Weekend Open Entry

General93

Weekend open entry:

* We encourage everybody to attend the post-press conference event for Coach Lowe and fly your car flags today.

* Some readers have noticed that we haven’t chimed in with any opinion on the Lowe hire as of yet. We will be doing it in the comingn days.

* Perspective from N&O

* Looks like Monte Towe will be a ‘gameday decision’ prior to today’s press conference.

* Hope that Coach Lowe asks all of his existing players to attend the event this evening to see the out pouring of support and start to get connected to NC State’s tradition.

* Sidney Lowe / Jim Les similarities

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93 Responses to Weekend Open Entry

  1. BladenWolf 05/06/2006 at 8:31 AM #

    My Pack flag (Strutting Wuffie) has been hanging from my carport since the news broke. Well… okay it’s been hanging there for a couple of years now…but I’m looking at it more!!!
    I realize there are some unknowns here, but I for one am proud to have Coach Lowe on our bench and hope Coach Towe sees the greener grass in Raleigh as well (it’s time to leave nawleans Monte).
    Can you imagine both NCAA Champion guards on the sidelines next season? I sure can. GO PACK!!!

  2. rt24pack 05/06/2006 at 8:34 AM #

    I hope Monte Towe comes, he is a very good coach, excellent recruiter, and will be able to help Sidney during his transition. Monte is the key player in this situation. Hopefully there will be a large turn out today even though a worse time could not have been picked.

  3. ncsu96 05/06/2006 at 8:54 AM #

    from N&O this morning, Towe is has a $450k buyout at UNO. Fowler is reportedly talking to adminstrators there. It would be a shame if that prevented him from join Lowes staff…cross our fingers on that one.
    I heard Mike DeCourcy on Adam Gold yesterday and he said he was ‘almost sure’ Larry Harris would be returning. He also shared that he’s known Harris for almost 20 yrs. Good news….

  4. Wolf80 05/06/2006 at 8:54 AM #

    sounds like the buy out will not be an issue. The ball is in Monte’s court.

    http://www.nola.com/uno/t-p/basketball/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1146899136274960.xml

  5. vtpackfan 05/06/2006 at 8:55 AM #

    Davis and Towe arrivals would give State a huge boost in getting this thing started right. Davis would have all he could handle speaking as the lead rep. to players returning, recruits potentially still coming, and verbal commits. That would still leave us short the guy working the AAU, and invitational camps, which Towe would already have a handle on since he’s running UNO. A bonus could be that with what we’ve heard of Brady, there could be future recruits from the Bayou out of the contacts Towe has made.

  6. Kingfish76 05/06/2006 at 8:57 AM #

    Obviously, Lowe’s success will henge on his assistants while he learns the college game. He’s definitely on the right track with Harris, Towe, and Strickland.

    Ced, if you’re reading this, please don’t pull a Josh Powell and stay at least one more year for your sake, not ours!

  7. Hawkeye Whitney 05/06/2006 at 9:20 AM #

    Thanks Wolf80. Good article. It really sounds like Towe is coming and that we will end up playing a couple of games against New Orleans in the future to get this deal done. I do feel sorry for Towe’s current employer. Hurricane Katrina is still having negative and unanticipated effects.

  8. BladenWolf 05/06/2006 at 9:25 AM #

    Recruiting will be the key for Lowe and his staff. I’m glad to hear Harris is coming back. We’ve lost 45 points a game with the graduations of Evtimov, Bennerman, and Bethel, and Simmons jumping early.
    Getting Wright to recommit, landing another big man (power forward or center), and having a high profile in the recruiting ranks (AAU, Nike, McDonalds AA, etc.) will be essential for us to start off on the right foot.
    It will be nice to finally see the brakes taken off Fells, Costner, Grant, and Brackman and see Coach Lowe allowing them to run the floor.

  9. class of 74 05/06/2006 at 9:37 AM #

    I heard DeCourcey on 850 yesterday too and the link listed above should be required reading for the “basketball expert” Mr. DeCourcey. His comments were very negative and are completely contradicted by the News and Records article comparing Jim Les and Coach Lowe.

    Coach Lowe’s success here will hinge on his and his staff’s recruiting abilities. I think he has all of the other necessary qualities to be an excellent college coach. But if we do not upgrade our recruiting talent we will never see the successes of our past. You can be John Wooden, Roy or K and if you don’t have equal or better talent the die is pretty much cast against you. It is my opinion that Coach Lowe will do a better job in this area than our previous two coaches. And this is why I have a renewed feeling of optimism for our basketball program.

    I truly believe three years from now we will look back at this hire and celebrate, not the process but, the product of this hire.

  10. huntersvillepack 05/06/2006 at 10:01 AM #

    Story in today’s Detroit Free Press….

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

  11. Texpack 05/06/2006 at 10:07 AM #

    Playing games in New Orleans to satisfy the buyout is fairly creative. Someone must have slipped Uncle Jed some LSD to expand his mind that much. Some of us Houston area State Alumni might even consider a road trip.

  12. class of 74 05/06/2006 at 10:13 AM #

    ^I agree with your sentiments on that. Maybe there is hope for him afterall. Nah, on second thought too many past errors to overcome.

  13. CarnifeX 05/06/2006 at 10:34 AM #

    is Coach Lowe planning on finishing the playoff’s with the Pistons? I think he should, here’s why:

    It looks like the Pistons have a legit shot at winning it all this year (by far look like the most dominant team playing right now), if that happens that adds a World Championship ring to his collection.

    Can you imagine being a starry eyed high school senior (who wants nothing more than to be a star) have a head coach and an assistant (Towe) coming to him w/ a couple National Championship rings and a National Championship ring telling him that they know the way to the promised land.

    I’d think it’d weigh pretty heavily on this young talent!

  14. old13 05/06/2006 at 10:35 AM #

    Reading through all the articles, Sid seems to have a firm grasp on 1) what he brings to the table, 2) what he lacks in experience, 3) what he needs to do to address his inexperience, 4) the major differences in the NBA and NCAA games and 5) a deep commitment to succeed. I like his comments about being a “guardian” to the players and all that goes with that. I also am most pleased about the excitement he expresses in “coming home!” IMO he’s got a great chance to succeed. Towe would just be icing on the cake!

    P.S. Foulup still needs to be gone NOW!

  15. redfred2 05/06/2006 at 10:41 AM #

    I think that while recruiting does definitely need to improve overall but there is a very solid base to start with already, that is if Simmons doesn’t ruin his own future by taking the plunge.

    It may seem like we have been trailing further behind our two closest rivals in recruiting, but in reality I don’t think we were as far back talent-wise as the record shows. ESPECIALLY this past season!!! The dreaded scheme, it was that d*mned unchanging and pre packaged offensive scheme that set us back so far in every facet of the game, and on both ends of the court.

    Lowe needs a few more solid pieces to fill in the holes, and we will become a factor again.

  16. choppack1 05/06/2006 at 10:49 AM #

    redfred – right now Ced is projected as a Top 15 pick. If that’s the case, you can’t blame him for leaving.

  17. letsgopack 05/06/2006 at 10:52 AM #

    Ced is gone…take it to the bank.

  18. redfred2 05/06/2006 at 11:08 AM #

    choppack1

    I can still blame Simmons, I’m selfish.

    I absolutely hate the fact that we didn’t get to enjoy his talents, Etimov’s, Cameron B’s, and everyone’s true skills while they were at NC State University.

    The first game of the NCAA tourney, against Cal, proved what that team could do with Fells and Grant coming in as definite factors off the bench, without the restraints of the F’n Princeton Offense.

    It is an absolute shame, this past year could have, and SHOULD have, been something to remember.

  19. pack99 05/06/2006 at 11:27 AM #

    I agree w/you redfred, can’t wait to see the Pack up and down the floor some.

    To the guys who run this site, fantastic job — you guys kept us in the loop over this search
    Thanks

  20. redfred2 05/06/2006 at 11:29 AM #

    If anyone wonders why we embarrassed the school against a bunch of freshman and former non-factors left from depleted ranks of UNC’s NBA departure, here is why.

    You can’t leave a talented freshman center standing alone in the lane for 34 1/2 seconds of rest and relaxation every time you go down the court. We had enough depth to take it right to him every time down the court and force him to foul or just wear his ass flat out. Let him get his 18 points in the first half, but if he has to work his tail off on both ends of the court, he would have faded away in the second half. We had one plan, all year, and it sucked.

    But I digress into the past. Sorry!

    Lowe will set up schemes for every game, and every opposing player, just like his coach did for him when he was at NCSU, and that will be the difference.

  21. beowolf 05/06/2006 at 11:33 AM #

    Here’s hoping he remembers V’s famous “junk” defenses — like the box&1 that shut down Michael freaking Jordan in that game where Lowe had that between the legs pass to Thurl that owned Sam Perkins.

    Maybe he can bring Corchiani to the practice to talk about shutting down Tom Hammond!

    Memories — we can TALK about these great memories again!

  22. Gene 05/06/2006 at 11:33 AM #

    “redfred – right now Ced is projected as a Top 15 pick. If that’s the case, you can’t blame him for leaving.”

    I’ve seen mock drafts having him go in the first round to the Bulls. One going to the 76ers. Others where he’s not even drafted.

    At this point it’ll depend on if he gets invited to pre-draft work outs and how he does in those.

    Right now there seems to be chance he could get drafted, but no one knows for sure. It’s not like a situation where other players had declared early for the draft and we pretty much knew they weren’t getting drafted.

    Guess it’s a good sign that our talent is improving.

  23. redfred2 05/06/2006 at 11:38 AM #

    ^primacyone

    on your comment from an earlier thread

    “I know you and Dan ride the same bus.”

    Dream on.

  24. hoop 05/06/2006 at 12:01 PM #

    If Lowe is smart, and I think he is, he could make a compelling case for Simmons to stay. Lowe could easily make the future NBA talent the showcase of his offense for the whole year. All of his stats would go up and he would hone the skills he needs for the NBA. With that much more attention, he would undoubtedly would go significantly higher in the draft, securing more money year over year than if he left now.

    Only problem is his father’s health. Anyone know anything more about that? Granted it’s a mostly private issue. But I’d like to see some more information on it.

  25. DiscoStu65 05/06/2006 at 12:20 PM #

    i agree with CarnifeX. when i was a young highschool football recruit, one of the coaches that was recruiting me came to my house with a superbowl ring on one hand and an nfl hall of fame ring on the other. boy was that impressive.

    i’ve become a huge pistons fan, at least for the next couple of weeks just by readin your post. it would be a pretty mean recruiting tool!

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