On Thursday night, I went with my wife, Julie, to see Cirque du Soleil at the RBC Center, which was a most marvelous and entertaining production. I ran into an old friend who’s a lifelong N.C. State fan, and we got to talking about the coaching situation. His assessment was, “I wish they’d just give it to Dereck Whittenburg and take our chances.” I was wondering what other Pack fans are thinking.
It’s been about two weeks since Herb Sendek decided to leave for Arizona State, and since his departure, N.C. State has gone through the very public courtships and rejections of first Rick Barnes of Texas and then John Calipari of Memphis. Since word leaked out Tuesday that Calipari was staying put, it’s grown somewhat quiet on the coaching search front, with a lot of names tossed out.
It appears that John Brady of LSU will stay put, if you believe what he’s been saying this week. I think that is good for State, because I don’t think he would be the right man for this job. His athletic director also said this week that if State offers him $2 million, then he should take it. I don’t think John will be getting the big $2 million.
I always thought Jay Wright of Villanova would be a great candidate. He’s young and energetic, but Wright has said he’s happy at Villanova, where he signed a seven-year contract extension back in February. He told the Philadelphia Inquirer this week, “I’m very flattered in N.C. State’s interest. But I feel like I have the best job in college basketball.”
You know former State Player Nate McMillan’s not coming. Even if he wanted to, it’s been reported he doesn’t have his degree, and that rules him out. It’s like, “All right men, make sure you go to class, it’s very important to graduate.” The players say, “But coach, why should we go? You didn’t and gee, you turned out well.” You can see why that matters.
The names out there are familiar ones. Would State have a chance at luring away Tom Crean from Marquette? He makes a reported $1.7 million and he did recruit Dwyane Wade. But would he come?
I’ve heard State fans mention West Virginia’s John Beilein. He’s done a nice job there, but he runs a version of the Sendek offense and we know how well that went over here with some vocal fans.
The A-list is not very large….and who exactly is A-list?
A coach who’s impressed me is Billy Gillispie at Texas A&M. He has the reputation as a good recruiter. His teams are well prepared and they play tough and aren’t intimidated. It’s not easy to win at Texas A&M, and Gillispie has a 43-19 two year record.
Greg Marshall of Winthrop also is intriguing. I saw his Winthrop team almost upset Tennessee in the NCAA tournament and he’s built Winthrop into one of the top mid-majors in the country.
Now Miami’s Frank Haith is reportedly set to sign a contract extension at Miami, but he keeps being mentioned. He’s only been at Miami two years with the record of 34-29. He’s got the reputation as a good recruiter. But really, should State raid a conference school, and shouldn’t N.C State’s head coach have more than two years experience?
You know the other names: Larranaga, Bobby Lutz at Charlotte. I don’t think Mike Brey of Notre Dame would come because of his Duke ties, but you never know.
And what about Dereck Whittenburg? He was a heck of a player for the Pack. If he hadn’t come back from the foot injury, State would have never won the NCAA Championship. And he’s one of Coach V’s guys. Does that make a difference? He’s run two programs (Wagner and Fordham) as a head coach.
Now that the big guys Barnes and Calipari are out of the picture, getting the right coach is better than rushing to get any coach.
Pack fans, I don’t think Pitino and Bob Knight (would you really want him anyway?) or Tubby Smith are coming. What should State do and what would make the fan base happy? And in your heart of hearts can State compete with Carolina and State? I think they can, but it will take the right man at the right time.
