The State of State

Well, NC State fans have gotten their wish and have run off the Willy Loman of the ACC, Herb Sendek. The predictable feeding frenzy that has followed has been humorous to watch. Here are some observations from this side of the fence.

Herb Sendek: Much has been made of Herb getting a raw deal at NC State, and there is some truth to that. All he did was take a moribund program reeling from the aftermath of probation and return it to respectability in the ACC, all the while graduating players and keeping his program squeaky clean. Further, he took his teams to five straight NCAA tournaments and to the NIT three more times, for a total of 8 trips to the post-season in his 10 years in Raleigh. As State's Tony Haynes says, Herb did what he was hired to do.

What he did not do, at least to the satisfaction of Wolfpack nation, was beat the other members of the Big Four enough. Sendek was a combined 15-53 against Wake Forest, Duke, and North Carolina, including back-to-back losses to the last-place Deacons this year. Moreover, the stoic, publicly dispassionate Sendek seemed to treat a Duke, Wake, or Carolina game as no more important than any other on the schedule. That may be true from a coaching standpoint, where each game is just one of 27, but it drove the fans bonkers.

This is not to say that Herb did not sow some of the seeds of discontent himself. He alienated many of the high school basketball coaches in the state, preferring to do his recruiting through AAU coaches. He is not a particularly camera-friendly person, nor does he have a quick quip or a warm smile that plays well on the barbecue-and-sweet-tea booster club circuit in the spring and fall. He was respectful of the university and its history, but never seemed passionate enough to please the masses.

He was also aloof and bookish, leading some to think of him as snobby and stubborn. He clung fiercely to his "Prince-State" offense and peppered his non-conference schedule with patsies that raised the record not not necessarily the level of play for conference time.

But let's cut to the chase - throw Duke and Wake out the window - what did in Herb Sendek with the fans was his inability to beat North Carolina on a consistent basis. Sendek was 0-6 against Roy Williams, and the Pack's lackluster performance against a rebuilding Carolina at the RBC center this year just seemed to seal the deal. Moreover, and what cut State fans to the quick, was that he just didn't seem to CARE!

So Sendek pulled the rip cord, jumped to Arizona State for more dollars and someplace where 5 NCAA tournaments would be celebrated. It truly was a win-win in that State fans weren't truly happy with Sendek and he, in turn, could go somewhere warm and make more money.

The Successors. The public, but unofficial courtship of Rick Barnes has almost been comedic over the past week. The biggest attraction of Barnes for NC State fans, as near as I can tell are (in reverse order): 1. He once coached in the ACC, 2. He's from North Carolina, and 3. He once told Dean Smith to stick it in his ear. But Barnes has it good, and no matter ow much money State throws at Barnes, Texas' pockets are deeper; plus, as much money as Mack Brown makes, Barnes will never have to worry about making more than the football coach.

What State fans fail to realize is that whoever they choose will not just be the #3 coach in the ACC, they'll be the #3 coach in their own area code. It's a thankless job, and someone who has it good, like Jay Wright or John Calipari, would probably think twice about jumping into a situation where you have to duke it out with Roy and K before you even square off with another coach with a ring, Gary Williams, or young hotshots like Dave Leitao and Paul Hewitt.

The word is that "State will not have to go to their B-List". If that's the case, they'd better have 10-15 names on their A-List.

The "Tradition". NC State is an interesting study in the history of college basketball. The father of ACC basketball, Everett Case, was at State, and one of the five greatest college basketball players ever, David Thompson, played for the Pack. But most often State basketball is best remembered for the ultimate Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament, winning the title on the ultimate Cinderella play.

But beyond those three things, State basketball has a spotty tradition, more rich and colorful than it is successful. State has 10 ACC tournament championships, but five of those were in the first 11 years of the league, and none since 1987. And the last two - 1983 and 1987 - must be considered upsets. The Pack won a pair of regular season titles during the David Thompson years, but have won only two in the 30 years since, with the last of those in 1989. Since that time, in addition to Duke and UNC, Maryland, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, and even Clemson have won the ACC regular-season crown.

On a national stage, State stacks up less with the Carolinas and Dukes, Indianas and Kentuckys of the world and more with the Oklahoma States, Louisvilles, and Utahs. Any commentator over the past week and a half will tell you that State has won two national titles, but they neglect to say that the Pack has been to only three Final Fours. Arkansas, by contrast, has only won one title but been to 6 Final Fours. Utah has one title in 4 trips. Louisville has 2 titles in 5 chances and Oklahoma State has 2 titles in six visits to the Final Four. And all of those schools have been since State last went in 1983. In its own league, both Georgia Tech and Maryland have been to multiple Final Fours (with the Terps winning an NCAA title) since State last sniffed the Elite Eight, much less the Final Four.

State fans are clamoring for Wolfpack basketball to be relevant again, and I don't blame them. But the glory days are past, and venerable old NC State has been passed by old conference rivals and while State should aim for the highest, whoever takes that job should realize that the school of the "Grey Fox" has since become the old grey mare.