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
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206 comments Add your comment
Mighty Georgie mutt
March 16th, 2011
3:17 pm
Byrddawg, your ignorance keeps showing. What the numbers mean is that, at least 9,000 people are willing to buy a ticket and show up if we put a good product on the court. The price of those tickets will reflect, how many more would be willing to do the same had they had an opportunity to purchase. A little matter of Supply vs Demand, but based on your arguments so far I don’t expect you to grasp the concept.
StingerSplash
March 16th, 2011
3:18 pm
Doug,
Keep in mind Bobby Cremins coaches in a one-bid conference now. But look at the teams his CofC teams have beaten and how many games they win per season.
Alabama Jack
March 16th, 2011
3:22 pm
Duke is puke, and Wake is fake, but NC State is the one to hate.
BYRDDAWG
March 16th, 2011
3:23 pm
Mighty, how about the 50,000 in football?? I was an Econ major genius so maybe you could explain the fact thay you’re building another 9,000 seat arena?? Not expecting a good product maybe?
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
3:33 pm
Byrddawg, Mighty you boys should come to Chicago. The Cubs have suspended the laws of supply and demand. It doesn’t matter what product they put on the field, 3,000,000 guaranteed. If they didn’t start the season in the middle of winter they could draw more to their little bandbox.
Stinger 2
March 16th, 2011
3:35 pm
Some of these comments show how important it is that the schools make their own decisions about who they hire as coaches. As a fan, I have no idea who is the best choice for GT. I believe that is the case for all of those who make suggestions such as to hire Mark Price,Kenny Anderson or bring back Bobby Cremmins. Also true with the other suggestions made. Fans just do not really know who should be hired. They just want to be heard under assumed
blog names.
Mighty Georgie mutt
March 16th, 2011
3:40 pm
Byrddawg, you don’t need to tell me where your degree is from, it shows. The 55,000 football stadium results from a trade off between maintenance cost, average and peak attendance. Au contraire mon amie, we are expecting a good product. With a 9,000 seat arena you can count with sold outs all the time, bringing in more $$$ with the same maintenance cost we currently have (probably less because it will be new). I get that you WERE an Econ genious, I will like to know what happened. You have my sympathy.
Paul in RDU
March 16th, 2011
3:44 pm
If the size and age of a basketball arena had anything to do with wins and losses, Duke would be a mid-major.
gomabman2
March 16th, 2011
3:46 pm
It does not matter what type of arena a player plays in, as long as there is an opposing team and a couple of hoops. They need a coach who they can confide in and an environment surrounding the school to enjoy. Tech meets that criteria better than any school in Raleigh, NC. I lived there, not the most enthusiastic place to be outside of attending college sports games. No knock on Raleigh, but as an athlete, NOT!
Mighty Georgie mutt
March 16th, 2011
3:47 pm
Paul, could you please explain that to our friend Byrddawg, he’s having problems understanding the concept.
PTC Dawg
March 16th, 2011
4:11 pm
All this talk about the modern “Arena Advantage” is overstated. I believe the Dukies at Cameron would validate that.
BYRDDAWG
March 16th, 2011
4:12 pm
This is getting comical….Hire Noodles & most of your fan base SHOULD be happy! Maybe he could do better than Hewitt {4-7} vs my DAWGS …..and we play in a barn!
GT45
March 16th, 2011
4:27 pm
Does anyone know what Keith Brookings waist size is?
Mighty Georgie mutt
March 16th, 2011
4:31 pm
PTC, like Paul stated before, a new arena has nothing to do with wins and losses, but it is a feature that will help attract/detract a coaching candidate.
GT Baby
March 16th, 2011
4:45 pm
Dadgun we need a insider up-date on GT’s future Basketball Coach………….
Supersize that order, mutt
March 16th, 2011
4:57 pm
BYRDDAWG, if I were you, or any mutt fan, I wouldn’t be talking about basketball and attendance at games. Once every 20 years or so for a couple of years, the mutts have a half-way decent to decent b’ball team, and then the coach either moves on to greener pastures, or cheats and gets fired. For those 2 or 3 years every 20, the fans MIGHT come out in Athens. The rest of the time, how many do you get? Maybe 2 or 3 thousand on the average? And that with a 30,000+ student body and a pathetic arena built with Georgia tax-payer dollars, unlike any of Tech’s facilities which have NEVER used any tax-payer money to build or maintain. THUGa is, for the most part, totally irrelevant in college basketball—-always has been; always will be.
BYRDDAWG
March 16th, 2011
5:05 pm
Supersize, I’m glad to see they didn’t take you off lifesupport after all….Is this really you or not???I think the other you is hewitt fan in disguise… LOL! I’m not talking about UGA basketball as I stated earlier we play in a barn! What I don’t understand is why the new arena is only 9K…EXPLAIN!!
Supersize that order, mutt
March 16th, 2011
5:11 pm
BYRDDAWG, I sorta disagree with the decision to make it smaller than it was, but why should we have one the size of NC State’s? Duke, as others have pointed out, doesn’t, and it sure doesn’t hurt them. If Tech ever needs a larger arena for some of the more important games, we can probably use Phillips, just like we used the OMNI back in the 80s. But the dome, or whatever meaningless name it may be “officially” called in the future, was (and hopefully will be again) a very intimidating place for opponents BECAUSE of its size, shape and “intimacy.” It didn’t become the “Thriller Dome,” simply because of the quality of Tech’s teams, but also because of the fact that it was a helluva place to have to play.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 16th, 2011
5:13 pm
BTW, BYRDDAWG, yes, I am the ORIGINAL supersize. I have no idea who the other guy was or why he thought it necessary to use my name. I assume you recognize me from the contents of my post. I appreciate that. DAMN, I showing gratitude to a mutt—what’s the world coming to? LOL
Suck it nerd
March 16th, 2011
5:15 pm
Tech will always have problems due to academic standards. Coaches see that the expectation is high (as it should be). But some coaches are going to shy away from the challenge of recruiting talented players that can make the grade. I think that is one of just a few things keeping Tech from being a powerhouse.
BYRDDAWG
March 16th, 2011
5:20 pm
LOL!!!! Supersize, my wife & I will be going to the Ga- tech football game this fall with a tech pastor friend of ours from Cumming….If you want to meet us @ the V I’ll buy your dinner!!!! It will be my 31st straight of the good clean old fashioned hate game ….my 1st was my freshman yr w/ Hershel!!!
Old Tech & Mountaineer fan in NC
March 16th, 2011
5:21 pm
Coach K, Roy and G Williams are 60ish. Hope Tech hires a younger guy so when these present icons are gone, the Tech guy will have sufficient experience to step into the “guy to beat” role.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 16th, 2011
5:25 pm
That’s very kind of you, BYRDDAWG, but the V??? Can’t you do better than that? LOL I guess that place is still somewhat a novelty for visiting fans, but I haven’t been there since I graduated from Tech in 1967. I quit going to the games in Athens after the debacle in Gailey’s first year (probably would have quit regardless because of the traffic, parking, and fans), but I have been attending since 1962 when I was a freshman at Tech. I have been a season ticket buyer since I graduated, and had season basketball tickets from about 1998 till last year. I stopped buying them because of the combination of Hewitt’s lousy coaching and the 2+ hour drive back to Augusta late at night.
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
5:26 pm
Tokyo Jacket, you out there? You doing OK? Our prayers are with you and the Japanese people.
Genius Jacket
March 16th, 2011
5:28 pm
Tech’s academic standards?
Have you seen the graduation rates for Tech B-ball players under Hewitt?
Supersize that order, mutt
March 16th, 2011
5:30 pm
IL Jacket, I’ll second that. I had completely forgotten about our brother over there.
BYRDDAWG
March 16th, 2011
5:30 pm
I know his UGA past is a big negative for you guys but I’d give Tubby a good look if the HOGS don’t get him first…..BTW , I was wondering who the Tech fans will be pulling for if we play “baby blue”????
Supersize that order, mutt
March 16th, 2011
5:34 pm
BYRDDAWG, I for one would rather go with someone much younger than Tubby. My only thoughts about him are how much fun it would be to rag all the mutts with the fact that a former mutt coach came to Tech. But I don’t think he would do it anyway. Who is “baby blue”? Not that it matters, because, as has been said so many times in the past by so many others, my favorite teams are always the Jackets and whoever plays Georgia.
BYRDDAWG
March 16th, 2011
5:36 pm
North Carolina
Supersize that order, mutt
March 16th, 2011
5:38 pm
oh, ok. North Carolina, of course
GT72
March 16th, 2011
5:47 pm
Don’t know about NC State but I think we need a new coach with a few new ideas. First, finishing in the middle of the road in the ACC during the regular season is a bad thing. Bobby C wasn’t happy with that but how many times did you hear PH say that was okay. Second if you have 1 pro player = NCAA, 2 pros = Sweet 16 and 3 pros = final four. We had one year with PH with 3 pros that we didn’t make the NCAA. Third the players should get better the longer they stay. Fourth the team sould be able to get the ball in bounds. Finally we should go down to North Ave and fill the stadum!
IL Jacket
March 16th, 2011
5:48 pm
Congratulations to both of you Supersize and Byrddawg. Those are tremendous records of consecutive years of fandom. Obviously, both of you are passionate about your teams having seen them through thick and thin. It also shows what can be best in the rivalry of alums from Georgia’s two great institutes of higher education.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 16th, 2011
5:51 pm
Thanks, IL Jacket. I have to admit though that I hate running into a mutt fan like BYRDDAWG seems to be. I can’t be my usual offensive self with him. LOL
Pack Fan
March 16th, 2011
5:54 pm
hahaha so the arena that hasn’t been built yet gives Tech an edge on our 150 million dollar arena that was designed similarly to the Staples Center? stout logic there I’m assuming he went to an SEC school.
bring back glory days
March 16th, 2011
5:59 pm
If Tech goes within our lineage then State’s search has no effect. Personally I think we could do just fine with a Neal, Price or Barry. Other up and coming coaches might also bring success but it’s a better story if someoine in the family has success in the program…would energize the fan base quicker I think.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 16th, 2011
6:00 pm
OK, dinner time here. Hope to see some more of you guys’ comments later. For the first time I can remember, other than BYRDDAWG, there haven’t been any mutts in here posting their usual drivel. And, as hard as it is to admit, even BYRDDAWG has been pretty cool. lol
Tony Shumpert
March 16th, 2011
6:03 pm
Doug, do you think DRad will get the opinion of Iman and other leaders concerning the coaching search?
Doug Roberson
March 16th, 2011
6:09 pm
Well, Pack Fan, I’d say next year is a wash because Tech will likely play most of its games at Philips Arena. And then the new arena will open that is built specifically for basketball and not a multi-plex building like the one N.C. State plays in.
Doug Roberson
March 16th, 2011
6:10 pm
He may, but I’d be surprised. The players won’t be around more than three more years at most (maybe four). The coach is supposed to be around for longer.
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
6:14 pm
Tech and State both ought to be looking at Bruce Pearl, now that Tennessee is tepid about him. With a few contractual provisions about NCAA compliance in place, he would be a formidable hire for either school.
BIG BEE
March 16th, 2011
6:16 pm
Jesusislord, The first commandment is “Thou shall have no other Gods before me”!This includes football and basketball and all other sports. This is not a suggestion. There are no suggestions in the Bible, only commandments.
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
6:18 pm
Pack Fan: The RBC arena is nice, but not exactly state of the art and not the intimidating place that Cameron or even the old Reynolds was. It is not a slam dunk better arena than Tech’s, which will be finished for the 2012-2013 season. And playing in Philips Arena ain’t too shabby. With other facilities upgrades already in place, Tech gets the edge on physical plant. The Pack still has the advantage in heritage and hoops tradition, and certainly they will pay more than Tech. But overall, they are different kinds of positions and both excellent places to coach.
Wilson Dunkit
March 16th, 2011
6:20 pm
jesusislord: you are wrong, my friend. Jesus is a Yellow Jacket.
Wilson Dunkit
March 16th, 2011
6:20 pm
And even Jesus hates the Bulldogs.
Wilson Dunkit
March 16th, 2011
6:22 pm
It ain’t the size or the age of the arena: it’s how well you fill it and how often you win in it.
Long time state fan
March 16th, 2011
6:23 pm
I don’t agree about the talent for next year. Howell, Leslie, Harrow, Brown, Painter, and Uchebo (incoming freshman from Raleigh) were all in ESPN’s top 100. Wood and CJ Williams were in Rivals and Scout’s top 150. There was a reason NC State was picked to finish 4th in the ACC this year by the media without actually winning games the last few seasons to justify the ranking. Shumpert’s getting to be a good player but the rest of Tech looked pretty bad against us.
And about expectations: why should NC State not want to be a top notch program? Inherently, there is nothing that UNC or Duke or any other program have that we don’t other than having had better coaches the last 20 years. I’m not saying we’ll be competitive again anytime soon but we might as well try. Herb was good but can anybody remember more than 2 or 3 big games he won in 10 years? Herb’s problem was the demoralizing collapses (losing 7 straight after getting ranked in 2000, losing 6 of 9 to end his final season after climbing in to the top 10 with a 9-2 mark in the ACC, etc) and blowing big games (examples: 03 ACC championship game when we were up by double digits for most of the second half before choking, 04 acc semifinal game up by 20 at the half and losing, 04 tourney game – losing a 15 point lead in the final 5 minutes to Vandy) Those are my memories of Herb!
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
6:25 pm
I won’t stand too close to Wilson for fear of a lightning strike, but I do agree with his comment on arenas. Coaches want good practice, workout and rehab facilities, preferably dedicated to one sport, one team. Of course they want to be comfortable in their offices and locker rooms. But mostly they want a packed house, any house, where they can win.
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
6:33 pm
LGPF: Sendek went to the NCAA the last five years he was there, but I know State fans wanted and expected more. That speaks to their desire and expectation to win. In Atlanta, and to a lesser degree in Durham and Chapel Hill, people have a hard time remembering past the last five years and ironically view Raleigh as provincial. But many in the ACC know of State’s rich ACC tradition, Everett Case, etc., and I agree that State is in the catbird seat to turn it around and surprise some folks in the next couple of years. That said, no coach seriously considers the previous coach’s recruiting classes when signing a long term deal. It is something he finds out about when they show up for the first team meeting after signing on the bottom line. Curious, maybe, but who’s going to let a few pimply-faced adolescents stand between him and millions of bucks for his family?
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
6:41 pm
The answer to Doug’s original question is “No, the NC State opening will not significantly impact the Tech search or hiring process.” I like both programs, both schools. Both are good gigs and it is pointless to argue which is best….each is different in nature and similar in stature. Most importantly, we both hate Duke.
ACCelerator
March 16th, 2011
6:42 pm
Why can’t we all just hate Duke and UNC and get along? Peace. Love. VW buses. All that s**t.