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Gottfried tries to avoid the Yow-Williams rift

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New N.C. State basketball coach Mark Gottfried is trying to avoid the now infamous rift between State AD Debbie Yow and Maryland coach Gary Williams. Yow publicly announced during the Gottfried press conference than Williams had tried to sabotage the search for a coach to replace Sidney Lowe.

“Let me say this, Gary Williams is a good friend, we have played golf together many times, and he is just a phenomenal, phenomenal basketball coach. For whatever reason there have been some issues between the two of them,” Gottfried said. “That’s not my fight to fight.”

Gottfried said that Yow wants to win. “She wants people to understand that she doesn’t want to back down from anybody either. I’ve told many people that if she’s going to play in the game I want her on my team,” he said.

“I don’t know that the other thing going on has anything to do with me but I’m glad she’s the kind of person that wants to do right for her own program,” he added.

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

New Wolfpack coach says State is hungry for NCAA tournament

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New N.C. State basketball coach Mark Gottfried said today that his main goal is to get the Wolfpack back in the NCAA tournament on a regular basis.

“(This is) no knock on Sidney (Lowe) because I think he is obviously a great basketball guy, but we haven’t won here a lot in the last few years,” Gottfried said during an Atlanta radio interview. “These players are hungry to win, fans are hungry to win, and there’s a group of guys here that want to play in the NCAA Tournament, the greatest show on Earth.”

State hasn’t exactly been a threat in games against North Carolina and Duke either and Gottfried, the former Alabama coach, understands that the Pack needs to win some of those games. “We’re not backing down from anybody, but the goal here is to get involved in what I think is the greatest tournament of all-time, which is the tournament,” he said. “If you get in the tournament you have a chance to do something special. But you have to get in the tournament. That’s the goal, that’s the first step is to find a way where you got a chance then to compete.”

Gottfried said the State has some good young players but, trying hard not to disrespect Lowe, he said they are not a confident team. “He (Lowe) did a nice job of assembling some good players here, but they’re not a confident group right now. Winning breeds confidence and success is what gives you confidence. They need that. They need something to believe in.”

Gottfried has met with players and says he really likes them and their honesty. Still, he said they need to add some pieces to the current roster.

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

N.C. State search appears unfortunately familiar

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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.

Featured stories, The skinny

Former Wake coach says certain ACC teams need to be strong

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Former Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom, speaking before the Raleigh Sports Club today, said that there are six teams that need to be strong most every year in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

He said in much the same way that it helps the NBA for the Celtics and Lakers to be strong, college basketball and the ACC needs North Carolina, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Virginia and Maryland to be good.

“The Atlantic Coast Conference in men’s basketball cannot be what it has always been unless those six teams – at least five of ’em – are good,” Odom said. “The rest of ’em, they can come and they can go.”

He said not all those six teams have been strong. when you look at the acc the past couple of years, that has not been true. have to get back to that. He said that those teams have to have solid coaching. He said that he believes Wake’s Jeff Bzdelik can get it done.

“He’s a fine person and an excellent coach,” Odam said. “He’s got to get some players and he has to get people back in the stands.”

He said the new coach at State will have to get more fans at the games. “You’ve got to buy those tickets at NC State,” he said. “You gotta be there come heck or high water. I can’t tell you how important that is to the coach, the institution, the Atlantic Coast Conference and even basketball at the national level.”

Odom compiled a career head coaching record of 406-278 record including a 240-132 mark at Wake Forest from 1989-2001. He won two ACC titles and led the Demon Deacons to eight NCAA Tournament appearances.

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

UNC fans, regarding Stilman White, don’t over-expect

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As Andy Griffith might say, “don’t over-expect” when it comes to the impact UNC basketball recruit Stilman White will have next year.

After Larry Drew II left the Carolina program, a scholarship opened and a need arose. As a result, UNC coach Roy Williams offered Wilmington Hoggard senior Stilman White a scholarship to back-up starting point guard Kendall Marshall.

Tuesday night, White called Williams to accept the offer.

White is only 6-foot, 170 pounds but word is that he is quick and pushes the ball up the floor quickly. The problem is, unlike Justin Knox who came to Carolina after playing for Alabama, White will be an inexperienced freshman. Knox filled in admirably for the departed Wear brothers, who bolted for UCLA. White will be expected to be able to do the same for the departed Drew II, who also bolted for UCLA.

Freshman guards who make an impact are fairly rare anyway but it would certainly be rare for a point guard who was choosing between BYU, Utah State and UNC-Wilmington to make an impact.

White will only play one year before taking a two-year Mormon mission. He’ll be back for the 2014-2015 season. He could eventually end up being a valuable member of the Tar Heels, and he may do an acceptable job next season, but don’t over-expect.

Here are his stats from last season:
20.5 points a game over 26 games played
Field goal percentage was 50.6
Three-point percentage was 35.9 (37 of 103)
Free throw percentage was 79.2 (145 of 183)
Three assists per game
2.6 turnovers per game
4.5 rebounds a game
20 blocked shots
54 steals

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

Lessons from 2009 could affect current Heels

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You couldn’t help but watch North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament and think, Wow, this team could be really good next year. And Roy Williams’ comment s after the Kentucky game about how UNC should remember that feeling remind you of the process the Tar Heels endured before the 2009 NCAA title.

There are really three paths for top collegiate teams. One is to stuff your roster with NBA talent and hope you make a lightning run through the tournament. That’s basically John Calipari’s approach – it doesn’t matter if Derrick Rose or John Wall turn pro because you’ll bring in another hired gun anyway.

The other way is the one you see more often in sports. Generally, contenders learn hard lessons along the road to titles, and determined players push further each year until finally winning a championship.

The Chicago Bulls, with Michael Jordan, were the perfect example of a team that stumbled in the playoffs in the early years before continuing to add pieces and improve. Once they broke through, they rolled to six NBA titles.

Carolina endured the same process with Tyler Hansbrough. The Tar Heels suffered a brutal loss to Georgetown in the 2007 regional finals but reached the Final Four in 2008. That Final Four appearance ended abruptly with a horrible performance against Kansas.

But Carolina’s key players all returned and UNC reaped a decisive national title in 2009.

UNC is going through the same process now. The Kentucky loss was difficult, but the Wildcats made shots with the game on the line and earned the win. Carolina will return intact next season if Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson return, and two key recruits also arrive. There are never any guarantees of national titles – just ask Carolina’s 1994 team – but UNC clearly would enter the upcoming season as the favorite.

Turning pro tends to be an individual decision. Gerald Henderson left a Duke team that went on to win the NCAA title, even though you knew that with Henderson the Blue Devils were a title contender. Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace abandoned UNC after one Final Four appearance.

One of the rites of spring in the Triangle is that players turn pro. All throughout the winter, the top ACC players profess loyalty to their team and say they want to stay in school and earn their degree. Then the season ends, the weather turns warm and they start thinking, Wow, I could be rich. So you learn over time to listen to what they say during the season and shrug.

But this Carolina team, and the players on it, appear different. And they also have a clear example of what staying in school can mean from their predecessors in 2009. Of all the gifts that Hansbrough gave UNC, perhaps the most was his zeal for enjoying the college experience. Barnes and Zeller and Henson may turn pro anyway, but that 2009 team set a clear example about the benefits of staying on track, and what that can mean for a career.

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

Drew II enrolls at UCLA to play one season with Bruins

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Larry Drew II, who left the UNC basketball program shortly after losing his starting position to Kendall Marshall, has enrolled at UCLA and will play for the Bruins for one season after sitting out next year.

“We are very excited about the addition of Larry Drew II to our program,” UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland said in a statement from the university. “He is an outstanding player and a really good kid. He is a great person and I think that he will be a great player for the Bruins in his final season of eligibility.”

Drew averaged 4.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists over 21 games this season for the Tar Heels.

Earlier this month, Drew sang at his birthday party in California putting down the Tar Heels but now he’s being more diplomatic.

“It feels great to be back home,” Drew said in a statement today. “I had a great learning experience at North Carolina and they taught me a lot. I’m looking forward to getting a fresh start at UCLA and I’m happy to be a Bruin. Next year will give me time to focus on my academics and of course, train with the team.”

By the way, this is what is being reported that Drew sang at his party:
“Everything that I’m hearing is untrue. The media? They talking but they never confront you.
I mean the last three years I can’t undo, but now I’m making all the moves I want to.
Pick & rolls, I’m crossing [expletive]. Just felt like I got more game than my height showed.
They tried to tell me just to play my role, but who’s really trying to stick to a script that’s filled with typos?
Like a horror flick, they made me out to be a monster. [expletive] [expletive], I should have won an Oscar.
It ain’t over ’til the fat lady sing, right? I brought the whole opera.
It’s like Biggie, ‘who shot ya?’ But who who shot them? I’m so not them, but in the end I think that’s what really shocked them.
I refuse to be another robot, slim.”

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

UNC baseball player takes national player of the week honors

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NEWS RELEASE – Freshman Colin Moran was named a National Player of the Week by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Monday for his effort in North Carolina’s 5-0 week. Moran finished the five game stretch with four home runs and 13 RBI for the Tar Heels.

Moran started the week with the best single-game performance of his career going 3-for-4 with a run scored a six RBI in the 14-2 win over UNC Wilmington. The freshman third baseman connected on a triple and a two-run home run in the rout.

The Rye, N.Y., native blasted another two-run home run in the 4-0 win over High Point on Wednesday before scoring and driving in a run in Friday’s 8-5 win over rival Duke.

Moran went deep again on Saturday when he drove in the game-winning run against Duke with a solo home run in the sixth inning. Moran finished Saturday’s game with a season-high three runs scored.

Moran capped off the weekend in style on Sunday when he connected on a game-tying three-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth against the Blue Devils. The home run capped off a day that saw Moran tally a pair of doubles, score two runs and drive in three more.

For the week Moran hit .529 (9-17) with eight runs, 13 RBI, 25 total bases and slugged a remarkable 1.471. Moran also drew five walks, including two intentional free passes, and reached base at a .636 clip.