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April 1, 2006
The Dipshits Just to Our East
As a group, NC State basketball fans are so stupid it is almost mind boggling. Herb Sendek took over a program circling the drain, with almost no residual recruiting power (at least as power is defined in the hallowed halls of Duke and UNC). In his tenure there, he has steadily built a team that is in the top 30, without even a whiff of NCAA violations. To compensate for his lack of recruiting power, he crafted a thinking man's game that occasionally frustrated even Duke and UNC at the height of their game. And the trajectory over time has been, and continues to be, consistently and clearly positive. A few recent setbacks do not change that.
Did the State fans see this? Of course not. They have hated the self-effacing little professor virtually from the day he arrived, mostly because he is what he is, and not an over the top Joey Buttafuco-like buffoon (I refer here of course to a local ACC football coach, who strangely continues to steal the same fans' hearts). Their criticism of Sendek has been relentless, merciless, usually off point and rooted in delusional memories of a halcyon historical era in Pack basketball that never was.
Tonight, ESPN is reporting that Herb has had enough: he is off to sandier pastures at Arizona State. The pack will recruit another coach (though it won't be easy to get someone half as good as Sendek: sitting right down the road from Duke and UNC is not as plum a position as the fans seem to think). Maybe this new guy's arrival will be accompanied by a little run. This is not uncommon (remember Matt Dougherty or Quinn Snyder?). But it will not last (remember Matt Dougherty or Quinn Snyder?).
Will State fans then realize their incredible stupidity? No. They will probably be too busy mythologizing the Sendek era, and blaming anyone but themselves for his departure.
God, I love being a Carolina fan. I imagine that similar sentiments prevail down on Ninth Street.
Update: CNNSI's Seth Davis posts the following:
INDIANAPOLIS -- North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek has accepted an offer to become the coach at Arizona State, according to two sources close to Sendek.
Sendek was very upset at the criticism he received this season despite guiding N.C. State to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
"I spoke to him a few days ago and it's as low as I've ever heard him," said one same source.
Herb deserved better than this.
Another Update: By way of evidence of what a fairy tale Pack fans are living, on a local sportscaster's blog, one post offers the following:
I thank NCSU could get Tubby Smith from KY, Rick Pitino from Louisville. or Bob Huggins. These coaches would love to coach in the ACC against Roy and Coach K. NCSU needs to open the bank up and get a high profile coach.
Are you kidding me? It would be cheaper for the US to finish off the Iraqi insurgency than State to lure in the likes of Tubby. They just don't get it: State was lucky to keep Sendek this long, given the poisonous atmosphere there. Oh, and if you still aren't convinced, this guy doesn't even realize that Huggins just signed somewhere.
Yet Another Update: As the irate State fan below pointed out, it is Matt Doherty and Quin Snyder. Just think, if spelling were an ACC sport State might actually get an occasional win over Carolina!
Posted by dag at April 1, 2006 8:36 PM
Comments
I am a State alum and fan who has mixed feeling about Herb. I think most fans realized that he would never produce better than pretty good teams, and many alums still pine for the glory days of old. Mostly, I think that it was the right time for him to leave, sort of like when Odom left Wake Forest. Odom did nothing wrong, but both the school and coach felt like a change.
And by the way, dipshit to the west, you might want to go to take a spelling lesson - it's Matt Doherty and Quin Snyder. And UNC refers to a system of several schools - not just one in Chapel Hill.
Posted by: Patrick Eakes at April 1, 2006 9:48 PM
Two responses:
1. The spelling: OK, you've got me.
2. For basketball purposes, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is widely referred to as UNC.
Under either guise, we will crush you on the hardwood next season. Enjoy football while it lasts.
By the way, what glory days of old? State has never maintained the fairly unbroken dominance of Duke or UNC in the past few decades (in the case of Duke this particularly refers to the K era). There were a few good years here or there, I grant you that, but not consistent dominance.
Posted by: dag at April 1, 2006 10:10 PM
You two are sick. You sound like you hate each other over this. Its just a game.
Posted by: Melody at April 1, 2006 10:26 PM
Melody: Welcome to the ACC. Welcome to the Triangle. If you think this is bad, you should see Carolina fans versus Dook fans. Basketball is war here, and in that vein we do hate each other.
But only in that vein.
Posted by: dag at April 1, 2006 10:28 PM
carolina fan spewing dipshit is a little weak on ACC history, State totally dominated the conference from its beginning. Norm Sloan and Jimmy V had solid winning records against Duke, and had competitive, (though not winning) records against UNC. Move the clock ahead 20 years, with the Tar Heels, going 8-38 against Duke and State as Herb has done with UNC/Duke, what would UNC fans do? I could get a seat at the Dean Dome for 50 cents and a bag of peanuts!!Caroina fans are the all-time front-runner, seat-leavers!
Posted by: geoff at April 2, 2006 11:20 PM
Spewing dipshit?
As for the historical power of State, well certainly if you reach back as far as the time of the Roman Empire, you find some period of steady Pack dominance. My guess is that you won't actually have to go all the way back to the Roman Republican era.
State has had good years, but nowhere near the sustained dominance of Duke or, especially, UNC.
Jimmy V.? He was uneven at best and the program had a really seedy angle under him. Go to any of the online discussions of Herb's departure and you'll see that many of your fellow Pack fans are saying this.
Sloan was more consistent, but still no Dean Smith or Coach K.
The ultimate problem State faces is that it just doesn't have the brand name to recruit like Carolina and Duke: that was true before Sendek, and became a little less true on his watch. State fans want something now, but that kind of brand name takes time (it took Carolina a long time). Look, I know you guys see yourselves as historical co-equals with Carolina on the ACC basketball scene, but no one outside of the Pack fan base really sees that. Basically, you guys are like a Corvette among Ferraris: not too shabby, but certainly not Ferraris. You could become Ferraris (and I think gradually were: there are lot of subtle but important indicators of progress), but that requires the two things Sendek's critics evidently do not have: patience and discipline.
Posted by: dag at April 3, 2006 11:00 AM
Look, the truth of the matter is I am a die-hard Tarheel fan. In the Nineties, I simply did not fear State. This years games not withstanding, my concern over them steadily grew through the Sendek era. I truly believed that with steady and solid growth trend over time under Sendek, as well the inevitable departure of K from the scene, State would eventually become the biggest challenge to Roy's reign.
I am no longer anywhere near as concerned about that. You guys will be fighting just to make the NIT in a few years.
You hated Sendek's offensive system, but that was a brilliant choice on his part: it helped with the talent imbalance between State and opponents like UNC and Duke. And do you know why there was such an imbalance to begin with? State does not, and did not before Sendek, have the brand name to graze where Carolina and Duke do recruiting wise.
Posted by: dag at April 3, 2006 11:14 AM