N.C. State’s coaching search is more secretive this time but is still starting to take on a familiar feel.

Last time, NCSU athletics director Lee Fowler was confident he could land a top coach, but John Calipari and others seemed to use the Wolfpack as a way to force larger contracts.

This time? You don’t get the sense the Wolfpack is drawing huge interest out there. Richmond coach Chris Mooney, mentioned as a possible target on this blog before the NCAA Tournament, got a 10-year extension. Jeff Goodman of Fox has tweeted that N.C. State “got the Heisman” from three potential candidates. And Seth Davis of CBS reported that Memphis coach Josh Pastner turned down an offer for more than $2 million.

That led N.C. State senior associate athletics director Chris Kingston to email some media members that State had not offered the job to anyone. “As those conversations have occurred, coaches have naturally inquired about the potential compensation commitment of State, as would occur in any type of job search,” Kingston wrote.

On Friday, Mark Armstrong of WTVD reported that Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall had told their sister station out there that it would take an “unbelievable offer” for him to leave Wichita. Remember, Marshall won big at Winthrop, but got no ACC attention, before winning at Wichita. Would the Shockers coach really turn down N.C. State? That’s hard to believe, frankly.

The News & Observer has mentioned Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin as a possibility, but the Cincinnati Enquirer has reported Cronin’s agent was scheduled to meet with the school’s athletics director. Obviously, Cronin could be looking for leverage.

That appears to leave Shaka Smart and … who else? But the larger question is, despite Smart’s amazing run, can he really win in the ACC? Debbie Yow said at the press conference to address the search that she valued someone who had won consistently. Two recent ACC hires, Steve Donahue at Boston College and Brad Brownlee at Clemson, fit that description. Smart has done a wonderful job this year but there is no guarantee it will continue. It appears to leave NCSU with dwindling options, which sounds familiar to Wolfpack fans.

The Sporting News is reporting that Arizona coach Sean Miller will not leave for N.C. State. Miller is a former Wolfpack assistant who is from Pennsylvania and played at Pittsburgh.

His brother, Archie, is one of his assistants at Arizona. Archie Miller is a former Wolfpack point guard from the Herb Sendek era.

By the way, Sean Miller and his wife do not have North Carolina ties. The couple met when they were in high school in Pennsylvania. They have three children.

One Arizona paper has dismissed speculation that Miller would leave, noting that he makes $2 million a year with the Wildcats and has an outstanding recruiting class on the way.

N.C. State fans lost faith in the program before the school’s administration did, and that’s one critical reason the school made a change Tuesday. Wins matter, athletics director Debbie Yow said, but wins are only part of the equation.

State averaged 13,779 per game this season, about 6,000 under capacity, and you could see hundreds of empty seats at many Wolfpack games. Yow, according to The News & Observer, said those unsold seats add up to between $3.5 and $4 million in lost revenue.

That means, of course, you have to make a change.

How N.C. State tried to couch that is a bit ironic. Even Yow, in a message to Wolfpack fans from the athletics department, refused to say Lowe was forced out.

“It is with mixed emotions that I share with you that Sidney Lowe has stepped down from his position as head men’s basketball coach,” Yow wrote. “Sidney is, and will always be, an important and valued member of the Wolfpack Family.”

He’s just not at the head of the table any more. And who will be? Yow said she keeps a list of names for potential coaches, and that list is “not long.” In fact, she said, the list is in single digits.

She made an interesting point about how certain coaches seem to win regardless of their level. And one coach to watch is Chris Mooney, a 1994 Princeton graduate who is having a great run at Richmond. Mooney, according to his bio, Has been a part of setting the school record for single-season wins at every stop in his playing and coaching career since high school. The Spiders’ 27-7 record is a school record for wins.

You can watch Sidney Lowe on the sidelines and know exactly why he won’t return as N.C. State’s head coach.

On any given possession, Lowe is out on the court yelling at his offense. Go here … cut there … watch this … It’s looks like Lowe’s players don’t know what to do, and Lowe is trying to coach one play at a time.

By comparison, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and UNC’s Roy Williams usually watch from their seats, trusting that their players are well-schooled enough to know what to do. Sure, Kryzewski and Williams get emotional, and that’s when the TV cameras catch them,  but if you really watch them, you’ll see that most o the time, they are watching attentively – not yelling.

UCLA’s John Wooden was like that, too. Wooden’s view was coaching was to be done during practice, and it was his job to prepare the players for the game. Once the game started, his role was essentially done. You didn’t see Wooden screaming on the sidelines – instead, he was famous for watching calmly with his rolled-up program in his hand.

By comparison, Lowe’s teams seem perpetually confused. And while you might think it’s unfair to compare Lowe to Krzyzewski, Williams and Wooden, the fact is other ACC coaches – Frank Haith, Tony Bennett, for example, and even Gary Williams – are much more composed on the sideline.

Whether Lowe simply hasn’t prepared the players, or they haven’t paid attention in practice, does not make any difference, since the outcome is the same. State seems poorly prepared for games, and Lowe is constantly trying to direct the team rather than let it flow.

That responsibility falls to him. Lowe’s tenure at N.C. State has not worked, and that’s too bad, but that’s the way it is.

One of the most gifted writers in the Triangle market is Dan Wiederer of The Fayetteville Observer, who covers the ACC for that newspaper. Wiederer had an excellent piece Wednesday morning that captured the sadness, and inevitability, of Sidney Lowe leaving N.C. State

Lowe is widely respected and appreciated by the media and fans, but the harsh fact is State just has not found a way to win. A loss in the first round of the ACC Tournament would put this Wolfpack below .500 for the season, and it is hard to see Lowe returning in those circumstances.

N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe was on the ACC teleconference Monday, and the only questions came from a writer for the league’s website. And that’s just the problem with Wolfpack basketball – it’s not relevant. Even the fans who go to the games – and you have to be impressed by their loyalty – aren’t engaged.

It is a given that State needs new energy in the program. Lowe’s biggest weakness as a coach is that, despite his love for the game and the program, he could never coax the best out of his players. It’s hard to see how he could be 30 games into this season and still wondering why his team didn’t play hard on defense.

That’s why State needs to make a bold move to resurrect its program, and why it should take a long look at Connecticut women’s coach Geno Auriemma. Auriemma flirted with going to the men’s game in 2006, when he had discussions with Oklahoma. He has  remained at UConn as the Huskies have produced the dominant women’s program in the country.

Auriemma has the talent, and temperament, to succeed at State. Wolfpack fans love it when their coaches stand up to the rivals at North Carolina and Duke, and you know Auriemma wouldn’t be intimated by the coaches there. He has a no-nonsense swagger to him that would play well in red.

Wolfpack athletics director Debbie Yow obviously knows him, and the nature of that relationship would be important. But the Wolfpack program is just listless and needs energy. It does not need a publicity stunt. What it needs is a seasoned coach who can come in, develop talent and lead players to wins.

Auriemma knows how to do that as well as anyone. He signed a five-year, $8 million contract with the school in 2008, but NCSU could easily match or exceed those dollars. One complicating factor would be that Auriemma will coach the U.S. women’s team in London in the 2012 Olympics.

But heck, what’s wrong with that?  Mike Krzyzewski certainly hasn’t slowed down despite his Olympic responsibilities.

N.C. State needs some fresh air. And Auriemma, who turns 57 March 23, may feel the time is right for a new challenge.  If so, the Wolfpack should give him a full hearing. It’s a risk, but so would any hire. We do know this – Auriemma knows the game, and he knows how to win.