|
I posted this commentary on Facebook Notes on 7 April 2011 after Mark Gottfried was named as Sidney Lowe's replacement after five truly abysmal years of Wolfpack basketball which was better than their fans deserved. All the same, I did enjoy reveling in the Curse of Herb Sendek . . . "Herb, come back Herb!!!"...
So NC State has a new Men's Basketball coach...
by Matt Wallace
This page was last modified on 27 December 2012.
NCSU Men's Basketball under Coach Sidney Lowe
(Note well: During the period indicated, the Atlantic Coast Conference had twelve member schools.)
Season
|
Overall
Record
|
ACC
Record
|
ACC
Standing
|
ACC
Tournament
|
Post-season
|
|
2006-2007
|
20-16
|
5-11
|
T-10th
|
10-seed
|
NIT Quarterfinals
|
|
2007-2008
|
15-16
|
4-12
|
T-11th
|
12-seed
|
—
|
|
2008-2009
|
16-14
|
6-10
|
10th
|
10-seed
|
—
|
|
2009-2010
|
20-16
|
5-11
|
T-9th
|
11-seed
|
NIT Second Round
|
|
2010-2011
|
15-16
|
5-11
|
T-10th
|
10-seed
|
—
|
|
Cumulative
|
86-78
|
25-55
|
|
|
|
Give Sidney Lowe his propers; he was the only one willing to take the job after NC State fans made it unfillable after forcing out a good coach for failing to do the impossible. The only reason those same fans tolerated his incompetence was his membership on the 1983 Championship team (which I cheered too); cue Bruce Springsteen, "Glory Days"...
Herb Sendek was punished for not beating Duke and Carolina in every meeting, never mind that not even Duke and Carolina can do that. Sendek had taken a program in shambles after the disastrous tenure of Les Robinson and turned it into a competitive second-tier program in a conference dominated by two national powerhouses. He led the Wolfpack to post-season play every year but one, including five straight NCAA bids in his last five seasons. Does anyone doubt that Sendek would have done better than 86-78 overall, 25-55 in ACC play, and two NIT bids in the past five years had he been allowed to continue building his program?
Okay, so Debbie Yow found somebody willing to take the job, which is laudable given the toxic environment created by the fanbase, but does he meet the lofty criteria she personally set at the beginning of the search.
And if Mark Gottfried is willing to tempt the Curse of Herb Sendek, more power to him, but given the inherently unrealistic expectations of far too many State fans, he will soon find himself looking for another job when those expectations go unfulfilled.
And let that be a lesson to you all:
Ingratitude brings down a fearsome load of very bad karma...
| 
