This past Friday morning in the News & Observer, J.P. Giglio ran a piece entitled "Lowe, Fowler Envision Progress". Fowler's words in this article were very complimentary of Coach Lowe and of the direction that the basketball program is heading.
"He and Fowler are on the same page.
"There's no ultimatum that he has to make the [NCAA] tournament to keep his job," Fowler said Thursday. "The main thing is to make progress. Like he does, I feel like the program is headed in the right direction."
Fowler said he hasn't put any kind of timeline on Lowe, whose contract runs through the 2012-13 season. Fowler said both sides understand the expectations at a school that has won two national titles and shares a backyard with national powers North Carolina and Duke.
"We should finish in the top half of the league, at the minimum, and get to the tournament every year," Fowler said. "I think with the great class he's bringing in, we're going to have a great chance to do that, if not this year, then in the near future."
Sunday, June 21, 2009
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15 Responses to "Fowler And Lowe On Same Page"Those are mediocre expectations. I don’t know if they are trying to temper other peoples (the fan base and BOT’s) prospects but if history has any word in this then I’d say for Fowlers sake… it’s the same song and dance.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m excited about this year but why not set some solid goals for yourself? Have solid goals within the realm of this year. You’ve gotta believe and win baby!
Those are not mediocre expectations. I can see how you may feel that way but that is nothing to turn your nose up at. I aint saying I don't expect and want to win a championship but you have to make the tourney in order to do that. I think we all know that if Sid gets the right pieces together then his team will be very good in a tourney setting but you have to get there first.
I for one am thankful that Lee did this because we have all types of idiot reporters out there asking recruits about Lowe's hot seat. That statement sure can't hurt recruiting.
thank you robpack. well said.
-JerseyWOLF
Fair enough. I just think something more concrete should have been in store is all. Something to the effect of:
10-8
Or
9-9 and win 2 in the ACC Tourney
Win 3 (out of conference) games
Win all of your cup-cakes
The only way to get somewhere is to know where you’re going. If you don’t tell your internal compass a direction then it stays still or settles for mediocrity. If you have a goal or a vision, it is then your job to communicate that goal or vision to everyone else: assistant coaches, players, the Board of Trusties, your superior and the fan base. Further more, if that goal or vision is not clear, than it doesn’t matter how good a communicator you are-the job will be accomplished in an unclear fashion.
If Lowe manages to do this and motivates his assistant coaches and his players, then I believe-much the same why I do with O’Brien-that he and only he is the one who made this happen.
It’s just my opinion; it my not be popular here… but it’s just my opinion.
^ The Pack is on the right track and is taking the necessary steps to becoming a force in this conference. Lowe has a plan, and Folwer knows that plan. You have to wait for a plan to be executed before you can judge whether it worked or not.
I suppose I'm basing this on what was said. So if behind closed doors they have a better plan than what was disclosed in that article then so be it.
I will wait for said execution to take place. One on the other hand could always go the route that Gavin Grant went... something to the effect of, we only lose three games:)
I just want results. It's been too long. I'm excited for the season to start and have renewed hope; I'm just tired of treading in this water.
AfterGlow
You have to remember that despite the fact we have a great recruiting class, they are still freshman and there will be a learning curve. We are expecting freshman and sophmores who were role players last season too shoulder a heavy load this season, mistakes will be made.
Re NCAAT: may be too lofty a goal, with the ACC regarded as being down this season we will not see 7 teams go this season , At most maybe 4-5 ACC teams go. This means not only do you have to have a winning conf. record but also beat several ranked teams in conf. and OOC as well. Realistically speaking this is a tall order for a team that will likely have three freshman playing starters minutes.
I do expect this team to play hard and smart, and avoid the second half break downs that plagued us last year, I believe that is what Lowe and Fowler mean by making progress. If the team does this the wins will begin to take care of themselves.
J.P. Giglio picked State to finish the upcoming year 10th-again. Three 10th place finishes along with a last place finish will loose support for Coach Lowe by most of the fan base. at the least, State needs an 8-8 finish. This will show progress. I am excited about the direction of the program via the players being recruited, but now more wins against conference members and out of conference majors are needed. sbas2
I wouldnt worry about JP Giglio's predictions. It is logical for an outsider like Giglio to see that we are losing three seniors who provided a lions share of the offensive production and assume the team will not be as good. I see our situation as improved because the team culture and work ethic have completely turned around. 8-8 is a realistic goal for this team.I know Giglio will soon be proved wrong.
It is true, they are a young team it's just... I want an umpa lumpa NOW daddy!
No, in all seriousness, I see what your saying and there's some reasoning behind your and others logic.
Sometimes I just think you play to what ever the level the bar is set at. I know this from personal experience as I work with emotionally disturbed children. When you push them and expect excellence, they often deliver. When you believe in them, they often start to believe in themselves.
Granted, Jim Valvano inherited some incredible players and even then he didn't do great his first year. But something he always preached was how he believed in the kid. I think there's something to that and having vision and being able to communicate the dream clearly.
In any event, I'm ready for the year to start already and am excited about everything. Further more the Wolfpack has nothing but my undying support.
afterglow, I know some people have trouble swallowing this bitter pill, and especially after that magical "5 in a row" run, but I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, that Lee Fowler himself, deserves a little credit for possibly, and FINALLY, realizing that his NC State BB program was on a down hill slope in a bad way before Sendek headed west. Is it possible that even Lee Fowler knows that an entire culture can't be changed and redirected without first having setbacks and suffering through some really tough times?
Afterall, Sidney Lowe is only in Raleigh right now because the table that was set by NC State's administration and former HC didn't seem very appealing to their first, second, or third choices for a replacement.
As for myself though, even with the wait, I honestly think this all will work better for NC State in the l-o-n-g run.
Patience doesn't seem to be part of sports any longer. Lowe clearly has a vision of where he needs to be to do what he wants to do, and has the players and AD buying into it. Can he actually achieve what he has envisioned before the egg timer expires and he gets pushed out?
Losing Degand to a blown knee the game before the ACC season probably set the plan back by two years. If Degand had been healthy, it would have solved a lot of "chemistry" issues that the team didn't seem to have before he got hurt. Degand was exactly the point guard Lowe needed. Imagine him healthy and experienced going into 08-09's ACC season.
The 09-10 season will be the first where Lowe will not be one injury away from a 10-6 season becoming a 6-10 season. Maybe Lowe over-recruited guards, but with the rotating injury situations at the 1 and 2 positions, who can blame him? He saw his rivals down the road a couple of years ago playing their swingman Ginyard as their fourth-string point guard, and his other rivals in darker blue trying desperately to find someone to play the point. Now he has five options at the point, at least three options at the 2 and 3, and has a front court that isn't one bad foul away from a lost season.
Given the hand Lowe was dealt with the players he inherited, plus his own inexperience as a college coach and a less than smooth transition with injuries and a mismatched team, Lowe has at least shown that he can stick to his plan when things aren't going well. That's the sign of a good leader.
At least Lowe bleeds State red. The worst thing NCSU could do is change coaches in the next year or two. Then it would be back to a mismatched team of another coach's players and rebuilding, only the new coach would see NCSU as a stepping stone to a bigger job and be gone in 3-5 years (leaving who knows what mess behind him!) and it would be rebuilding all over again.
And the 08-09 Pack was like a mythological creature, with the head of one beast on the body of another. Has there ever been another basketball team in history with the front court of a Princeton slowdown offense combined with an up-tempo NBA style back court? The fact that they got six ACC wins proves Lowe is a fantastic X and O coach who got the most out of one of the strangest basketball teams that ever took the court.
^ Well said! It seems like no one wants to give a coach a chance these days. The only coaches they trust are the ones that are already established in the college game. People tend to forget or they just don't care that all of the great coaches had to start somewhere. They did not just get hired to a school and immediately begin winning championships.
Huggy - That was a great post. It sums it up for me. The mix of players on the court for the Wolfpack for the past few years has been odd, to say the least. Through no fault of their own, they landed in Raleigh to do a job that they weren't recruited to do. The critical fan only sees things on the surface, and never truly tries to look at things from the player's and coach's perspectives.
Huggy - great post. Can't top it, but I'll add to it.
I'm glad someone else out there pointed out that last year's team was a mismatched "grab-bag" group of players. I couldn't stand all the hating on Lowe for failing to win with "talented players." In college, with few exceptions, bball is a team sport. Players that are talented enough to score on their own go to the NBA. The bottom line is that Lowe has some decent pieces, but they didn't fit well together.
Also, let's not ovrlook the fact that Lowe came into the game cold. He had no college head coaching experience, which meant building a recruiting reputation from day 1. That's tough, especially in the ACC. Anyone surprised that Lowe found a VERY good PG in year 3? I'm not, b/c now he has his footing.
This coming year will still be a bit of a mixed bag, but for the most part players will have much more defined roles. In theory they'll be better able to settle into Lowe's system. That's what makes "progress," not just wins, the more important goal for the team this year.
I truly hope Lowe proves his doubters wrong this year. Here's hoping the Pack turns some heads in 09-10!
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