NC State Coaching Prospects...

Bill Cowher.

 

The first of those 2 UNC coaches was hired in the mid 60's, so I think it's a bit of a stretch to include him in the conversation. The second was really the only choice because of when Dean stepped down. Of course, if you don't think that he had the whole thing planned out - including Roy coming back - then you are fooling yourself.

Tubby was definitely an A-list guy at the time and Howland was considered one of the up and coming coaches out there. Just curious, but who would you have put as your A list guys when Tubby and Howland were hired?

 

You've got me confused now. He's refering to Gut and Doh. Those two had a combined 1 year in head coaching before Roy.

 

Right, but that was a matter of "keeping it in the family" as opposed to "who's the best coach out there?"

 

Funny Stuff Here. Interesting Comment On A-List Coaches Not usually "Beating down a Door" They Have good programs themselves Which means thers no reason to "beat down a door" Unless they are pissed at somebody in the department. They are "A List" for a reason.

That being Said John Calapari Approached State. Part Of the plan for Cal??, Possibly. To Say That Either He didn't struggle with the decision or just Played Them like a string fiddle is debateable . He Made A handshake deal with them. They thought they had him. Hes A List but To Say He just Laughed off the offer Isn't true I don't believe. I Also Heard that Barnes Was Actually Thinking Hard About it also. (When Dave Gleen Of the ACC sports journal says it you can about take it to the bank. Hes got sources everywhere) So Yes They Got turned down. Was it an easy decision for either......Not According to people in the know.

I guess the reason I bring this up is it seems that some on here think its a Crap Job with Dellusional Fans. I agree a little with the dellusional part But In this case we had 2 VERY VERY High Profile coaches think HARD about Coming. Very Few jobs would get that kind of attention, from The "A List"

UNC got very lucky. They Got Roy after the godfather left a horse head in his bed, so there NO WAY he says NO again. Most programs don't have that luxary.


Funny Stuff VP about running off Amato. That is a good post.

 

Crap. :banginghe

 

I'm not real big on the 'A-List' thing, but it's pretty clear who the best coaches in the country are, and it sounds like State has asked and been rejected by the majority they felt might make a move. I still say it's better to have asked than not.

 

Good article in the WSJ

Take It Easy: N.C. State basketball fans can relax; search for a coach is just about right on schedule
By John Delong
Journal Columnist
Saturday, April 15, 2006


N.C. State has been without a basketball coach since Herb Sendek left to take the Arizona State job April 3. Today marks the 13th day of State's search for Sendek's successor. Or, if you want to contend that State knew that Sendek was leaving a couple of days before he officially left, go ahead and call it 14 or 15 days.

If that seems like an eternity, it's not.

If that implies that State's search is dragging on, it shouldn't.

We live in a world in which resolutions are demanded now, now, now. That's why the microwave oven was invented, and that's why you might be reading this with a high-speed Internet connection, because dial-up is too slow.

But quick hires are rare in coaching searches.

Two weeks into its search, State is just now entering the time when schools often make their hires. Many coaching searches have lasted several weeks, and those hires have proven to be excellent.

Consider recent hires made in the ACC:

Virginia announced that Pete Gillen was stepping down March 14 last year and didn't hire Dave Leitao until April 16. That's a month and two days. Virginia got a pretty good coach.

Dave Odom left Wake Forest for South Carolina on April 10, 2001. Wake Forest hired Skip Prosser on April 25, two weeks and one day later. Wake Forest got a pretty good coach. Odom, by the way, was South Carolina's choice four weeks after Eddie Fogler's departure was announced, and Odom was hired after South Carolina had made public offers to Tubby Smith and Jim Calhoun.

For those who remember North Carolina striking quickly when Matt Doherty was run off and Roy Williams was hired three years ago, that wasn't exactly the case. Doherty resigned on April 1, 2003. Williams was hired on April 14.

North Carolina's search when Bill Guthridge retired also took longer than State's current search has taken. Guthridge made it official on June 30, 2000, and Doherty was hired on July 14. In between, North Carolina courted Williams and a handful of others, even flying Randy Wiel in from Spain for an interview.

Bobby Cremins announced that he would not return to Georgia Tech on Feb. 18, 2000. That was during the season, and there was no way to make a quick hire, of course, but Tech still didn't hire Paul Hewitt until April 5. Tech's season ended March 9.

And, remember, Sendek took the Arizona State job 24 days after Rob Evans was fired.

Les Robinson, the athletics director at The Citadel, has been following State's search with keen interest. He was head coach at State from 1990 through '96 - he was Sendek's predecessor - then served as athletics director until leaving for The Citadel in the summer of 2000.

He has talked to Lee Fowler, State's athletics director, as the search has continued.

The fact that State is coming up on two weeks, after striking out with Texas' Rick Barnes and Memphis' John Calipari, doesn't alarm him at all.

"Time is of no essence when hiring a coach," Robinson said yesterday. "And that's true whether you're at State or Wake Forest or Virginia Tech or anywhere else. When you're hiring a major sports coach, it takes time. You've got legal issues, and ethical issues. And sometimes there are coaches you wouldn't hire on a bet, but the AD's hands are tied and you have to make a run at them for appearances' sake.

"Any time you're making a major hire, all the fans and alumni and media are interested, so you're going to hear, 'Why do you take so long?' But you don't want to be pressured or coaxed into making a quick decision. Hiring a major sports coach is the most important decision an AD will ever make. It's all about getting the right person. So I've said to Lee, 'Relax, go cut your lawn, and just make sure you find the right guy. Don't worry about what you're going to say at the press conference. Worry about how the guy's going to be doing two years down the line.'"

Robinson was the athletics director when State fired Mike O'Cain and hired Chuck Amato as its football coach. O'Cain was fired on Nov. 24, 1999. Amato was hired on Jan. 6, 2000. Robinson is convinced that he made the right hire, even though the search took him into the next century.

Another example, Robinson pointed out, was the situation that Kentucky faced in 1989. Eddie Sutton resigned as basketball coach on March 19, under pressure. The search continued for more than two months until Rick Pitino was hired on June 1.

"People have forgotten how long it took Kentucky to hire Pitino," Robinson said. "I'm sure the Kentucky fans were panicking and saying things about C.M. Newton back then, but he waited and he got the right man. Pitino went on to win a national championship. And when you look back at it, it really didn't matter if it took four days or four months."

Fowler remains tight-lipped about potential candidates now that Barnes and Calipari are out of the picture.

For that reason, the names continuing to pop up are largely speculation, especially since many of the contacts are being made through intermediaries. Is Villanova's Jay Wright a genuine possibility, or just wishful thinking? Same with Marquette's Tom Crean. Is Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie on the radar, or more of a fallback?

Fowler knows, but only a few others really know.

Robinson contends that there are several out there who could fill the bill and succeed at State.

"It's not as tough a situation as some people want you to believe," Robinson said. "There are people out there that can get it done at State. This is the best shape the program's been in in years. They've got the facilities, and the academics, and they're competitive. It's tough because you've got Duke and Carolina so close, and they're having unparalleled success at the same time, but believe me, people exist that can come in and go up against them.

"The right coach is out there. It might not be Marilyn Monroe. It might not be the beauty queen that everyone loves at first. But give the guy two years, and all those people who are up in arms might wind up saying, 'Lee, you did a great job.'"

• John Delong can be reached at [email protected]

 

it would take jd 2 hours to read his article aloud.

 

Take Steve Alford...PLEASE!:banginghe