The facts: With the loss against Clemson, the Wolfpack’s chances of going to the NCAA Tournament are near- impossible.
Our opinion: It being the first year with a new coach, fans should understand this is a building year and support our team through it all, without the expectation of immediately bringing back the glory days.
With Saturday’s game slimming N.C. State’s chance at the NCAA Tournament, fans were met with the disappointment of yet another unsuccessful building year. However, Wolfpack fans should understand the improvement from last year and maintain a supportive attitude for next year.
A Pack Insider internet column addresses the Wolfpack fans with “Enough is enough,” describing N.C. State basketball fans as “worn down, worn out and a little insecure.” The column claims it is due to our basketball peak nearly 30 years ago—under Valvano and prior to time and financial investments in collegiate athletics—where now, the quality of skill and team work has been in a downward spiral ever since.
Our record at this point last year is the same as this year, which is to be expected with the challenges arising with a new coach, new team members and the expansion of the league. Gottfried’s first year as a member of the Wolfpack has been challenging, but one cannot expect him to pull out a miracle merely because fans are tired of explaining the building years. We cannot expect to immediately have a championship team because of a new coach; it is something we must work for.
Looking at Jim Valvano’s early days as a new coach at N.C. State, it took three seasons from when he was hired on to win the NCAA Championship. And looking at the career of Everett Case, basketball coach from 1946 to 1962 with a 73.78 percent winning record, the Wolfpack wasn’t able to obtain a championship nor enter a tournament until four years after his hire.
Merely because the odds are we will not make it to the tournament this year doesn’t give fans more ammunition to hate the team, the coach or even the athletics department. One season of improvement does not allow fans the right to be wishy-washy about their team—we’re not bandwagon UNC fans. We must move from the past successes and failures and look forward.
As a team, the Wolfpack needs to develop their communication on the court and working as a team in both defense and offensive settings. As a fan-base, we must understand the building years that come with a new coach, and look towards the undeniable improvement we will see next season.
