernie Myers on 5c of the N&O this morning. The tradition that is NC State Basketball simply cannot be over-stated. I hope the future recruits are fed a steady diet of Thompson, Burleson, Corchianni, Brown, Spence, Charles, Monroe, McQueen, Whittenburg, Bailey, Whitney, Cafferky, Rivers, etc. etc. etc…

  5. WolfPackJack37 05/07/2006 at 3:40 PM #

    Looks like the “Spirit of ’83” is back with the Pack!! Coach Lowe is just what we needed at this time in history. I can hardly wait for November. We’re not going to recognize the Pack team when they take to the floor for regular season play.

    Look out ACC here comes a “DYN-OH-MIGHT” WOLFPACK TEAM.

    GO PACK! GO COACH LOWE AND YOUR DREAM STAFF!

  6. packfan80 05/07/2006 at 3:42 PM #

    lets not forget julius, Penn

  7. chilly water 05/07/2006 at 3:44 PM #

    Speaking of julius, i wonder how much more points he would have racked up under a “fun” offense. Thank god buddahs (herb) gone!

  8. GAWolf 05/07/2006 at 4:38 PM #

    Obviously Coach Lowe and so many more “basketball people” have observed what me and the rest of the “lunatic frindge” have seen for the last ten years. I can’t count the times I’ve turned to another Pack fan while watching our basketball games of late to say, “Those kids just look miserable. When was the last time you saw one of them smile?” Obviously there are the pictures of Jules after a win, or some other time when we were winning… as someone pointed out above. Winning is always fun, no matter how miserable the day-to-day operations are going.

    However, our kids under Herb just looked miserable. During pregame shoot arounds they looked like zombies. No smiles, no excitement, no energy. It was nothing short of sad.

    Hopefully all that is about to change. I know I’m excited about the possibilities with Coach Lowe bringing some much needed energy back to the team. I posted last week that the next Coach, whoever he was, needed to say all the right things. Sounds like to me that’s exactly what happened yesterday.

    I think we all have tons to be excited about. If Ced stays, and I won’t hold it against him if he doesn’t, we should see an exciting season next year. We might not go to the tournament setting us up for another brow beating by the national media, but I can already say that I honestly believe we have a shot against every team in the conference. I lost that feeling about year 4 of Herb’s tenure. Even on the good years I was always waiting for the bad…. not looking for the good. That attitude change alone was worth the change, worth the torture of the last 35 days, and worth the risk of a new beginning. I have a feeling I’m not alone and rather that my sentiments are those of most Pack fans. I’m excited about Pack basketball for the first time in many years.

    Jeff – Great comments. I’d add to this that no only did our players always look miserable (like in pre-game), but they also looked very scared. Very scared. Always tentative. Never confident. I remember sitting in Cameron this year watching them for 35 minutes before the epected collapse. Same old thing – they didn’t look like they believed that they belonged. I remember an article talking about Archie and Phelps looking at the clock and looking at each other and making a comment about how they couldn’t believe the score. Do you think Monte Towe and Sidney Lowe are going to be shocked that they are playing Duke tight?

  9. wayofthemaster 05/07/2006 at 4:56 PM #

    I don’t think Fells, Costner, or Davis would be adequate replacements for Bennerman, Evtimov, or Bethel if State was bringing back the “Princeton” offense. But with a new “up-tempo” offense I think their talents will be more likely to shine. I guess my point was I’d rather have Fells, Costner, and Davis running this new offense compared to Bennerman, Evtimov, and Bethel in the old “Princeton” offense.

  10. Packof82Cards 05/07/2006 at 5:08 PM #

    I’m ready to see Fells and Costner play and I pray that Ced comes back. I want to see what this guy can really do. I have a really good feeling about Wolfpack basketball right now. A feeling that I haven’t had in a long time. We’ll see what happens, but one thing is for sure and that is that the fire is back!! Does everybody hear that rumbling? A sleeping giant may be awakening!

  11. jimmy 05/07/2006 at 6:07 PM #

    The bottom line to this all is winning is contagious,so was losing. We are all a TEAM. The players,coach,fans everybody has got somthing POSITIVE TO LOOK foreward to. I know with whats in place NOW IS THE TIME. we all can be celebrating even sooner than you think

  12. beowolf 05/07/2006 at 6:37 PM #

    *When it was (West Virginia coach John) Beilein, it was like ‘Oh no, it’s Herb all over again’,� Grant said.*

    You and me both! man alive.

    If Simmons stays, we need to talk about Sidney’s first great coaching coup — those remarks (and glances Ced’s way) in his press conference about getting him the ball for more shots. He knew how to talk to an aspiring NBA center.

  13. choppack1 05/07/2006 at 6:51 PM #

    Loved the comments about having fun – like others throughout the Sendek era, that’s been one of my main concerns. He’s a grinder – and if teams are a reflection of their coach – so where our guys – grinding it out, chopping wood, putting forth a noble effort and a stoic face. There were times when they were having fun, but those seemed to be the exception. Hopefully, basketball will be enjoyable for all included again.

  14. stejen 05/07/2006 at 7:09 PM #

    Even though at the time I was somewhat sad to see Sendek go I thought it was for the best. I really thought, though, that he was a better man then he must have been. Now we here that it was “his way or no way” and that Larry Harris was the man the players went to when they had personal problems because Sendek was aloof and could not be bothered. So now I am REALLY glad he left because he must not have been the great guy the administration made him out to be. I know I would not want to play for a coach that thought my personal problems were not important enough for him to take five minutes out of his day and talk to me. If we get Towe, Harris and another good assistant then we should be in good shape. Especially if Simmons comes back but hey, we have to be fair, if somebody waved a million dollars in your face it would be hard for you to say you value a college education more then money.

  15. beowolf 05/07/2006 at 7:21 PM #

    Hey, does anyone know how to convert the video in the next StateFans post to a .mov, .mp4, .avi, .asc or some other viewable movie file? I’d really like to save it.

  16. longshots 05/07/2006 at 7:37 PM #

    stejen… I could not agree more with you more!!!

  17. TomCat 05/07/2006 at 7:51 PM #

    Amato saved his early tenure by immediately jetting to Alabama and re-selling Philip Rivers on NCSU. Lowe has the same immediate opportunity with PG Chris Wright. Get it done Sid.

  18. FS1979 05/07/2006 at 8:15 PM #

    I haven’t heard anyone mention Ben McCauley when talking about returning players. Is he not on the team now?
    Having fun is a big part of doing anything well but so is discipline and organization. I hope those are two traits of the previous administration that are not forgotten.

  19. Graywolf1 05/07/2006 at 11:28 PM #

    FS1979…McCauley had already finished his classes and had gone home before the PC…according to one of the articles.
    Not sure if that means anything though…as far as we know he is still on the team.

  20. cfpack03 05/08/2006 at 8:47 AM #

    Hey, does anyone know how to convert the video in the next StateFans post to a .mov, .mp4, .avi, .asc or some other viewable movie file? I’d really like to save it.

    Try downloading one of the applications at this site and using it to rip the video to avi.
    http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Best/flash-to-mp4.html

  21. redfred2 05/10/2006 at 11:59 PM #

    ^Dan

    “We all want exciting basketball. But you want fun? Win. Winning is fun. Losing sucks.”

    Winning against who, is fun for you Dan? All wins are fun, even beating Gardner Webb, it just doesn’t mean a damn thing, when a are trying to compete in the real field of 64.

    Just mark em up as wins, we don’t care who there against, it’s a win and we deserve to be in the tourney.

    That embarassed me, especially when there are other teams who could compete in the tournament, and we were there only because of a padded schedule.

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