...but written by a Tarheel?

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9375528

Quote :

"Starting with coach, Wolfpack can definitely do better Matt Rehm April 13, 2006 By Matt Rehm CBS SportsLine.com Staff Writer Tell Matt your opinion! I'm not sure who's to blame for this, but lately it seems everybody is spouting the catchphrase, "It is what it is." Maybe I only notice it because my job requires me to read so many quotes by athletes and coaches, who always stay on the cutting edge of meaningless clichés. One game at a time. Giving 110 percent. It is what it is. Well, even though they opted for "One Heartbeat," I think the official motto of N.C. State basketball over the past five years should have been "It Is What It Is." Bring in recruiting classes largely consisting of guys on the fringe of the top 100, get pounded in rivalry games against Duke and UNC, end up around fourth in the ACC, go to the NCAA Tournament, fall well short of the Final Four, rinse and repeat. At most schools -- Arizona State, for example -- finishing in the top half of the conference, making annual trips to the NCAA Tournament and keeping players' names out of the police blotter is probably enough. N.C. State is not like most schools. If one of the characters in Dances with Wolves had been a Wolfpack fan, his name would have been "Delusions of Grandeur." N.C. State has a proud basketball history, but that's what it is: history, with the potential for a bright future. The present isn't much to write home about. Under Everett Case, N.C. State was the dominant program in the ACC, winning 10 conference championships and beating North Carolina 21 times over a span of 22 meetings. But that was a long, long time ago, and the Wolfpack's past 20 seasons have been highlighted by a pair of Sweet 16 trips (1989 and 2005). Obviously, having Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams just down the road makes it one of the toughest jobs in Division I, but Herb Sendek going 3-21 against the Blue Devils and 0-6 against the Tar Heels since Williams' return was too much to tolerate -- the last straw coming with the young Tar Heels' 95-71 win in Raleigh a couple of months ago, when the 'Pack appeared to give up. N.C. State's fans, whose howls contributed to Sendek's decision to accept a significantly more lucrative deal at Arizona State, have been widely criticized as impatient and irrational by coaches and most of the national media. Not by me, though. After enduring 16 years of frustration since Jim Valvano's resignation, I think the fans have been through enough. Sendek had ample time to put a signature accomplishment on his resume but remained mired in mediocrity. Ten years, no Elite Eights, no ACC Tournament titles, no ACC regular-season titles. Only one other coach in ACC history (Bill Gibson, at Virginia from 1964-73) in league history had kept his job so long with so little to show for it. When I was growing up in North Carolina, the charismatic Valvano was a god among Wolfpack fans, especially after answering UNC's national championship in 1982 with one of his own in 1983, followed by Elite Eight trips in 1985 and '86. But he cut a few corners to get to the top -- Chris Washburn could barely spell SAT, much less get a decent score on the test -- and when he was ultimately forced out, N.C. State surged to the opposite end of the priority spectrum by hiring Les Robinson. Ah yes, Les Robinson. As in the "Les Robinson Invitational" -- the unofficial nickname given to the No. 8 vs. No. 9 play-in game to the ACC Tournament, for which N.C. State became a fixture. Still, Robinson was brought in to clean up the program, not necessarily win championships. When N.C. State returned to the point where a player or two occasionally graduated, it was time to find somebody who could keep things clean while also winning a few games. Enter Sendek. He was dry, quiet, intense, intellectual and socially awkward. The anti-Valvano. Jimmy V was a master of the snappy quote, my favorite being, "I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, 'Of course not.' I said, 'Well, I think you stink.' And he gave me a technical. You can't trust 'em." Sendek? He was prone to espousing about "honoring the process" and "operating in daytight compartments." I have no idea what he meant by that; neither did N.C. State's fans, and I'd bet his players were confused as well. I don't even think "daytight" is an actual word. What was more dull than Sendek's personality? His Princeton offense and his recruiting. N.C. State was painful to watch during his tenure; I couldn't imagine playing for him. Neither could most prep stars. While Duke and UNC annually haul in McDonald's All-Americans, the only true recruiting coups that spring to mind for Sendek were Julius Hodge and Damien Wilkins -- and Wilkins ended up transferring out. Advertisement Click here to find out more! (Oddly, Sendek recently obtained perhaps his most impressive verbal commitment from point guard Chris Wright, widely considered a top 10 prospect in the junior class. Too little, too late.) Yes, Sendek's 10-year tenure in Raleigh ended with a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and third straight 20-win season. But there was never a time when I thought, "Gosh, N.C. State is the best team in the ACC" or "You know, the Wolfpack could go to the Final Four." To his credit, Sendek tried to earn the fans' love. He even tried to dance one time at the Wolfpack's midnight madness. What resulted could best be described as a spasm, his hands cupped under his chin and his eyes rolled back in his head. I've been told that he was trying to mimic a fish; unfortunately, he looked more like an ass. If he had been able to relate to N.C. State's fans a little better, if he had made a run to the Final Four, if he had won an ACC title, if he were about to bring in a monster recruiting class like the one Roy Williams has assembled, Sendek might not have needed to flee to the Valley of the Sun, where he'll be subjected to less heat. He had a decade to accomplish those things. He couldn't do it, so his fresh start is for the best, both for him and for N.C. State. When I was in college, I recall a Daily Tar Heel column that attempted to summarize the difference between UNC's rivalries with Duke and N.C. State. The author, whose name I've long since forgotten, contended that Duke was a mortal enemy while N.C. State was an annoyance, "like when the cheese sticks to the top of your pizza box." Enough of that. If Maryland can win the national title and Georgia Tech can reach the championship game in the past few years, N.C. State doesn't have to be perennially stuck in the slow lane on Tobacco Road. I'll admit, as a Tar Heels fan, I savored the Wolfpack's struggles at first. But what fun is a one-sided rivalry? I want the 'Pack to at least put up a decent fight so we can go back to the good ol' days when families were divided, marriages were threatened and neighbor turned against neighbor. Even if he had stayed in Raleigh for another 10 years, I can't imagine Sendek ever would have brought N.C. State back to that level. In that sense, taking a run at Rick Barnes and John Calipari was worthwhile, even though the 'Pack came up empty. This is an athletic department with the wherewithal to put together a $2 million annual offer; of course it should pursue a coach with a household name. You miss all of the shots you don't take, right? At the same time, I can hardly blame Barnes and Calipari for passing. Each has a top 10 team returning next season. Barnes is entrenched at the preeminent program in the state of Texas, where he has his pick of recruits; Calipari is a big fish in a medium-sized pond in Conference USA. It's not easy to leave those relatively cushy situations for what might be, at least in the short term, a rebuilding effort in the nation's toughest conference. What now? I'd be shocked if Jay Wright left Villanova, so that leaves Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie, Miami's Frank Haith, LSU's John Brady, former UCLA coach Steve Lavin, Charlotte's Bobby Lutz, Winthrop's Gregg Marshall and 1983 national championship hero Dereck Whittenburg among the remaining options. Whoever they ultimately hire might not be a better coach than Sendek, but at least he'll be a different coach, which is what N.C. State needs. None of the candidates listed above has the star power of Barnes or Calipari. Then again, Mike Krzyzewski was a little-known coach from Army. Dean Smith was Frank McGuire's assistant and had no head coaching experience in basketball (although he had served as the baseball and golf coach at the Air Force Academy). Jim Valvano came to N.C. State from Iona, and despite the controversy surrounding his ouster, I'd say his hiring worked out pretty well, too. So for the good of N.C. State -- which is to say, for the good of the ACC -- let's hope Lee Fowler hires somebody who can return N.C. State to its former stature. Sendek's apologists can be satisfied with, "It is what it is." I'll welcome N.C. State's new coach (whoever he is) to the ACC and say, "It's about time." "

4/13/2006 11:00:37 PM

Quote :

"I'll welcome N.C. State's new coach (whoever he is) to the ACC and say, "It's about time."

[Edited on April 13, 2006 at 11:03 PM. Reason : .]

4/13/2006 11:03:23 PM

Its a sad day when the holes feels sorry for us



they're still a bunch of faggots.

4/13/2006 11:09:55 PM

^so are you

4/13/2006 11:10:50 PM

eat shit

4/13/2006 11:11:27 PM

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo

4/13/2006 11:11:50 PM

the only way to make this topic better is if it had an egg in it

4/13/2006 11:12:42 PM

I feel pretty sorry for us right now

And I'm only gonna be sorrier when football season rolls around

4/13/2006 11:15:09 PM

good daytight article,

4/13/2006 11:18:06 PM

It is what it is

4/13/2006 11:29:41 PM

hilarious, i thought that was photoshop

4/13/2006 11:40:07 PM

^ i always thought it was a photoshop too


I'd say that article is dead on.

Quote :

"Whoever they ultimately hire might not be a better coach than Sendek, but at least he'll be a different coach, which is what N.C. State needs."

4/13/2006 11:54:40 PM

Could this guy please walk down the hall and let greg doyle borrow some sense and/or warm blood?
I'm really in awe that this got published somewhere, releived.

4/14/2006 12:22:15 AM

that is an awesome article...

dead-on actually

4/14/2006 1:22:35 AM

You're a girl. What do you know about sports, anyway?

4/14/2006 1:23:35 AM

that article doesn't do shit for me

4/14/2006 1:27:06 AM

I'm glad a UNC guy hopes we get a different coach, no matter if he is good or not.

And the best part is, you douchebags agree with him

4/14/2006 1:30:31 AM

lets get mr. belding

4/14/2006 1:47:27 AM

4/14/2006 2:13:10 AM

eggxactly what i was thinking

4/14/2006 2:15:56 AM

Quote :

"Whoever they ultimately hire might not be a better coach than Sendek, but at least he'll be a different coach, which is what N.C. State needs."

i hate this bassackwards attitude

its really dumb i my opinion

4/14/2006 2:24:19 AM

wow mr belding put on some pounds...

4/14/2006 2:26:33 AM

musta been eating some EGGS

4/14/2006 2:41:54 AM

kegs and eggs!

4/14/2006 2:43:10 AM

Quote :

"If one of the characters in Dances with Wolves had been a Wolfpack fan, his name would have been "Delusions of Grandeur.""

4/14/2006 2:45:52 AM

Quote :

"To his credit, Sendek tried to earn the fans' love. He even tried to dance one time at the Wolfpack's midnight madness."

lolololol

4/14/2006 3:02:06 AM

herb owes me and egg

4/14/2006 3:03:34 AM

Thank god someone put down on paper what I've been saying for 3 years. It boils down to one word... mediocrity. And he's right, change was what was necessary... in whatever form it may take.


This is all that needed to be said...

Quote :

"Sendek going 3-21 against the Blue Devils and 0-6 against the Tar Heels since Williams' return was too much to tolerate "

4/14/2006 4:53:34 AM

Quote :

"Bring in recruiting classes largely consisting of guys on the fringe of the top 100, get pounded in rivalry games against Duke and UNC, end up around fourth in the ACC, go to the NCAA Tournament, fall well short of the Final Four, rinse and repeat. "

BINGO

4/14/2006 7:32:56 AM

Quote :

"You're a girl. What do you know about sports, anyway?"

What's funny is that girl knows more about sports than you do, moonman.

4/14/2006 7:42:39 AM

I just sent this guy an email thanking him for actually posting the truth instead of the usual lining up, taking shots at NC State, all the while not knowing a damn thing about Sendek's teams... only that we'd been to the tournament.

This article proves that even some UNC graduates can have a brain

4/14/2006 7:46:57 AM

Great article...glad someone actually knows what they are talking about.

You can tell that he actually knows ACC basketball as opposed to writing about it and basing his knowledge off other sources. Sportswriters everywhere should take notes from this guy...I don't care where he graduated from...it's the best article about the situation I've read.

4/14/2006 8:32:13 AM

mediocre article is what it is.

anyone who pulls the 'has had a decade to get to the elite 8' obviously is talking from the outside in and ignorant of the programs status pre-herb and post-herb

that article is fluff.

jees you guys get a hardon cause he said he liked jimmy v. give me a fucking break

[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 8:46 AM. Reason : *]

4/14/2006 8:45:50 AM

As someone who was a herb supporter, I found the article to be dead on as well.

4/14/2006 8:54:36 AM

[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 8:58 AM. Reason : offline]

4/14/2006 8:55:53 AM

^^^ He didn't just use the Elite Eight as criteria for mediocrity. He also states as proof that Herb leaving was a good thing that 0 ACC championships(either regular season or Tournament) and no Final fours in ten years is too much.

In basketball if you're given ten years, it really doesn't matter where you started or what happened in the past...you're out of excuses. See Gillespie, Greg Marshall, Roy Williams, etc., etc.

This is the least fluff article I've seen written about the situation. He obviously knows what he's talking about(references to Herb dancing, an accurate representation of State's past and present state, etc.)...

You just don't like it because he agrees that it was time for Sendek to move on.

Add another Herb supporter to the list of people who think this article is spot on.

4/14/2006 9:08:56 AM

Quote :

"In basketball if you're given ten years, it really doesn't matter where you started or what happened in the past...you're out of excuses"

4/14/2006 9:09:53 AM

a lot of his 'ACC history' mentioned in this article was straight plagiarized from books i've read, like verbatim

4/14/2006 9:11:24 AM

Which means he tried a hell of a lot more than most of the other douches writing about us.

4/14/2006 9:45:41 AM

no

it means that he took 5 minutes to read about the names of the coaches that won our championships and said 'jimmy v rocks' and you guys think its awesome.

im not going to argue if it was time for herb to go or not. obviously it was to herb.

but the '10 years to get to the elite 8 or ACC championship' argument is ignorant, and played out, and thats the crux of his article.

4/14/2006 9:49:27 AM

JIMMY V ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!

4/14/2006 9:50:18 AM

definitely a good article, who cares if its fluff, this is the attitude the media needs to have.

4/14/2006 10:00:09 AM

they need to have a fluffy attitude?

that actually makes for horrible journalism

4/14/2006 10:01:03 AM

How is this fluff?

He makes several opinions regarding NC State and ACC basketball, Herb's decision to leave, and our coaching search. And it's not the same shit you read everywhere else. He throws in bits of information(so what if he read it in a book) that no other sportswriters even have knowledge about, much less put in their articles.

And how is saying "herb had 10 years and didn't "win" anything at all" ignorant? It's true that he didn't go to the final four or win any championships and only one other coach in ACC history has been around that long with so little to show.

I wish Herb had stayed and was a supporter, but his OPINION isn't fluff and it isn't ignorant.

4/14/2006 10:14:06 AM

what's fluff about it?

Unlike The doyels of the world, this guy actually did his homework.

4/14/2006 10:15:47 AM

^^ maybe that's what I enjoy about Doyle's articles

i read a lot of Prick Pride and they do nothing but overglorify our program

it's actually refreshing in a strange way to hear somebody tell it like it is, instead of telling it how we want to hear it

4/14/2006 10:17:41 AM

Just because someone doesn't agree with you doesn't make an article crappy or fluff though. I can respect that you find the other side of the coin refreshing.

If you want to see people bash us, you don't need to turn to that Douche Doyel. Most of the media is taking an opposite stance as this article and criticizing us for aiming so high, and for striking out and generally being inept at finding a coach so far. They also criticize our fans heavily, which may or may not be warranted.

At least this ONE national sportwriter defends us and says, "hey, you know...maybe those Wolfpack fans had a point."

4/14/2006 10:20:19 AM

see, you might think that's how it is.
maybe you should go on humping adventures with Mr. Doyel.
I personally love my school, and have high hopes and expectations for it. Why can't I be optimistic?



[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 10:21 AM. Reason : slackerb spot on]

4/14/2006 10:20:48 AM

you can be....

that's your right as a fan


at the same time, I am allowed to be pessimistic. my right too

4/14/2006 10:25:35 AM

its fluff

because everyone talks about our 2 championships

everyone talks about jimmy v

everyone talks about herb taking us to 5 ncaas in a row

and everyone talks about herb having '10' years to take us to an elite 8 or acc championship.

10 years to get us an acc championship or elite 8 (funny, before last year it was sweet 16) is ignorant because it implies that he had 10 shots at an ACC title. Anyone that actually appreciates and understands what a shithole this was knows that herb didnt have anything like 10 years or chances to get us there.

If you want to argue that over the past 5 years he should have won more important games then thats fine, i can consent to having a case there. Some of us saw improvement, others were impatient. but this 10 years and nothing bullshit is a fucking cop-out for not knowing what youre talking about.

4/14/2006 10:47:31 AM