History always repeats itself. At this point in the road, the N.C. State basketball program is in a very similar predicament that faced the Carolina Tar Heels’ program back in 2002. The heels fired former head coach Matt Doherty after a rough three years and went looking for a coach to stabilize the program and bring it back to a national level.
It’s obvious that Sidney Lowe, the men’s basketball head coach, will not be returning next season. Lowe struggled adjusting to the college game and has been a complete disappointment in his five years here, garnering only a 70-62 record, 20-44 in the ACC.
Outside of a miracle, in the form of an ACC Tournament title and at least a Sweet 16 appearance, Athletics Director Debbie Yow will be busy searching for a new coach this spring to lead the basketball team.
And she will need to look long and hard to repeat what UNC Athletic Director Dick Baddour did when he hired Roy Williams.
Its unlikely we’ll get a coach as prestigious as Williams was back then, but Yow needs to follow the same plan Baddour did when he replaced Matt Doherty after three tumultuous years in Chapel Hill.
Doherty, like Lowe, wasn’t the first option for the head-coaching gig. After long-time Dean Smith assistant and eventual replacement Bill Guthridge retired, UNC went on looking for a replacement. They tried to lure George Karl and Larry Brown away from the NBA and even tried unsuccessfully at first to get Roy from Kansas. All those attempts failed and UNC was left scrambling for a coach that’s when it settled on Doherty.
The Lowe situation was exactly the same. After basically running former head coach Herb Sendek out of town, former Athletics Director Lee Fowler led a very publicized head coaching search that failed to net John Calipari, Steve Lavin or Rick Barnes, all main targets. After a month, Lowe, an assistant with the Detroit Pistons at the time, threw his name in the hat, hoping to save a little grace on the search out of the love he had for the University.
Both coaches excelled in their first year at the helm. Doherty’s team ended up being ranked No. 1 in the nation, finishing 26-7 on the season. Lowe’s wasn’t as great as Doherty’s, but he managed to win 20 games, garner the team an NIT berth and do what his predecessor couldn’t – beat UNC and Duke.
But in both cases, the first year turned out to be a fluke. The Pack struggled to get better, while Doherty directed the Heels to its first losing season since 1962. Doherty only lasted one more season, unlike Lowe who was given five, but both will end up suffering the same fate.
And don’t forget their final similarity. Both will have left teams that have the talent and abilities to contend for a title in the ACC. You can knock Lowe and Doherty all you want for their lack of coaching skills, but both men knew how to get basketball players to the school.
Doherty left Roy with three five-star players in Sean May, Rashad McCants and Raymond Felton. All three players helped lead the Heels to a National Championship title two years later. All three were Doherty recruits.
That hasn’t happened yet for the Pack, and this team may not have the talent to win the NCAA Title, but it does have the talent to contend for the ACC Title and make it to the NCAA Tournament. Once it makes it to the dance, who knows? Maybe we could witness another magical run like in 1983, only this team is lead not by Sid himself, but his players.
The main focus for this team must be to find a coach that can do what Williams did. State needs a coach who can succeed immediately and has the ability to get the most out of the players he has.
I know it sounds rash but N.C. State needs a coach like Roy Williams. I’m not saying the Pack needs the man himself and I’m definitely not advocating that State become like UNC, because it shouldn’t. N.C. State basketball has its own great legacy and history. It just needs a high-caliber coach to remind people.
