Bilas on Lowe: “They’ve Just Got To Give Him The Time”

08-09 Basketball Media NCS Basketball Quotes of Note Sidney Lowe53

There’s nothing like saying the same thing three or four times in the same paragraph to make a point:

Bilas: Lowe Just Needs Some Time

“But I think Sidney (Lowe) is a good coach, and I think every guy needs some time. And he hasn’t had that yet. I’ll tell you one thing, when they let Herb Sendek walk out the door and didn’t try to stop him, most people in basketball knew they were losing a really good coach and that they were going to have to take a step back to get back to where they wanted to be.”

“This is the step-back portion. Whether they can take the step forward, we’ll see. I think they hired a good coach and a really, really good guy. They just need to give him the time. This is what they wanted and they’ve got it. They’ve got to give him the time.”

Maybe it’s just me, but does every single media discussion of NC State have to start with our former coach?  Three seasons is more than enough time.  I’ll stop now because this is not a HWSNBN discussion.

Anyway, I am not under the impression that Coach Lowe is under win-or-else pressure this season…yes, fans are hungry for success, but I also think that Wolfpack fans realize that last season’s problems stemmed from injuries, inexperience, and yes, some personality issues (that thankfully weren’t enunciated in the press.) I also think that as much as State’s chances were over-rated going into last year, they are perhaps equally underrated going in to 2008-09.  No, I am not saying they’ll be at the top of the heap, but I do think that this year’s squad will outperform media expectations.  At least I hope so.

This is Lowe’s third squad.  Next year and the year after, he will have largely recruited his own players and at that time we can take a fair and objective look at the work he’s doing at the Wolfpack helm.  So far, recruiting for this year and beyond look good under Lowe, so count me amongst those that are optimistic in the long-run.

08-09 Basketball Media NCS Basketball Quotes of Note Sidney Lowe

53 Responses to Bilas on Lowe: “They’ve Just Got To Give Him The Time”

  1. redfred2 10/23/2008 at 9:25 PM #

    I couldn’t copy the complete link, but if you will type in “ncaa basketball tournament history“, and then scroll down until you see http://www.articlesbase.com you’ll see it. Any NC State fan out there who even halfway subscribes to “that we should never expect the success that Duke and unx have had of late” or has ever doubted that their Wolfpack BB team/program has a rightful place in college basketball history, or that it actually played a large part in SHAPING guidelines for the NCAA tournament itself, please do yourself a favor and read this very short, very generic, and very UNBIASED sketch of NCAA tournament HISTORY (as in fact). Please notice how many times you will see the name NC STATE listed when there is no underlying agenda or brainwashed jounalistic view injected, then take notice of how mentions there are of our so highly touted and nearby neighbors.

    I erased the link, it didn’t work, here’s the entire page…

    “The NCAA Basketball Tournament is among us. This tournament is a looking glass for human hope, excellence and positive social change. It is, in short, a microcosm of the human existence, with all of its exuberance, tragedy and triumph. The NCAA Basketball Tournament is American sports.

    The excitement and tradition of “March Madness” or the NCAA Basketball Tournament as we know it today has been shaped by many significant events in NCAA tournament history: The first NCAA men’s basketball tournament was held in 1939 with the first NCAA tournament championship game held at Northwestern on March 27, 1939. Only eight teams competed in two regions. Oregon defeated Ohio State in the championship game, and the West region held a third-place game.

    Although the NCAA basketball tournament now determines the national champion, that was not always the case. Until the 1950’s, the NIT was considered a more prestigious tournament than the NCAA basketball tournament, and teams often chose to enter the NIT and bypass the NCAA tourney. Because of this dichotomy, two of the best centers of the 1940’s never met in an NCAA basketball tournament. George Mikan’s DePaul team traditionally entered the NIT, while Bob Kurland’s of Oklahoma.

    In 1973, with the championship game held on Monday night for the first time, UCLA behind Bill Walton’s 44 points on 21 of 22 shooting, won its seventh straight championship, defeating Memphis State. NC State, led by David Thompson, ends UCLA’s title run in 1974, defeating the Bruins in the national semifinals in double overtime.

    The following year, the NCAA tournament expanded to 32 teams, and then allowed more than one school from each conference to participate. Prior to this ruling, the restriction prevented several great teams from competing in the tournament, including the 1974 Maryland team. They finished the season nationally ranked #4, yet lost the ACC Conference final game to top-ranked NC State prior to the start of the tournament. After that, the NCAA began to allow more than one team per conference to participate. In 1976, Bobby Knight’s Indiana Hoosier squad completed an undefeated season with a victory over Michigan in the championship game. The Hoosiers are the last team to go undefeated and win the title.

    The tournament expanded to 40 teams in 1979, and teams were seeded for the first time. “Magic” Earvin Johnson leads Michigan State over Larry Bird and Indiana State to win the national championship. The game drew the attention of millions throughout the country; its 24.1 TV rating remains the highest ever for a college basketball game and is still considered one of the greatest match-ups in NCAA Tournament history.

    Expansion followed in 1980 to 48 teams, and then in 1983, to 53 teams. In what many believe is the greatest Cinderella story in college basketball, North Carolina State’s Lorenzo Charles dunks the ball as time expires in the 1983 championship game to lead the Wolfpack to a 54-52 win over heavily favored Akeem Olajuwon and Houston. Perhaps no one figure in college basketball history more personified the spirit of March Madness than Coach Jim Valvano. His underdog North Carolina State Wolfpack did what many consider a miracle by making an incredible run through the 1983 Tournament. Culminating in the defeat of the highly touted “Phi Slamma Jamma” squad from the University of Houston, Valvano was rocketed into the media limelight and quickly became the symbol of exuberance and enthusiasm. He discovered soon afterward that he had bone cancer, and for a short time became a commentator for college basketball. Before his death at age 47, he was named the recipient of the Arthur Ashe award for courage at the first ESPN ESPY awards. It was at this time he announced the formation of the V Foundation for cancer research.

    In 1985 the tournament expanded to 64 teams. A Villanova Wildcat team shot a 22 for 28 field goal percentage to defeat Patrick Ewing and defending champion Georgetown in the championship game. Villanova remains the lowest seed (#8) to win the championship. In 1991, Duke upset undefeated UNLV in the semifinals and went on to win the national championship. In 1997, Arizona, led by Mike Bibby, Jason Terry and Miles Simon, becomes the first school to defeat three #1 seeds en route to the national championship, winning against Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky.

    The NCAA Tournament’s popularity has grown to rival that of the World Series, the Olympics and the Super Bowl. CBS Sports in 1999 negotiated an 11-year, $6 billion agreement for television, radio, Internet, corporate marketing, licensing, publishing, home video and Hoop City rights for the Division I men’s basketball championship.

    Today the NCAA basketball tournament is one of the most watched tournaments of the year. Always exciting you never really know who is going to end up on top!”

    Attention everyone in West Raleigh, THAT!!!, is THE NC STATE WOLFPACK I know and love so well.

  2. redfred2 10/23/2008 at 9:57 PM #

    testing, I’ve lost three posts on this thread. ???

  3. redfred2 10/28/2008 at 3:25 PM #

    Whoops, maybe I didn’t lose all 3 posts after all. For some reason they didn’t show up on my screen, not that same evening anyway. Apologies for wasting space.

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