Looks like Sidney Lowe will be State's new basketball coach. I don't know much about him as a coach, since that would be asking me to have more than just a passing interest in the NBA, but I like that he has a connection to the University. I also like him a lot more than a lot of the other names that were tossed around after Barnes turned us down.
As an assistant with the Detriot Pistons, I know he's not going to emphasize flash over substance. That will keep the Herb fans happy. It also means he was on the coaching staff for a championship team as well as having played on one. That will make the "get us a proven winner" camp happy. I expect a down year or three, which I'm willing to accept for what will almost assuredly be a better brand of basketball in the long run.
Go State!
Thursday, May 4, 2006
Monday, April 3, 2006
no herb garden
The Herb thing. I'm happy for everyone involved. Sendek gets to go where he will have more success than he was capable of here. So Sendek wins, and his supporters will get to fire off a self-righteous "I told you so." Those of us who knew better win because Sendek is out of the picture. NC State wins because they didn't have to fire a guy who was marginally successful and really a nice guy. Sportswriters win because they get to talk about how horribly we treated poor Herb, therefore getting to write about something other than the first games of baseball's meaningless 850-game regular season.
The only way everyone doesn't win is if we manage to take a huge step down with a new coach. I'm very nervous and very excited to hear who a new coach would be.
The only way everyone doesn't win is if we manage to take a huge step down with a new coach. I'm very nervous and very excited to hear who a new coach would be.
Friday, March 24, 2006
...the Bible(along with the context in which it was written) tells me so
I think this is a great idea. First because it's an elective, so no one is being forced to do anything. So long as that remains the case, I wouldn't have too many problems with it being a full-on worship service.
But the really great thing about it is the fact that they'll be looking at the history of the Bible as well as the context in which it was written. I would have loved to have a class like that in my high school. I mean, Library Aid was a great elective and allowed Peter Bosman and myself to take countless Seventeen Magazine quizzes with Mrs. Covington, but I would have much rather been learning some important things about the book upon which so much of my faith is based.
Seriously. If more high schoolers had access to this kind of learning, maybe guys like Pat Robertson and James Dobson wouldn't have such a huge following. And that could only be good for Christianity and the world.
But the really great thing about it is the fact that they'll be looking at the history of the Bible as well as the context in which it was written. I would have loved to have a class like that in my high school. I mean, Library Aid was a great elective and allowed Peter Bosman and myself to take countless Seventeen Magazine quizzes with Mrs. Covington, but I would have much rather been learning some important things about the book upon which so much of my faith is based.
Seriously. If more high schoolers had access to this kind of learning, maybe guys like Pat Robertson and James Dobson wouldn't have such a huge following. And that could only be good for Christianity and the world.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
for the rest of you
Here are two questions that people that have no ties to NC State basketball might have:
1. Why would they fire Herb Sendek?
2. Why would they give Herb Sendek a parade?
That's about where people stand on our basketball coach.
Herb has his supporters. They see steady improvement. They think they owe him eternal gratitude for rescuing our beloved team from the Les Robinson era. They see decent recruiting. They see that Herb won ACC Coach of the Year once. They see 5 straight trips to the Big Dance. They see NC State in the top 25 more and more consistently. They see success, and they don't see how anyone could say otherwise. They have their points.
Then there are those who would rather see Herb move along. They see talented teams collapse in the final minutes of close games. They see a boring offense that relies on 3-pointers which routinely goes on scoring droughts. They see early exits from the NCAA tourney. They see a collection of embarrassing losses. They see that in 10 years Sendek has managed to beat Duke and Carolina 8 times, with a majority of those wins being at Carolina's expense during some of their darkest seasons. They see Atsur as next season's leader and tremble. They see a team that's better than bad, but still not good. They see "close, but no cigar" stamped on our beloved team. And they have their points.
I tend to side with the second group. Herb needs a change of scenery and NC State needs a basketball coach that can get them past the wall they currently are running up against. Where some see 20 win seasons, I'm looking at seasons with no quality wins. State has, under Sendek, netted 3 wins that are in any way memorable.
1. Last year's win that put us in Herb's only Sweet Sixteen.
2. A win one season before that over Duke that seemed to cement our status as a contender. Little did I know...
3. A win against then #1 UNC at the Dean Dome by a going nowhere NC State team in the 1997-1998 season, one of the highlights of my freshman year.
That's it. Each of those wins seem like distant memories when watching games like NC State vs. Iowa from earlier this year(the absolute worst event in the history of contested sport).
There are rumblings from the optimistic, though, that we should give Herb a big fat party. I've read on message boards and blogs that people are actually trying to put together a march of some sort to support the keeping of Sendek as head coach. A man whose greatest basketball achievement is one visit to the round of 16.
No matter who gets their way here, we're crazy.
I understand that Sendek isn't going anywhere. I understand that he'll be around next year, coaching a team that hoists up 3-pointers, doesn't rebound, and collapses hardest when the most is at stake. He'll do well enough for people to think I'm crazy to want him gone, but poorly enough for me to stay resolved in my assertion that we need a new coach and a new system. And I understand that next year around this time, the fans of NC State will be having the same "Should he stay or should he go" argument while 16 other teams prepare for some actual basketball.
All I have is to silently hope that Sendek is tempted by one of the upcoming college ball coaching slots. That, and to hope that a replacement would actually bring improvement.
March. Madness.
1. Why would they fire Herb Sendek?
2. Why would they give Herb Sendek a parade?
That's about where people stand on our basketball coach.
Herb has his supporters. They see steady improvement. They think they owe him eternal gratitude for rescuing our beloved team from the Les Robinson era. They see decent recruiting. They see that Herb won ACC Coach of the Year once. They see 5 straight trips to the Big Dance. They see NC State in the top 25 more and more consistently. They see success, and they don't see how anyone could say otherwise. They have their points.
Then there are those who would rather see Herb move along. They see talented teams collapse in the final minutes of close games. They see a boring offense that relies on 3-pointers which routinely goes on scoring droughts. They see early exits from the NCAA tourney. They see a collection of embarrassing losses. They see that in 10 years Sendek has managed to beat Duke and Carolina 8 times, with a majority of those wins being at Carolina's expense during some of their darkest seasons. They see Atsur as next season's leader and tremble. They see a team that's better than bad, but still not good. They see "close, but no cigar" stamped on our beloved team. And they have their points.
I tend to side with the second group. Herb needs a change of scenery and NC State needs a basketball coach that can get them past the wall they currently are running up against. Where some see 20 win seasons, I'm looking at seasons with no quality wins. State has, under Sendek, netted 3 wins that are in any way memorable.
1. Last year's win that put us in Herb's only Sweet Sixteen.
2. A win one season before that over Duke that seemed to cement our status as a contender. Little did I know...
3. A win against then #1 UNC at the Dean Dome by a going nowhere NC State team in the 1997-1998 season, one of the highlights of my freshman year.
That's it. Each of those wins seem like distant memories when watching games like NC State vs. Iowa from earlier this year(the absolute worst event in the history of contested sport).
There are rumblings from the optimistic, though, that we should give Herb a big fat party. I've read on message boards and blogs that people are actually trying to put together a march of some sort to support the keeping of Sendek as head coach. A man whose greatest basketball achievement is one visit to the round of 16.
No matter who gets their way here, we're crazy.
I understand that Sendek isn't going anywhere. I understand that he'll be around next year, coaching a team that hoists up 3-pointers, doesn't rebound, and collapses hardest when the most is at stake. He'll do well enough for people to think I'm crazy to want him gone, but poorly enough for me to stay resolved in my assertion that we need a new coach and a new system. And I understand that next year around this time, the fans of NC State will be having the same "Should he stay or should he go" argument while 16 other teams prepare for some actual basketball.
All I have is to silently hope that Sendek is tempted by one of the upcoming college ball coaching slots. That, and to hope that a replacement would actually bring improvement.
March. Madness.
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