Embattled coach Sidney Lowe received a commitment over the weekend. The N&O has a brief story:
Statesboro (Ga.) High boys basketball coach Lee Hill said shooting guard Jaqawn Raymond is fully aware of the possibility of a coaching change at N.C. State, but is committed to the school.
“He loves the school,” Hill said Tuesday morning. “He really likes it there. This is a chance to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which I think has the best college basketball in the country.
“Raymond very much wants to play for Sidney Lowe. It is his program that recruited him. But Raymond is confident that N.C. State is always going to have a good program.“
Additionally, 2012 point guard Tyler Lewis seems committed to the school regardless of who is the NC State basketball coach next season. Packpride’s James Henderson reported this information on 2/25 on their message boards:
“In addition, we get bombarded by people asking what Tyler is going to do if NC State doesn’t retain Coach Lowe. If you will notice, Tyler has not wavered in his commitment to NC State. Let’s be honest, most high elite level players would have de-committed by now.
“In addition, Tyler had opportunities to play for CP3 this coming AAU season but chose to play for Team Loaded. Why? Because he is a very loyal kid! He doesn’t jump from one HS or AAU team to another. The same holds true for his loyalty and commitment to NC State. Whether or not, NC State chooses to make a change in their coaching staff, Tyler wants to attend NC State, providing if they still want him.”
The next few weeks will be very turbulent as Lowe’s departure is officially announced and the coaching search goes into full speed. Let’s not forget that this will be a difficult time for the young men currently on the team and those looking to join the program in the future. Managing this transition with the goal of positioning the next coach to win immediately is critical. The transition from Sendek to Lowe was managed horribly by Lee Fowler(as should have been expected by the people who decided to allow him to handle the process all by himself) and in the end Lowe was handed a total rebuild.
If you don’t remember, then:
-Lowe began his tenure with 6 scholarship players(Trevor Ferguson being one of those, so really 5.5)
-the program lost 4 starters and 5 of its top 7 players from the previous year
-Lowe had only 1 guard on the roster who could handle the ball(E. Atsur) that was graduating after Sid’s 1st year.
-In all, Sidney had 8 scholarships to fill immediately the day he took the job
-Before he could take the job, Sidney had to finish the NBA season and finish his college degree
-Once the announcement was finally made, it was in the midst of a recruiting dead period in the summer
Sidney was setup to fail before he ever took the job. Believe it or not, many universities change coaches and have immediate success. Clemson and Boston College this year are two good examples that illustrate that point.