Vitale: Lowe One of Next Generation of “Great Coaches”

General NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe83

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Though the Wolfpack has been on a roller coaster during this season, Sidney Lowe has gotten generally great reviews from the press. Dick Vitale heaped some praise today on Coach Lowe in his USA Today column:

[Who] is ready to make a name big time? Some names to keep in mind: Karl Hobbs, George Washington; Mark Turgeon, Wichita State; Jim Christian, Kent State; Chris Lowery, Southern Illinois; John Pelphrey, South Alabama; Jeff Capel, Oklahoma; Sidney Lowe, North Carolina State; and Todd Lickliter, Butler.

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General NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe

83 Responses to Vitale: Lowe One of Next Generation of “Great Coaches”

  1. StateFans 02/23/2007 at 1:22 PM #

    Cedar,

    Let it go.

    It’s old. And you are bringing down the intellect level of the blog.

  2. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 02/23/2007 at 1:24 PM #

    Anyone who thought Amato was a good head coach at any point in his career had a few to many while tailgating.

    Anyone after year two of Sendek that thought he was even a decent coach must of been smoking herb.

    Lowe is the real deal and there is no question about it.

  3. GAWolf 02/23/2007 at 1:43 PM #

    Wait, wait. Cedargrovewolf = Mebanewolf?

  4. RedTerror29 02/23/2007 at 1:51 PM #

    ^^Plenty of coaches have looked good at first and turned out to bomb. Sidney is doing everything right so far – but he still has many potential pitfalls to traverse. My specific concern at this point is consistently recruiting well in all three major areas (PG, post, and in between). It’s one thing to land a Hickson, it’s another to continue to land that caliber of player year after year.

  5. CedarGroveWolf 02/23/2007 at 1:54 PM #

    “Anyone who thought Amato was a good head coach at any point in his career had a few to many while tailgating.

    Anyone after year two of Sendek that thought he was even a decent coach must of been smoking herb.”

    seriously?

  6. Mr O 02/23/2007 at 2:31 PM #

    I recently read the section of John Feinstein’s book(A March to Madness) about the hiring of Jimmy V and Coach K. Also, I have seen the video clips(the Letterman interview, the recruiting video about dreams come true at NC State, the ESPY/Reynolds speeches, etc…). Unfortunately, I didn’t become a State fan until I first attended NC State in the early 90s. Back then, I paid attention to NC State, but I didn’t follow them so closely that I knew all about NC State basketball. After seeing the videos and reading about him, it was obvious that we truly hired a “once in a lifetime” type of coach/personality. It is kind of like what I think of a Torry Holt or Philip Rivers in that it is very, very likely that we will never see a WR or QB at NC State better than those guys. Will we ever have a basketball coach again who brought as much to the table as Jim Valvano? He was bigger than life in a many ways.

    It has made me wonder what it was like just before he was hired and then the first several years before the 1983 season. Who else did we talk to besides Valvano? What were the initial reactions and how people felt for the next couple of years about Valvano? Obviously after 1983 he had punched his ticket with NC State fans, but it would be interesting to get some perspective on what it was like prior to 1983.

  7. beowolf 02/23/2007 at 2:59 PM #

  8. beowolf 02/23/2007 at 3:08 PM #

    Mr. O, if you’ll recall, Valvano lost his first 7 games at against UNC-CH. He joked that on his radio show that someone said that if V didn’t beat the heels soon, he would come and kill V’s dog. V replied, “I don’t have a dog.”

    The next day, V said, there was a puppy on his doorstep. A note was tied to the collar. It said, “Don’t get too attached.”

    I don’t think that actually happened (classic V joke), BUT it does serve to illustrate the frustrations of the fan base at the time. And remember, during this time UNC-CH lost the national championship game V’s first year and won it his second.

  9. Rick 02/23/2007 at 3:15 PM #

    “Wait, wait. Cedargrovewolf = Mebanewolf?”

    Yes and frankly he is getting very close to being banned.

  10. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 02/23/2007 at 3:37 PM #

    “seriously?”

    yes- except I would say that it was probably reasonable at first to have hope that Amato would be a decent head coach but it shouldn’t of taken anyone long to figure out that he would eventually earn the title of the ‘Worst Coach in America’.

  11. choppack1 02/23/2007 at 3:58 PM #

    tcthdi – So, when Amato took a team that had gone 6-6 the year before and lost it’s starting QB, and was starting was a rookie QB, you didn’t think he did a good job coaching taking us to an 8-4 record?

    I think Sendek, Amato and even Les did all did a pretty good job year 1. However, year 1 is the one year a coach has very little pressure. If you want to say that there was evidence from all 3 of these coaches that they wouldn’t have truly special years, I can buy that argument. However, I’ve seen the same “evidence” that Lowe may have some problems. Now, the evidence consists of taking the worst games of players he didn’t recruit and his own worst gameplans in a 30 game season – and that’s why it’s foolish to call someone a king or a clown based on their first season unless you see some incredibly glaring evidence to the contrary….For example, if we were 7-6 right now or better, I’d tell you that it’s obvious that Sidney will be a very, very special coach. Likewise, if we were 0-13 right now, I’d tell you that I was worried about the future.

    We’re right in the middle. I’ve seen enough from Sid to think he’ll be special – but at this point, there’s not proof that he will.

  12. CedarGroveWolf 02/23/2007 at 4:05 PM #

    “Yes and frankly he is getting very close to being banned”

    why? I disagreed with someone who said the last 5 years were crappy & correctd someone posting non-factual info.

  13. beowolf 02/23/2007 at 4:07 PM #

    I’d say it has a lot to do with the fact that you refuse to drop it after repeatedly being asked by site admins to drop it, not just here but on other posts as well, one-note wonder.

  14. CedarGroveWolf 02/23/2007 at 4:22 PM #

    Drop what. I’m gettin called out by other posters, can’t I respond?

  15. Rick 02/23/2007 at 4:26 PM #

    “Drop what. I’m gettin called out by other posters, can’t I respond?”

    You are to stop responding to any comment about Sendek. If you want to contribute to a thread then do so but you will not turn this site into your personal Sendek battle ground.

  16. primacyone 02/23/2007 at 9:13 PM #

    You guys are not even on the right topic. Sid got mentioned in the National Press as a future superstar.

    What should be discussed is why in the heck Aanabelle Vaghan is still running media relations. Sid is getting all kinds of attention all over the nation and he is doing it all himself. Anabelle can bairly keep from stiking her foot in her mouth much less creating something possitive in the media.

    I mean heck, the powers to be had to go and tell our media realtions leaders to shut the their freaking mouths and just sit back and make posters. That’s what you should be debating on this thread.

    TOB is doing all by himself as well.

    Other than that, shut the heck up, and way to go Sid. Nice damn job.

  17. class of 74 02/24/2007 at 8:14 AM #

    Cedar you are truly a johnny one note from what I’ve read here and on several other posts. If you like the former coach move to Tempe and follow him to your hearts content. Most of Wolfpack nation are just glad to have a breath of fresh air with our much improved new staff.

  18. PapaJohn 02/24/2007 at 10:31 AM #

    RedTerror –
    I think you make a good point. How’s the recruiting going to go when you don’t have the opportunity to say, “I’ve got unlimited playing time available, come start as a freshman.”
    But, only time will tell.
    I’ve been a pack fan since being a student in the 70’s. I was in the same freshman class as Tommy Burleson. So I’ve seen the ups and downs.
    There’s no reason at this point not to give Sid the benefit of the doubt and expect the best. I think he’s done all we could ask for – AND – he beat the blue goats. No one expected that.
    I think at this point, all of the signs are positive. If you want to look hard enough, you can find a half empty glass. But there’s no need for that now. The short term future for both FB & BB looks really good.
    Come on Pack, let’s win out!!!

  19. redfred2 02/24/2007 at 11:21 AM #

    Cedar

    The only reason you have even a little room to talk right now is because Sidney Lowe is coaching and playing someone else’s collection of players. I just don’t want to hear you and the many others who balked at Lowe from the start, coming on this site in two or three years and acting like you were behind him all along. You guys didn’t have enough sense to see what had happened to the the NC State basketball program over the past years, and you wanted it to just continue being as it was.

    I’ve already seen many others just like you who were loudly whining and complaining in the beginning, and had no clue what NC State really stood for, now totally changing their tunes. They are now back on the bandwagon, but AFTER THE FACT. They couldn’t fathom the reality of what many of us older fans have been trying to tell them for years and years now, is actually the truth.

  20. joe 02/25/2007 at 10:40 AM #

    Whatever happened to that last alumni savior coach? I think he was seen at the game yesterday and he wasn’t wearing a NCSU shirt.

  21. redfred2 02/26/2007 at 9:21 AM #

    “Whatever happened to that last alumni savior coach?”

    Let’s see now joe, that coach happened to come in here and ignite a lifeless FB program, boost our spirits and greatly enhance the facilities, and he left this place much improved with LASTING benefits that will help every future coach that steps into the position.

    The other coach in the different sport, the non-alum, left us with what in comparison?

  22. CedarGroveWolf 02/26/2007 at 12:00 PM #

    “I just don’t want to hear you and the many others who balked at Lowe from the start”

    I’ve never “balked at Lowe”. Matter of fact, I think more of him than many cince I said this team & staff should get to the NIT this season when others said they couldn’t.

    “you wanted it to just continue being as it was. ”

    wrong again. please quote me instead of guessing to what I’m thinking.

  23. redfred2 02/26/2007 at 12:20 PM #

    Cedar

    I’m not guessing, I’m just summarizing.

  24. CedarGroveWolf 02/26/2007 at 12:43 PM #

    don’t try to summarize, quote.

  25. redfred2 02/26/2007 at 2:04 PM #

    “…cince I said this team & staff should get to the NIT this season when others said they couldn’t.”

    But only now, and based on present tense events.

    Just admit that you thought we were doing really well before. You still state it constantly by bringing up the “5 trips to the NCAA’s.” What you’re basically saying is that you think that there is a ceiling to coaching in Raleigh because of the proximity of UNC and Duke. Also, you are implying that the former coach was right on track based solely on YOUR very limited personal experiences and your very limited expectations for the NC State basketball program in general. Sorry to tell you but five trips, in a field of 64, is just not good enough these days. We expect to be for the right reasons, not with our fingers crossed hoping and praying that some scheme will hold up for one or possibly two more games. We want to earn it, have the players to do it, and be on a mission once we arrive.

    Some of us have broader perspectives than yours. Perspectives that were apparently formed long before you ever became involved with NCSU. We know that the limiting factors responsible for placing the NC State basketball program in the predicament it’s in right now, are 1…getting stuck in place with backward thinking, 2…second guessing our every move as it may somehow shake the foundation of the whole universe (that thought may be a redfred exclusive), 3…the fear of change itself, when it is absolutely required in order for anyone or ANYTHING to move forward.

    I don’t know if you’re aware of it or not, but the thinking has been exactly that, in Raleigh since back around 1990. They seem to think that if it’s functioning, not really making head way but not embarassing anyone either, then just let it be. The older among us have seen and heard enough of that crapola already.

    Irregardless of who pitches a childlike tantrum over not making a few tournaments just for the sake saying they were there, the folks like me that know where we should always have been is just not reachable right now without first crossing some hills and valleys. It’s work, time, and patience, and it won’t just magically appear overnight.

    I’m done.

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