As the N.C. State search continues, I’ve been scratching my head over the “Phil Ford to the Pack” talk.
Would most State fans accept a true-blue Carolina guy to be their basketball coach? I really don’t think so. Two sources who are close to the situation told us Thursday that Ford, now an assistant coach of the Knicks and still Carolina’s all-time leading scorer, is not a candidate. But the way this search is going, you can never know. Would State fans accept a Phil Ford even if he were the best man? He has been around winners and he knows the game.
N.C. State fans have been bashed by the national media in the midst of the coaching search drama, and I don’t think that’s quite fair. Now, Pack fans have always felt like the media is against them. I’ve heard it throughout my almost 35 years at WRAL and I’ve answered many a letter and irate phone call on the subject. When I was younger, it made me mad because I thought it was so unfair. Now I just laugh, because I know how silly it is. One day before I die I will get into all that.
But I will say this – I do feel that the N.C. State basketball coaching job is a better-than-good job. That’s my feeling. The facilities are top notch, and the RBC Center is as good an arena as any in the country. The commitment is there. I don’t think N.C. State basketball lacks for any resource that it needs.
I can understand why many were unhappy with Herb Sendek. He didn’t do a bad job. I have a friend who thinks Sendek was winning and competing and that his teams had a chance to win every night out. But I know where the fans who want more are coming from, and I understand those arguments. He had 10 years and he didn’t win any kind of championships. He did pad his record to 20-plus wins with a cupcake non-conference schedule, but he couldn’t win in his own backyard. I know that N.C. State fans want to win as badly as any fans around. They want to see their team win ACC titles and to make a run in the tournament.
Coach Sendek was getting to the NCAA Tournament, and five straight appearances were impressive, but the early exits weren’t. And he never had a season without double-figure losses. Sendek did a good job -- not great, but good. But was he going to take State to the next level? Maybe, but then again maybe not, and many vocal fans thought he wouldn’t. And whether somebody else can do better will be judged in the future.
N.C. State fans want to win big, and is that wrong? Of course it’s not. State fans can make an arena rock like no other. There is a tradition at State and that does matter. Still, the most memorable story I was ever a part of was State’s march to the 1983 NCAA Championship. People are always asking me the biggest story I ever covered and I’ve covered a lot of them, but to this day, I say it was 1983 and the Wolfpack’s amazing run to the National Championship.
No, a fan base shouldn’t be chastised because they want to win, or because they want their team to be the best. A coach should want his fans to feel the thrill or the pain, after victory or defeat, just like he does. He should want them to care.
Why has the job been so hard to fill? Has Lee Fowler done a good job? I felt he did initially when he went after Rick Barnes. But do you suppose he was really negotiating with Lavin and Beilein at the same time, and the first one to raise his hand would’ve gotten it? It’s hard to say what’s been going on, because none of us know the whole puzzle. Fowler is respected and until it’s over, fair people have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Has the Duke and Carolina thing scared off coaches? I would hope not. Mike Krzyzeswski sure wasn’t afraid to come in and battle Dean Smith in his heyday. And certainly Jim Valvano wasn’t afraid. Competitors -- and all coaches are -- aren't afraid of challenges. They relish them.
Has the fan base scared people off? Maybe, and maybe coaches believe that the environment is tough in Wolfpack land and they feel Herb Sendek was not treated fairly. It is tough and it was tough for Sendek, maybe more than it should have been, but it’s certainly a tough environment at Duke and Carolina and Connecticut and Kentucky and just about any other place that does well. You don’t think their fans want to win?
Really, the most important thing for N.C. State is to get what they think is the right man; someone who will come in and embrace the environment, someone who wants to tackle the challenge of the neighborhood and is prepared to give as good as he receives. They need energy and enthusiasm. They need someone who believes State is an oil field ready to be discovered. There is someone out there who wants the challenge to compete with the best. It’s up to State and Lee Fowler to find him, no matter how long it takes. Slow and steady and win the race.
