NC State search drags on
posted: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 | Feedback

Memphis' John Calipari was going to take the NC State job, and NC State expected him to follow through. That's why the Wolfpack are still looking for a coach.

Calipari flew to Raleigh with his staff 10 days ago and left the impression he was going to take the gig, so there was no reason for them to have a third choice (after Texas' Rick Barnes was No. 1) lined up.

Calipari doesn't want to discuss the situation publicly, but he did tell ESPN.com he was close to taking the job, and through various sources, ESPN.com has found out that the Wolfpack were anticipating that he would accept.

Now it becomes a complete guessing game, with a number of coaches being bandied about like lottery ping pong balls. The latest were Winthrop's Gregg Marshall and ESPN analyst Steve Lavin, but both said they haven't been contacted.

The most amusing thing is that Marshall heard that Miami's Frank Haith is the choice, but Haith said he hasn't talked to anyone at NC State and is perfectly happy to be at Miami. Yet a number of coaches heard Marshall's name through the rumor mill. So, it goes round and round and nobody seems to know except NC State's athletic director, Lee Fowler -- at least, we are assuming he knows.

Final nuggets
• Calipari said he expects sophomore point guard Darius Washington to put his name in the draft before the April 29 deadline but isn't sure if Washington will sign with an agent. He said he's not yet certain what Shawne Williams will do.

"We're good regardless next season,'' Calipari said. "We've got a core back of Robert Dozier, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Antonio Anderson [all sophomores].''

Memphis continues to play a national schedule. The Tigers will return a game at Gonzaga, play at Arizona and Tennessee, host Cincinnati and Ole Miss, and still are looking for a top-20 game at home. Oh, and the Tigers start the season in the Maui Invitational with other headline teams UCLA, Kentucky and Georgia Tech.

• New Arizona State coach Herb Sendek said no one is leaving the Sun Devils. He said all of Rob Evans' players have committed to returning.

How is the transition going from NC State to ASU?

"OK. I think this place has tremendous potential. The demographic is great and it's a beautiful place,'' Sendek said. "I think it could be really good here.''

• Boston College and Kansas have tentatively agreed on a home-and-home, with the first game in Lawrence next season.

• Winthrop's Marshall is looking for nine more nonconference games. He has road games at East Carolina and Northern Illinois and a home game against Mount St. Mary's. Winthrop lost to Tennessee on a late Chris Lofton shot in the NCAA first round in Greensboro. Now the Eagles can't get games.

• The folks at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic, which is held during Thanksgiving, told ESPN.com that Tennessee Tech was in that field. Oops. The organizers of the San Juan Shootout say Tech is in their event with a signed contract. Tech joins Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Northwestern, Central Florida, Appalachian State and Puerto Rico Mayaguez in the Dec. 19-21 event.

The Daily Word will return on Monday, May 1.

4/21/2006 9:11:48 PM

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=85316 is this real?

4/21/2006 9:37:43 PM

are you for real?

4/21/2006 9:39:26 PM

4/21/2006 9:41:36 PM

^ Red X, ^^ is there something im missin it looks real to me

4/21/2006 9:43:07 PM

several threads

several threads are discussing it, discussing it as it if were real

http://www.thesportingnews.com ... a real website

4/21/2006 9:44:15 PM

Lavin would be a decent hire.

4/21/2006 9:45:23 PM

DAMN LAVIN
Posted by LakerKev on Fri Apr 21, 2006 09:10 pm

He's the reason why oil is over $70 bucks a barrel. Its going straight to his hair!

4/21/2006 9:47:43 PM

anyone notice the last sentence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Lavin

4/21/2006 10:32:01 PM

paging 24.136.141.147

4/21/2006 10:33:50 PM

Dude....wikipedia is never wrong....

what now?

4/21/2006 10:36:49 PM

Sporting news about steve lavin made WRAL tonight at 11

4/21/2006 11:31:37 PM

Someone sucks at formatting.

4/21/2006 11:40:55 PM

its official

noone we hire is going to "unite the fanbase"

dumbfucks are going to complain no matter what. hey beilein took WVU to the elite 8 and sweet 16 in back to back years...

WHO CARES, HE SUCKS, PRINCETON OFFENSE BLAH BLAH WONT BEAT DUKE AND UNC

steve lavin would be a good hire

WHO CARES UCLA CHASED HIM OFF HE HASNT COACHED IN A LONG TIME BLAH BLAH BLAH

LETS GET BILLY GILLESPIE (who isnt interested) OR FRANK HAITH (unproven and not a target)

4/22/2006 3:48:36 PM

Lavin and Laviolette in the same city. It might bring some good things to Raleigh.

4/22/2006 5:08:44 PM

uh...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Lavin

4/22/2006 5:54:09 PM

Quote :

"Reportedly, Lavin was offered the head coaching position at North Carolina State University and took it. Steve Lavin is now the head coach of the Wolfpack. If you don't like it you can suck a dong and move to Arizone State, haters."

hahahahahahhahahahahahaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa

4/22/2006 5:59:53 PM

okay thats pretty hilarious

4/22/2006 7:04:15 PM

WE'RE STILL BETTER WITHOUT A COACH THAN WITH HERB, RIGHT GUYS???

THE NC STATE TRADITION WILL DRAW A BETTER COACH IN!

[Edited on April 24, 2006 at 3:38 PM. Reason : .]

4/24/2006 3:35:47 PM

i would much rather have a young coach than belien, i WVU's coach...he's exactly like herb...we need something new and exciting

4/24/2006 4:44:31 PM

that was a new and exciting post

i don't think that point has ever been made before

4/24/2006 4:45:04 PM

yeah well i don't care, i haven't posted alot lately, so what

4/24/2006 4:45:32 PM

I've changed my mind....I want Beilein.

4/24/2006 6:20:52 PM

why???

4/24/2006 6:23:22 PM

It's all a crap shoot anyways...

But Lavin's just too risky for me.

The main gripes for me about Beilein are his recruiting and his style of play. However, I think he could recruit better to Raleigh, and maybe he can get in a good assistant or two that can help him in recruiting...and apparently he's run different offenses at the other schools he coached, so maybe he wouldn't keep the Princeton O here.

He's had one 4-star player at West Virginia the past 2 years in making it to the Elite 8 and Sweet 16. All we have here are 4-star players with the occasional 5-star (well maybe not anymore). He's definitely the better coach in my opinion. Steve Lavin went to all of these sweet 16s at probably the top program in the country following a national championship with some of the best recruits in the country.

I don't want to risk fucking up with Lavin. And I think there is more upside to Beilein than people had previously thought.

4/24/2006 6:34:41 PM

Beilein is older, do we really want an older guy almost starting over here? I like the fact that Lavin is only 42 same age as Herb. Still has plenty of time to improve and keep getting better.

4/24/2006 6:37:28 PM

i read somewhere that beilein's been developing his offense for 20 years...

plus we've been running a variation of it.

i HIGHLY doubt he'd do anything different here.

i was a huge herb supporter b/c i thought we were getting better. now that we have to get a new coach anyway, i'd like to see a different offense.

if you need any motivation to want an offense other than the princeton offense, just go back and watch the courtney fells videos on packpride.


and FUCK a $3 million buyout for Beilein.

i mean, what the fuck is that? the fans bitch and moan and run herb out of town, just so the school can drop $3 million to buyout the contract of a coach just like him? seems to me we'da been better off keepin herb for ~$800k/year



[Edited on April 24, 2006 at 6:40 PM. Reason : ]

4/24/2006 6:38:21 PM

Phil Jackson


on a serious note, I think one of the main things wrong with Herb was that offense. Our fans want to see something different. I think we'd settle for a slightly lesser coach if it means seeing a different brand of basketball for a few years.


And if the new brand doesnt work he'll be gone in 4 or 5 years anyway and we can hire Whitt.

[Edited on April 24, 2006 at 6:42 PM. Reason : ]

4/24/2006 6:40:13 PM

I don't particularly want another princeton-based offense, but Belien would be a huge step up IMO. He's had 2 Sweet 16's and an Elite 8 in 4 years at WVU (Or similar).... I stress again...at WVU! That's tough to do.

He wouldn't be my first choice, and I don't think he's worth a multi-million buyout, but if that's the worst we can do we're in good shape.

I can't decide what I'd do if we don't get Lavin. Do you go with the "safe" hire in Belein....a perennial top 25 guy.... or do you go with an up-and-comer like Marshall that has potential that's through the roof (but will likely be mediocre/a bust)?

[Edited on April 24, 2006 at 6:43 PM. Reason : ]

4/24/2006 6:40:53 PM

belein as HC and lavin as recruiter. A coach who overachieves with lesser talent is a good coach.


[Edited on April 24, 2006 at 6:44 PM. Reason : Still unclear how much of it was pittsnoggle]

4/24/2006 6:42:22 PM

Quote :

"A coach who overachieves with lesser talent is a great coach. "

That's why I'm intrigued by Belein.

I'd be interested to see how he recruited. He doesn't have the RBC and the ACC to help out at WVU. He could get quite a bit more talent here, IMO.

If you'd ask me "do you want him" I'd say no. Would I be upset? Not particularly... I still think it's an improvement


[Edited on April 24, 2006 at 6:45 PM. Reason : ]

4/24/2006 6:44:14 PM

^^^^^

Eh...well I've read that he's had 3 different offenses at his last 3 major schools (WVU, Richmond, and Canisius). I guess it depends on who you're listening to.

And I could care less about the buyout...As long as we get the best coach. And yeah...looking at our situation now, I wish we could have kept Herb too. But oh well....

[Edited on April 24, 2006 at 6:45 PM. Reason : .]

4/24/2006 6:44:57 PM

Belein's offense and Richmond was a lot like the one at WVU. It was still slower... but since he's gotten to WVU he's thrown more Princeton principles in there (from what I understand... others have stated).

His offense is a little more uptempo than Herbs and he does use a true point guard.

Like I said, I'm not super-duper excited about it, but I could handle it

4/24/2006 6:47:24 PM

id be too pissed at losing sendek if we stick with the princeton-o

sorry, that's just me

i really hope we end up with lavin

4/24/2006 6:52:53 PM

Would Chris Wright come play for Beilein since his system is pretty much the same as Herb's?


The only plus side for him is that our recruits for next year will probably come and give us a better shot at landing Wright....if Wright truly wanted to play in Sendek's system....which is what he claims....which also happens to be retarded.

4/24/2006 6:53:10 PM

ncWOLFsu

I thought the same way, but the more I think about it, I'm somewhat liking the idea of Belein (And you know how I hate the Princeton O).

Belein is a safe hire. He'd easily have us in the tourney and more than likely would propel past his success at WVU (Elite 8 in year 3) at NC State.

NC State isn't a "name" any more like it once was. Herb had us right at the cusp of ESPN airtime and being a perennial top 15-20 team, but we never quite got there. Kids around the US know WVU better than they know NC State nowadays, sadly.

Point is that if we're going to make a hire, it may not be bad to make a "safe" hire here. Get Belein here... restore the NC State name by being a consistent program... and in 10 years or so when you get a new coach (And you take a huge hit becuase we have PRINCETON players, not athletes).... at least we'll be a "Perrenial" program for the past 15-20 years. The next non-Princeton coach that comes into here is going to have some trouble with these players, that's the simple fact of it.

We would be a much much better name in 10 years of Belein.

If we crash and Burn with Lavin, any name recognition/draw we created under Herb is gone.

Not saying I'm wanting to play it safe, but it may not be the worst scenario. Belein can win and win big... and you know what you're getting with him. Being a perrenial top 15-20 team for the next 10 years may be what State needs to re-establish itself as a top flight job.

[Edited on April 24, 2006 at 7:03 PM. Reason : ]

4/24/2006 6:58:26 PM

Quote :

"Mount St. Mary's"

That's right, the REAL University on US 15. We should bring their old coach, Jim Phelan in. He has 830 wins on his resume, and nice bow ties.

4/24/2006 7:04:39 PM

is lavin still in the picture?

4/24/2006 9:52:12 PM

I've wanted Beilein from the start. I mean, Herb's real problem wasnt the offense, it was his inability to adjust to other facets of it when the 3's weren't falling. I mean, there's a lot more you can do with that offense than jack up some 3's, just look at Georgetown these days.

I mean, if Beilein can do as well as he did w/ Gansey and Pittsnoggle, just think of what he could do with better players here (which he should be able to get). We'd be a Final Four calibre team, and thats what we should aim for.

Then again, everyone seems to think theres some other coach out there that will beat Duke and UNC regularly and win the ACC, so fuck Beilein and fuck Marshall, we want "that guy"!

4/24/2006 10:20:23 PM

stfu

4/24/2006 10:21:26 PM

WHO IS THE COACH THAT WILL BEAT UNC AND DUKE REGULARLY? PEOPLE KEEP ASKING FOR HIM. WHO IS HE?

4/24/2006 10:24:44 PM

Quote :

"is lavin still in the picture?"

Yes. He has been offered the job.

4/24/2006 10:44:24 PM

we're going for our 6th rejection folks~~~~~~~~~

4/24/2006 10:54:18 PM

you know, the Sacramento Kings run that offense, too.

What I'm trying to say is, it was probably just the way Herb used it that screwed us up. He wouldnt know when to say "guys, stop jacking up 3's".

4/24/2006 11:10:22 PM

the kings suck, but I agree that it has more to do with herb's lack of intelligence rather than the offense, itself.

4/24/2006 11:12:35 PM

^ ^hurray some one shows a legit reason to get rid of herbs

yeah it was very fustrating to see nothing change on offense or defense when we lost

[Edited on April 24, 2006 at 11:12 PM. Reason : .]

4/24/2006 11:12:38 PM

The Nets run it too and they don't suck.

4/24/2006 11:41:39 PM

West Virginia runs it, and they dont suck.

There, now its settled.

4/24/2006 11:45:42 PM

Quote :

"Point is that if we're going to make a hire, it may not be bad to make a "safe" hire here. Get Belein here... restore the NC State name by being a consistent program... and in 10 years or so when you get a new coach (And you take a huge hit becuase we have PRINCETON players, not athletes).... at least we'll be a "Perrenial" program for the past 15-20 years. The next non-Princeton coach that comes into here is going to have some trouble with these players, that's the simple fact of it."

yeah but if we do that right now, we've already got grant, fells, costner, and ferguson that are athletic and aren't cast into the princeton offense. then there's mccauley, if he doesn't transfer to ASU (rumor i heard), and larry davis if he decides to come.

simmons is gone, brackman is gone. so that leaves potentially 5 guys that can run any offense and then up to 3 "princeton" guys in atsur, werner, and horner. so really, if we're ever going to get away from the princeton O, the time is now.

also, the gripes about our offense being boring aren't just going to go away if beilein is hired. i expect that the fanbase would give him a grace period, but after a couple years of the same shit that bored people to death with herb, the fans will be restless, so unless beilein goes to the elite 8 in the first 2 years, he's gonna have some dissenters among the fanbase.

and quite frankly, i'm ready for a new offense now too. i wouldn't have minded if herb stayed and we continued to run variations of his offense, because i thought we were getting better still. but i do NOT want someone else coming in and bringing the same shit.

i'm tired of the safe bet. that's why i didn't like kruger. the safe bet has less of a chance for failure, but i think it also limits the possibilities for greatness at the same time. i would MUCH rather take a risk with Lavin, a nationally known guy with ties to ESPN. the guy can recruit with the best of them, even moreso now that he's been an ESPN analyst, which hedges the fact that he's not at UCLA anymore a little.

plus, he's got personality, and a more uptempo offense that is fun to watch and play in. (UCLA scored in the 100's several times in his tenure there)

lavin can recruit more athletes, at least as good as grant/fells/bennerman... i think he's learned from his mistakes and successes at UCLA, and is ready to prove he's a good coach.

i'll support whoever we get as our coach, but between lavin and beilein i want lavin, and it's not even close.

4/24/2006 11:53:55 PM

I will say that he would bring a lot of hype from ESPN.

Remember when Marjerus took the USC job, remember the amount they talked about it on ESPN before he backed out of it.

And that was at freaking USC!

If he comes, I hope he has learned from his mistakes, but I won't keep my hopes too high.

4/24/2006 11:58:41 PM