Will N.C. State’s decision affect Tech’s future?
N.C. State basketball coach Sidney Lowe resigned on Tuesday, three days after Georgia Tech decided not retain Paul Hewitt.
That’s two coaches out in the ACC, with perhaps a third, Miami’s Frank Haith, on the horizon.
Talking to colleagues at last week’s ACC tournament, many agreed that N.C. State and Miami are arguably two of the toughest jobs in the ACC. Miami because of its apathy and geography. N.C. State because of its expectations and geography.
Before Hewitt was let go, a former colleague said that Georgia Tech and N.C. State would most likely butt heads if they were looking for coaches at the same time.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two schools is the salary budget. Athletic director Dan Radakovich said the next coach’s salary won’t be “capped” (a question I asked him. Capped wasn’t his word, it was mine). I would be stunned if Tech opens its wallet like N.C. State will allegedly do. A guess on my part, but I’ll be surprised if Tech spends more than $1.7 million per year, which would be a decent raise over what Hewitt was paid. Again, that’s just a guess.
Reports out of the Triangle say that Yow is looking at Arizona’s Sean Miller and Texas A&M’s Mark Turgeon, among other men that are competing in the NCAA tournament. Apparently, N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow is willing to spend as much as $3 million per yer, which is better than a football coach’s salary at most schools. It also shows to what length N.C. State will go to compete with its across-the-street and established neighbors in Durham and Chapel Hill.
So, which is the better job?
Tech has the fertile recruiting ground of Atlanta, in which is must compete with just one other in-state, power-conference school for recruits. (Lots of out-of-state schools mine the area, too). N.C. State must compete with three other schools in the same conference, not counting East Carolina, Charlotte, and others. Edge: Tech.
Tech will open a new basketball arena in 2012. N.C. State plays in an arena opened in 1999, which is very nice. Edge: Tech.
Tech averaged a few fannies more than 6,000 last year. N.C. State averaged a few fannies less than 14,000. Edge: N.C. State.
Tech has Atlanta, a cosmopolitan city that dozens of Fortune 500 companies call home. N.C. State has Raleigh, a beautiful city where numerous technology companies are headquartered. Edge: Atlanta.
Potential for winning quickly? If Iman Shumpert returns for his senior season, Tech has the potential to be very good next year. Brian Oliver’s shooting form couldn’t be much worse than it was last year. Glen Rice will have another year of maturity to improve his offensive game, Daniel Miller and Jason Morris were solid performers that should improve if they don’t experience the sophomore slump, etc. N.C. State has some talent returning, but not as much as Tech. Edge: Tech.
Of course, money is the thing. If N.C. State is willing to spend $3 million, it has the clear edge.
According to the NCAA, there are prestigious openings at:
Georgia Tech
N.C. State
Texas Tech
Arkansas
There are less-prestigious openings at:
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Kennesaw State
Georgia State
Manhattan College
Towson
– Doug Roberson, AJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
206 comments Add your comment
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
12:01 pm
State pays more money; Tech has better perks. The Head Basketball Coach at NC State, UNC, and Duke are the equivalent of the Head Football Coach at most SEC schools. They are the figurehead of athletics and the basketball programs are the most important programs. Ironically, back in the ’50s the three Triangle schools were also football powers, which led to the formation of the ACC out of the old Southern Conference.
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
12:04 pm
NC State’s Everett Case created the ACC Tournament. He was recommended for the State job by Chuck Taylor, whom he had coached in High School in Indiana. Case modelled the ACC Tourney on the h.s. tourneys in Indiana. Case was also the first major coach to put numbers on basketball jerseys. Thus endeth the lesson.
FullMetalJacket
March 16th, 2011
12:07 pm
I know the first dozen or so of the ACC Tournaments were played in Reynolds Colesium, where State still practices and the women’s team still plays games. I’d rather live in Atlanta than Raleigh, and I’d rather have to beat UGA each year than UNC in basketball. It would be nice to have the endorsement and media bucks available in the Atlanta market, too. Base salary will be much higher in Raleigh. Depending on the success of the new arena’s design and atmosphere, Tech facilities should be better than the adequate RBC Colesium at State.
Luke
March 16th, 2011
12:08 pm
Petey-
That tells me that they are all players Georgia Tech didn’t offer to. You can only have so many guards and when Howell was signed, we had already signed Favors, Holsey, and Oliver. They’re all from the Atlanta area. Imagine that.
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
12:09 pm
Great point, FMJ. Beating UNC in basketball is analogous to beating UGA in football each year. Rather have to beat UNC in football and UGA in basketball.
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
12:10 pm
Luke: Amen, bro.
Mighty Georgie mutt
March 16th, 2011
12:11 pm
Petey, that tells me that Atlanta’s basketball talent base is quite impressive. It can feed several programs, that is definitely something our next coach should be interested in!! Even if it were to not work out for him, in the long run, he’ll be getting his foot into some HS gyms and in some HS coaches’ rolodexes that will eventually pay off. Advantage – Tech on that one.
Luke
March 16th, 2011
12:11 pm
Actually, Rice is from the Atlanta. Oliver is from Virginia. My bad on the false information. But you catch my drift.
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
12:12 pm
Doug: Bottom line, I don’t think State’s position makes the Tech search any more difficult. There won’t be a bidding war, and for now there are enough good prospects.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
12:14 pm
A new contract and the gravey train ends?
That wasn’t written into Gailey contract so why would it be in Hewitt’s?
I wonder who chooses our ADs and who our contract consultants (attorneys) are.
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
12:15 pm
I don’t expect to hear anything new on Tech’s search until after the Richmond-Vandy game, if Vandy wins (and that’s a big “if”). What do you think, Doug, and everyone else?
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
12:23 pm
It might be in Hewitt’s because it wasn’t in Gailey’s.
Luke
March 16th, 2011
12:25 pm
I think Vandy wins, honestly. But yeah, probably.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
12:33 pm
A point I’ve made before is that any indignation towards Hewitt about his contract should also be expressed towards Gailey.
What does a pro football head coach get paid?
I would think even Buffalo would pay 3 mil a year, maybe more.
He also could give us a break by not taking his last year.
He won’t do that.
Is the lesson of the both the Gailey and Hewitt hires that saving money can lose it too?
I wonder who the other options were when they were hired.
I didn’t see Gailey as a good fit from the start.
Maybe this is unfair but I thought he had this smile on his face like he couldn’t belive he had fooled us.
Americus Ga.
He never pulled for us.
He would have been a dawg, nole or tiger.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
12:37 pm
Our worse football coach had been an assistant at Georgia: Bill Lewis.
I hope I don’t need to suggest “never again”.
Also Lewis had three lousy years at East Carolina before one good one.
That’s not enough of a resume and why I sometimes say remarks about Homer Rice. Rice has friends so I’ve tried to see the good things he did too.
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
12:39 pm
Boy, we are really having to pay up for a replacement for Hewitt. As it appears, the new coach is not exactly going to be a household name either. Oh well, water under the bridge.
If we are being realistic, we have to admit that NC State is probably a better basketball job than Tech. They are Tobacco Road, have a better tradition and are willing to pay significantly more money, which whether we like it or not means more commitment to the program. They may not get a better coach in the end, but they certainly have a better shot of getting a “brand name” coach
UGA = Yawn
March 16th, 2011
12:45 pm
No it won’t. GT / Atlanta / New Arena all make our position much more desirable than NC ST’s.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
12:46 pm
I wonder if our basketball job isn’t better than our football job. After Heisman and Dodd, we do not have any coaches of their stature. Since Ross only gave us 5 years and benefited from a non BSC bowl game to win the NC, he did not achieve their level but easily the best since Dodd.
Born2Buzz
March 16th, 2011
12:47 pm
The postings on this blog are proof that there are a lot of idiots out there.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
12:48 pm
The different amount of pay really makes this a non competition. Let’s say our max is 1.5 – 2 mil. The two schools will be looking at different candidates.
T3
March 16th, 2011
12:50 pm
I’ll take the authoritative opinion of Jay Bilas, who stated:
GT is the PREMIERE B-Ball job opening right now.
yeah
March 16th, 2011
12:53 pm
Jay Bilas is right! But NC State could be good too…the ACC could use both programs getting back to prominence. Both are sleeping giants in college basketball who can recruit with the best of them.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
12:55 pm
I thought Doug had a telling point about our fanbase.
After winning the ACC in a thrilling game against Clemson, we still were unable to sell out a single game the next year in a stadium half the size of many other colleges.
I’ve heard the excuse that Tech fans are all over the country.
Still a championship and no growth.
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
12:56 pm
With respect to the arenas, I know Tech will reengineer a nice AMC, but at the end of the day, it still is slated to be only 9,000 seats right? The RBC is almost 20,000 for basketball and has a number of luxury boxes. More seats=more potential revenue.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
12:58 pm
I like Bilas too.
Even more hearing that.
He told the VT folks in 2009 to pipe down.
Their RPI was not good enough to get in.
I thought they should make it this year though.
Tough break for their best player Delaney.
Paul in RDU
March 16th, 2011
12:58 pm
GT has a better arena than NCSU? Have any of you guys ever been in the RBC Center? It holds 20,000 people, has luxury boxes/suites, club level seats, a sit down restaurant, a sports bar (not used for NCAA games, unfortunately).
GT does have some good talent but Lowe’s problem in 2010-11 was not a lack of talent. CJ Leslie, Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown will be SOs next year (asssuming Leslie doesn’t go to the pros) and they would all start for GT.
GT is a better job than NCSU (mainly because of the Atlanta location, local competition and the expectations of the fan base – NCSU would have bitten the bullet on Hewitt’s contract 3 years ago) but let’s be real in comparing the 2 schools.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
1:05 pm
Maybe NCSU would have gotten more advice about the wisdom of the annual contract. Seems like a way of getting out of providing a big raise.
I like DRAD but am curious who picks our AD.
BigTimeTECHFan
March 16th, 2011
1:07 pm
NO
As of Monday Tech has their new coach, waiting coaches current obligations to finish before announcing name.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
1:08 pm
I mean this comment for laughs but is it safe to say every grad has a higher opinion of their college’s prestige that they actually have.
Thinking sports prestige, not academics.
Jackets 2011
March 16th, 2011
1:09 pm
Monday if he loses?
NovaJacket
March 16th, 2011
1:13 pm
Nationally (i.e.outside of Georgia), the perception is that Tech is a better situation to succeed at. State will never be more than the third best program in it’s metropolitan area. No top flight men’s coach wants to work for Debbie because of how she treated Gary Williams.
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
1:27 pm
Paul, always appreciate your posts. I agree with you about the positives of Tech over NCSU, but I think where they have the edge is in the curriculum. The difference maker athletes, i.e. The onew who will jump to NBA and not graduate anyway, I feel would still find it more attractive to be told they can major in sports management, rather than business management. I also agree that NCSU probably is more demanding from its fanbase, but the egos of most of these coaches do not permit the thought of failure, so I don’t think that enters into their calculation in any large measure.
T3
March 16th, 2011
1:32 pm
See new ThrillerDome here:
http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-tech-sports/2010/10/19/the-new-thrillerdome/
FWIW:
ACC B-Ball Seating Capacity:
BC: 8600
CU: 10,000
Duke: 9300
FSU: 13,000
GT: 9000 (New)
MD: 18,000
UM: 7900
UNC: 21,000
NCSU: 19,000
UVA: 15,000
VT: 9800
WF: 14,000
Ken Stallings
March 16th, 2011
1:35 pm
Doug Roberson,
You need to do a bit more research before writing a column like this! To say that Ga Tech’s facilities are better is unresearched and therefore factually incorrect!
The RBC is a shared facility between NC State and the Carolina Hurricanes. However, if push came to shove, NC State holds the controlling interest. The good news is that Canes owner, Peter Karmanos, is a very smart man and easy to work with. He understands the shared nature and is doing everything to be an excellent partner in the use of the RBC. First, the new Ga Tech facility is years away. The RBC is here now. Projecting year of construction as the litmus test is flawed.
Second, facilities also include those for practice. At NC State, the athletes have the Dial Basketball Center, which is one of the very finest dedicated Division 1A basketball training facilities in the nation. Ga Tech has nothing to compete with this! Look it up for yourself and then come back and show everyone the training facility at Ga Tech: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~jrquesen/MBB.htm
Actually, I will say for you. It is the Zelnak Facility. It is a 20,000 square foot facility and is just opened. At best it is equal to the NC State facility. Given that the RBC is already here, NC State has the advantage in facilities.
Additionally, you failed to adequately state the other advantages of NC State. NC State has the second largest enrollment in the ACC, only behind FSU. Enrollment translates directly into alumi and that translates directly into the size and power of the athletic booster club. The Wolfpack Club is well above average in the ACC, and vastly larger and better funded that Ga Tech. That is why NC State can afford $3 million a year in compensation.
You did correctly note the passion and loyalty of the NC State alumni and fans. Paul Hewitt guided the Yellowjackets to five NCAA appearances and a Final Four in his years at Ga Tech. His reward? A small arena that echoes from the lack of fan support inside it! At NC State, if Herb Sendek or Sidney Lowe had done what Hewitt did, they would still be there! Sendek barely made it into the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 once. And he resigned! We did not fire him nor force him out. Lowe resigned also, but it is clear it was a mutual decision.
Duke and UNC has derived benefit from the chaos at NC State since Valvano was forced out. This has more to do with the inept choices for Athletic Director, including Todd Turner (a UNC alumn) who hired Les Robinson and gave him zero support and then Lee Fowler who botched the post-Sendek hiring and had to take a flyer on Sidney Lowe with zero college coaching experience, and limited NBA experience.
Now we have an AD and chancellor who doesn’t regard athletics as alien to the academic mission! Therefore, we can now hire an excellent and proven coach and finally get NC State back where it should have been long before now.
BYRDDAWG
March 16th, 2011
1:45 pm
Tech is in one of the largest cities in the nation and maybe drew 6,000 per basketball game …. Can only sell out a home football game of 50,000 if they’re playing UGA, Clemson or V.Tech …..What a joke!!!!
GTBob
March 16th, 2011
1:52 pm
At NC State, if Herb Sendek or Sidney Lowe had done what Hewitt did, they would still be there!
Herb Sendek made the NCAA tournament his last 5 years at NC State. Do you really think that if GT had made the NCAA tournament the last 5 years that Hewitt would have been fired? Sendek also had one losing season at NC State. Hewitt has had 4 losing seasons in the past 6 years. If Hewitt had performed anywhere near as well as Sendek then he would still be the coach here. Why you guys forced Sendek out is still a mystery to me.
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
1:55 pm
Byrddawg, it pains me to recognize you’re right. At the same time, if you are fair you will agree that Tech is a much smaller school where approximately 40% is student body is from outside of state versus a large student body at Georgia where approximately 92% come from the State of Georgia and generally return to their home town or Atlanta.
Paul in RDU
March 16th, 2011
2:00 pm
IL Jacket
I agree with your assessment on the curriculum – it is much broader at NCSU and elite athletes have more options there. Your point about the egos of coaches is a good one, but my point about the demands of the fan base is that GT will give the next coach a little longer to turn things around. Heck – we are splitting hairs here. Both are good, but different, opportunities.
Mighty Georgie mutt
March 16th, 2011
2:07 pm
While we have never sold out football games consistently in the last 30 years, we did sell out AMC on a consistent basis during that time period. Just a fact so that the “byrddawgs” among you don’t end up looking as ignorant as he does.
AtlantaWolf
March 16th, 2011
2:31 pm
ACCelerator- you will- two of them are freshman and the other is a Soph- NCSU also won out on JJHickson a few years ago who is now starting for Cleveland Cav after spending only one year at NCSU
Atmosphere in Raleigh when State is winning is only about 10 times as exciting as the typical wine and cheese crowd who are staring at their sliderules while sitting at the GT games- no comparision when both teams happen to have a good BB team
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
2:34 pm
Paul, why is the ACC Tournament never held at RBC? Why are we locked into Greensboro with the occasional Charlotte or Atlanta? I would think the Hurricanes could spare it for 4 days in March.
BYRDDAWG
March 16th, 2011
2:36 pm
Mighty, all that means is that you have 9,000 fans in one of the largest cities in the US! IL Jacket , what you’re saying is EXACTLY right….that’s the same deal with NC St vs Tech too!! Just sayin…
Ramblin Man
March 16th, 2011
2:40 pm
As far as Hewitt or Gailey giving the money back or taking no further payments you need to honestly ask yourself, would you? The answer no. Call it greed or planning for the future or whatever you like but nobody is going to give up that kind of money unless your last name is Trump. Look at the NFL it’s billionaires vs. millionaires and the fans are the ones that will pay in the end. All we fans can hope for is that DRad makes a good choice and is smart in the wording of a the contract. Speaking of contracts how is multiple bad seasons, low attendence, and multiple lossing seasons not considered cause. I do not know about you guys but if I were to perform as bad as some of these coaches I would get fired quick and no check will be flowing my way.
Not a Hewitt Fan
March 16th, 2011
2:45 pm
Idn care who we get as long as they energize the fan base and finish no worse than 5th in ACC every year.
All that involves is winning ALL ur home games and stealing 2/4 on the road. Cremins did it for years. S@#$-can the one and done model and get kids who want to be here for more than a semester. And please, dont get a coach with anuther agenda besides winning. Seems like the last clown that was here was trying to make a statement about socioeconomics/race/attitude or something.
Paul in RDU
March 16th, 2011
2:51 pm
IL Jacket
The problem with trying to schedule the ACC tourney in the RBC Center is that the Hurricanes also play there. The ACC Tourney takes over an arena for at least 5 days and the Hurricanes would not want to have a 1 week road trip in the middle of March when they are trying to make the playoffs
reebok
March 16th, 2011
2:56 pm
Bring back Cremnins for 2 years as a recruiter/face of the program w/ Craig Neil as understudy head-coach-in-waiting
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
3:03 pm
The owners of the United Center are greedier, both the Bulls and Blackhawks have to go on two week roadtrips in November when the circus comes to town.
Paul in RDU
March 16th, 2011
3:07 pm
Big difference between long road trips in November and in March when you are trying to make the playoffs. Heck, the Canes played their first 2 regular season games in Finland this year.
GTBob
March 16th, 2011
3:07 pm
BYRDDAWG, just curiously, do you have any data to backup your claim that being a college team in a major city automatically increases your attendance? St Johns averaged less attendance then we did last year and they play in Madison Square Garden in the best conference in college basketball.
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
3:11 pm
That’s true. It just pains me to watch the late game on Thursday and see what looked like 300 fans on the stands. Of course, VT vs. GT In basketball this year is a tough matchup to draw a crowd to.