Here's DBR's take on Sendek. And they're right. To hell with "of course they want him to stay! That way they can beat him!". These guys know their basketball better than most in the media and they tell it pretty straight usually.

Quote :

"N.C. State has some wonderful fans, but the Pack is also cursed with some of the worst (and most disingenous fans) around, and they are stuck in a, well, state of sort-of delusion about their program. Is it one of the great programs of all time? Two titles say yes. Is it currently one of the great programs? No. Is Sendek doing a solid job? Consistent appearances in the NCAA argue yes. Is he neighbors with the two best coaches in basketball currently? Yes (and between Smith/Williams and Krzyzewski, the two best coaches have been in the Triangle since the early 80s - amazing if you think about it). Is he beating them consistently? No. Is anyone else? Obviously not. Is a new coach likely to do better? It's certainly not impossible, but it is a gamble. The pity for State is that their natural coach, the guy who would make everyone feel great, was hired by Tennessee a year ago. An extrovert with a clear talent for the game, Bruce Pearl would have reminded a lot of people of Jim Valvano, and made a lot of fans really happy, even if he continued on as the third (or fourth) ACC wheel in North Carolina. But that's not going to happen. So who could State actually get? And what are the problems? One of the problems has become the fans, or at least a certain segment of the fans, who find themselves with a coach who is honest, who recruits good kids, who has never even come close to doing anything which would embarrass the university, and who has put his team in the NCAA consistently, who is the second most successful coach currently in the ACC Tournament (when one guy wins seven out of eight, being second is worth mentioning) and who, it's worth noting, is putting together a good core of players despite not being able to recruit at the same level as Duke and UNC. We've made fun of State because we think that Sendek schedules weakly, and his teams periodically can't shoot to save themselves. And he doesn't do a lot of PR work to improve things. He's not Jim Valvano, in other words, which is his main failing On the other hand, he isn't his own athletic director, and he isn't stretching himself too thin, and his players aren't having ugly books written about them, either. In a way, we kind of hope Sendek leaves. As Rick Barnes pointed out the other day, the lack of gratitude is stunning. When the Valvano era ended, and the Robinson era fizzled, what was left? Sendek came in, never complained, never blamed anyone else when he certainly could have, and built a very solid and respectable program. Does it have problems at times? Of course it does. Everyone's does. But there's no Trent Strickland, no Rashad McCants, no John Gilchrist (although that was a near miss). All Sendek has done for State is to return their dignity and make them into a contender. But State fans want entertainment. If you gave him stupid sunglasses, ugly shoes, and a fashion sense which would embarrass a 12-year-old, and if he consistently finished around fifth or sixth in the conference, maybe he'd be as popular as Chuck Amato, who is arguably less successful in his sport than Sendek is in his. But Amato is beloved for his eccentricities and it overshadows his middling success. Sendek, who would fit in at a Fortune 500 accounting firm, doesn't have that advantage. Still, despite State fans who think the Pack can lure a big-timer with no problem, that's never happened at State. Who's coached there in the last 50 years? Everett Case, hired from a high school. Press Maravich, an assistant who was promoted. Former Case player Norm Sloan, who came from Florida when that was nothing. Jim Valvano came from Iona, Les Robinson, from the Citadel, and Herb Sendek came from Miami of Ohio. When someone around here hires a big name, it's usually UNC (think Frank McGuire and Roy Williams), and it's usually because UNC is mad that State or Duke has leapfrogged them, and they'll do anything to avoid that. So given State's post-Valvano commitment to ethics and academics, who is out there who could take on this job - and could go toe-to-toe with Duke and UNC? There are a few, but it would take a while to get recruiting back up to the levels of Duke and UNC, and both schools have a big tailwind from ESPN. Mike Montgomery - he's supposedly sick of the NBA (didn't take long). He can coach with anyone, but he falls short on the shtick factor. His recruiting was severely limited at Stanford, so who know? Seems more like a UVa guy. Rick Majerus - health is his primary issue, but he's also got some NCAA issues, and he's an abrasive guy. Kissing the butts of stupid fans would not be high on his list of things to do. Kelvin Sampson - the recent NCAA problems make him unlikely. Karl Hobbs - fun style and all, but he may have played fast and loose with admissions at GW. Rick Pitino - is the Big East too crowded for him? Raleigh wouldn't be a good fit for him, though, and his wife, who has hated a number of stops on his resume, would lose it here. Jim Larranaga - presumably can handle the academics, but would he want to deal with the fan base? And that's really become a problem. As we've seen in recent days, Sendek is well-regarded by his peers. And despite their awareness of what he's been up against and what he's accomplished, they also recognize that he gets no break at all. So who's to say that anyone else would find a better deal? Larranaga beat UNC once, but think Mason would be able to do it consistently? Could he do it at State with the same level of recruits? The great thing about the State job should be the fans. They are passionate - a home game at State can be an electrifying experience. But if they succeed in running off Sendek, those same fans will have made themselves into a major liability. And if they end up regretting Sendek's departure, it'll serve them right. "

3/22/2006 11:45:27 AM

I lost respect for DBR about three years ago.

3/22/2006 11:47:22 AM

Amato is Beloved?

3/22/2006 11:56:39 AM

thats a good article

3/22/2006 12:02:35 PM

that's a good article.

someone tell me who DBR is.

3/22/2006 12:03:15 PM

wtf is DBR?

and what does this line mean?

Quote :

"But there's no Trent Strickland, no Rashad McCants, no John Gilchrist"

3/22/2006 12:03:47 PM

trouble makers

3/22/2006 12:04:36 PM

DBR??? anyone? anyone at all?

and why is Strickland a trouble maker?

[Edited on March 22, 2006 at 12:08 PM. Reason : asdf]

3/22/2006 12:07:06 PM

nail on the head.

btw DBR is duke basketball report

yeah it says duke, but they are generally very fair in my opinion when discussing the rest of the ACC

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com

[Edited on March 22, 2006 at 12:07 PM. Reason : only built 4 cuban linx]

3/22/2006 12:07:16 PM

dbr=duke basketball report

3/22/2006 12:07:33 PM

AMATO BELOVED????????????????????? ANYONE.................ANYONE................

3/22/2006 12:09:16 PM

Great article. Thanks for posting it.

3/22/2006 12:14:06 PM

they had an article earlier in the year stating that this was the first time in a LONG time they thought we could've made a run at the title.

3/22/2006 12:27:36 PM

Good article, but I don't think Amato is beloved.

3/22/2006 12:32:04 PM

up until this year about 90% of you all loved amato. don't even TRY to deny that shit.

3/22/2006 12:41:16 PM

Quote :

"and both schools have a big tailwind from ESPN."

thats an understatement

3/22/2006 12:42:23 PM

for the record, i called nc state and amato out back in 2003 after the ND game and the resulting parade. Some State fan was bragging about it and I called him out on celebrating the beating a declining power and wanting to extoll a coach who was getting by on a successful QB and not grooming a successor.

Later that year, I was a State student and had to try to shut up

3/22/2006 12:46:53 PM

i wonder how the fans of carolina or duke would be reacting if the roles were reversed?

3/22/2006 12:53:19 PM

theyd be up in arms, but they have more tradition to hold up as well.

3/22/2006 12:55:33 PM

Quote :

"Great article. Thanks for posting it."

I dont want Herb to leave, but he does need to hire an assistant who can toughen the guys up a little or something

3/22/2006 1:00:19 PM

^that is a very good idea,

3/22/2006 1:03:39 PM

i dont want Herb to leave, i just want him to change his GOD DAMN OFFENSE!!!

[Edited on March 22, 2006 at 1:10 PM. Reason : great article]

3/22/2006 1:10:43 PM

i think he's taking a step in the right direction. we've recruited more big guys (who still shoot threes, but who might also be an actual inside/rebounding presence).

good article too.

3/22/2006 1:13:43 PM

^^^^^thats the kind of attitude thats taken us so far out of the top tier area. Once upon a time WE had more tradition, so why the fuck shouldn't we defend it?

Quote :

"they had an article earlier in the year stating that this was the first time in a LONG time they thought we could've made a run at the title."

That alone removes all their credibility.

[Edited on March 22, 2006 at 1:15 PM. Reason : ^^^]

3/22/2006 1:15:06 PM

Quote :

"The pity for State is that their natural coach, the guy who would make everyone feel great, was hired by Tennessee a year ago. An extrovert with a clear talent for the game, Bruce Pearl would have reminded a lot of people of Jim Valvano, and made a lot of fans really happy, even if he continued on as the third (or fourth) ACC wheel in North Carolina. But that's not going to happen."

Ha... pwnt

3/22/2006 1:16:06 PM

I love how everyone thinks we have nice and sweet.

Nobody cares about consistently beating UNC and Duke at this point.

Our starved fanbase would settle for not getting blown the fuck out of our house year in and year out.

3/22/2006 1:17:11 PM

^^^^^bingo!

[Edited on March 22, 2006 at 1:23 PM. Reason : ]

3/22/2006 1:23:18 PM

Quote :

"and what does this line mean? [quote]But there's no Trent Strickland, no Rashad McCants, no John Gilchrist"

[/quote]

3/22/2006 1:43:45 PM

herb will never change his offense, so hope for him to leave.

3/22/2006 1:43:55 PM

Quote :

"but they have more tradition to hold up as well."

taht is very debatable. Maybe lately

3/22/2006 1:44:10 PM

Quote :

"thats the kind of attitude thats taken us so far out of the top tier area. Once upon a time WE had more tradition, so why the fuck shouldn't we defend it?"

That and all the NCAA sanctions post-V.

3/22/2006 1:45:35 PM

Quote :

"But there's no Trent Strickland, no Rashad McCants, no John Gilchrist (although that was a near miss)."

Is this supposed to mean "well at least sendek has stayed away from these guys"?


Cause if I had to name some players who I would least like to have on my team from the past 5 years, these 3 would be at or damn near the top of the list.

Strickland sucks, and McCANTs and Gilchrist are two of the biggest douche bags to play in the ACC. I dont give a fuck if they were nice. Gilchrist and Hodge would have thrown down too....He was more of a ballhog than Hodge was.

3/22/2006 1:56:17 PM

hodge led the team in assists

3/22/2006 2:01:30 PM

i didn't think he was a ballhog either.

3/22/2006 2:01:52 PM

I didnt mean it in a bad way douchers.


Hodge was just always in the play...and usually in a positive way...assist, basket, decoy. I was more saying it to point out that Gilchrist was retarded and took way too many shots and was a cry baby to boot.

3/22/2006 2:03:55 PM

i'll buy that

3/22/2006 2:04:37 PM

oh ok, ballhog means he has a nose for the ball and does good things, got it

3/22/2006 2:04:37 PM

well everyone else outside of NC State thought he was a ballhog

I'm just saying gilchrist was MORE of a ballhog


god damnit, can you get back to the fact that Strickland McCants and Gilchrist are total fuck asses?

[Edited on March 22, 2006 at 2:06 PM. Reason : ]

3/22/2006 2:05:56 PM

i was just fucking with you anyway

i knew what you meant

3/22/2006 2:07:17 PM

hillarious

3/22/2006 2:09:00 PM

So now not only is the nationwide media calling Herb Haters idiots, knowledgeable and local media also agree and say that while Sendek is not a perfect fit for State, that he's a good coach.

3/22/2006 2:55:03 PM

Actually

The local media are calling for Herb to move on.

Thanks for playing.

3/22/2006 2:57:48 PM

national media > local media

3/22/2006 3:03:01 PM

National media does not understand our situation

3/22/2006 3:03:45 PM

oh ok, they don't understand that we are a national powerhouse and that we have been underperforming for the last 10 years and we need to get the monkey that is herb sendek off our back so we can return to dominance once again?

3/22/2006 3:07:17 PM

^^Tell me again how we've been even close to a national powerhouse after the 70s

[Edited on March 22, 2006 at 3:10 PM. Reason : .]

3/22/2006 3:09:44 PM

the national media doesn't cover nc state like the local media does

the national media does not live here

the local media does

the national media does not consist of people who grew up state fans

the local media does

3/22/2006 3:09:47 PM

so youre saying

the national media has no bias and can appreciate it for what it is

and the local media sees shit through 1970s tinted glasses

3/22/2006 3:10:34 PM

Jesus Christ no.

do you people lack reading comprehension?

The national media sees UNC and Duke as the greatest programs ever.

They view anyone trying to compete with them as loonies.


ActionPants, I believe 1983 is calling you.

[Edited on March 22, 2006 at 3:11 PM. Reason : .]

3/22/2006 3:11:36 PM

actually no

they are aware of programs that compete with them

they are also aware that trying to build a program to compete with them, in their own back yard, from less than scratch, is a gargantuan task.

Not something anyone would be dying to try, or some kind of dream job

3/22/2006 3:13:54 PM