Some Interesting Links.

There's some interesting news and happenings over the past couple of days. Here's a few:

Mike DeCourcy grades the year's most visible coaching changes. Decourcy, one of the nation's best college basketball writers, was particularly harsh on new Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. But it's hard to argue after Capel was unable to keep any of the three recruits Kelvin Sampson had signed. Speaking of Sampson, he's noticeably absent from Decourcy's list. For me, that's the worst hire of the year if only for Sampson's NCAA failures that he left at OU and the possibility of sanctions following him.

Herb Sendek scored a transfer in former Duke center and McDonald's All-American Eric Boateng.

Jim Larranaga got a 90 percent raise at George Mason. Not bad.

Gregg Doyel chimes in on programs on the decline for 2006-07. It's hard to argue with any of these really and it seems that next year will add to the changing face of college basketball. Could be a top-heavy season with Florida, UCLA, North Carolina, and Kansas all seemingly loaded.

More soon.

Terrapin Blues.

Maryland was on top of the world when they won the 2002 NCAA title. Now, over the past two seasons, the Terps have missed out on back-to-back NCAA tournaments after a string of 11 straight appearances.

So has Gary Williams suddenly become a bad coach? No.

Has the Terps recruiting been worse? I could argue that it really hasn't. Travis Garrison, Nik Caner-Medley, DJ Strawberry, Chris McCray, Mike Jones, and James Gist were all sought-after recruits.

It really has almost everything to do with the stability of his staff. When the Terps were good (shoot they were really good) they had a great staff -- Jimmy Patsos, Dave Dickerson and Billy Hahn. All were totally dedicated to Williams (and Maryland's) success. And they have each gone on to be head coaches (with varying degrees of success).

Over the past few years Williams's staff has been fluid to put it nicely. Dickerson left to go to Tulane. Mike Lonergan left after one year to be a head coach at Maine. And now Rob Moxley, who spent one season with Williams, is headed back to his old job at UNC-Charlotte. Maybe Gary should stop turning around and hitting his assistants in the leg all the time?

Remember, there was this choice comment from Chris McCray's mom after he became academically ineligible (even though blaming someone else for his lack of effort is not an excuse):

"They make sure he goes to practice; they should have made sure his grades and things were straight for him to be eligible," she said. "I'm not only going to fault Chris; I'm going to fault everyone up there. I knew when [former assistant] Dave Dickerson was there, if anything like this would have happened, they would have called me and let me know."

No doubt, Williams will get the Terps turned around. But until he stabilizes his staff, he'll be doing it on his own. As easy as it would be, Terps fans can't blame everything on John Gilchrist.

Back to the Future.

"You know for sure what you have in me
because I am somebody who believes."

Those are the magic words for NC State fans and why they believe in Sidney Lowe, named the 18th men's basketball coach in school history on Saturday. As the Wolfpack coaching search raged into its second month, NC State's fans and its tradition took a beating among the national press.

It seemed that coaches around the country were taking a pass on the job. And it seemd that the fans who believed that greatness was still possible for a program that has won two national championships were being humbled for those expectations. But, in Lowe, State fans have found a coach they'll believe in because he believes.

Thought he wasn't specific in quantifying those expectations during his press conference on Saturday, somwhere buried within Lowe's statement that "We are going to continue to grow this thing and get it to where it should be" it's there. Lowe believes that NC State can win. And not just win 20 games, or make it to the NCAA Tournament, or have a chance to compete, Lowe believes that NC State can win championships.

Why shouldn't he? Lowe's already won a championship at NC State and he experienced playing for, perhaps, one of the greatest dreamers in sports history, Jim Valvano. Though Valvano had a tainted ending to a storybook career at NC State, his legacy of passion and belief was never questioned.

After all, it was Valvano who said:

"How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal and you have to be willing to work for it."

So now comes the hard part -- the work. Lowe will have his cut out for him. History has not been friendly to coaches jumping from the NBA to college basketball. Especially those without any college coaching experience. But Lowe and NC State are far from doomed to past indicators.

Truth is, Herb Sendek has left the NC State program in much better shape than he inherited. The program has left its troubles nearly two decades behind it. NC State's current roster has players of tremendous character. At the same time the past two years have likely been the program's most talented teams in those same two decades. A solid foundation has been built.

Lowe has a tremendous opportunity. New life will flow into the program. As he indicated, fun will be back. And while there have been measurable amounts of success the past several years, fun has been few and far between. Judging from the smiles from the podium, fans and, most importantly, players, excitement will be abundant.

Lowe obviously realizes that assembling a key staff will be crucial. By keeping former Sendek assistant Larry Harris and convincing former Wolfpack great Monte Towe to step away as the head coach at the University of New Orleans and join his staff, Lowe's had success already. He also quickly realized that keeping sophomore center Cedric Simmons on the roster (and not bolting early to the NBA) could help propel his team to victories a lot quicker. And winning begets interest and attention which begets recruiting success which, in turn, leads to more winning. If Simmons does bolt, the road to "get it where it should be" may be longer.

Despite having nearly 30,000 students, NC State has always maintained a down-home, family feel. While any coach who delivered an ACC or, even better, NCAA title would have been revered, NC State fans would love to keep the success within the Wolfpack family. And, though Lowe wasn't AD Lee Fowler's first choice, it could be why he turns out to be the best one.

Sweet Silence.

I've been quiet. Very quiet. My silence has been deafening. At the same time it's also given me a break. I've watched hockey, listened to music and returned to my normal off-season life. But don't get me wrong ... I'm full of opinions.

So, what have I missed in not posting since April 13? Apparently, not much. The NC State coaching search is exactly where it was at that time -- without a new hire and with the media and public speculating on possibilities. The only difference is that now there appears to be a lot of indifference. I've stayed quiet namely because I had no more inside scoop than some of the other blogs, fan sites, media sites, and others have offered. Plus, I'm no good at reporting. I'd rather offer my commentary.

I'll be back. As soon as the coaching carousel ends (and it's appearing that NC State's job is among the last stops) I'll offer my perspective. Then, I'm going into full summer mode and will start previewing the 2006-07 season. I figure by that time we ought to have a better idea of who's staying and who's going.

Back to hibernation ...

Lighten Up Already.

I've sat down to write about the NC State coaching search two or three times. But I can't. I'm worn down by the speculation, bickering about whether NC State can be a national player and compete with Duke and Carolina again (or not), thoughts of Rick Barnes and/or John Calipari using NC State to get fat checks from their respective schools, and all the rumors.

So, instead, I point you to this story from Fox Sports which reminds me that things could be worse. Dragons could be invading campus. And while the thought of LSU's John Brady as Wolfpack coach is bad ... fire-breathing dragons on Hillsborough St is worse.

Oklahoma Hires Capel.

No sooner had I said that the news out of Oklahoma was relatively quiet than AD Joe Castiglione picked Jeff Capel as their head coach. I'll admit I was surprised. After all, even in light of the pending NCAA sanctions facing Oklahoma and Kelvin Sampson's unexpected bolt to Indiana, it's a program that has done well. Sampson led OU to 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament in his 12 seasons. The Sooners lose some good players from an under-achieving team but also add one of the better recruiting classes in the nation.

I expected that the Sooners may go after a big name (maybe they did and kept it quiet) or at least someone from the midwest (namely Wichita State's Mark Turgeon).

Shoot, it even surprised Capel:

"I know that this announcement in the college basketball world is shocking. But I know and I have all the confidence that it is the right decision. I know it's the right decision for me."

But the longer I've thought about this, the more it all makes perfect sense. Capel's going to be a great coach. He will relate extremely well with his players (and the players he recruits). As a recently (and successful) player, Capel has the ego to set the bar high and isn't afraid to say it. That'll make him popular with the OU fans.

Here's some of his comments from the press conference:

“I came here because of President (David) Boren and Joe and the relationships I felt I could have with them,” Capel said Tuesday. “But also secondly, and it’s not that far behind, I really feel this is a place ... where you can win the whole thing, and I’m not just talking about Big 12 Championships.”

“Some of you students here right now, there might be a class that you’re taking, that you just think, ‘Why is this important? I’m never going to use this in life.’ But the bottom line is having pride in everything you do, pride in your performance. And I talked to our guys about that a little earlier today. I told them, ‘We represent the University of Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma represents excellence. Everything we do, we’re going to be excellent. In the classroom, in the community and on the court.

“That’s what our athletic department represents is excellence."

“My philosophy is simple: we’re going to work hard, we’re going to play hard, we’re going to run, and we’re going to defend,” Capel said. “We’re going to be a team that is hopefully very disciplined, that shares the basketball, that is one of the best communicating teams in the country, a team that loves each other, a team that trusts each other and a team that becomes a family.”

Oh yeah, and the guy can coach too. He's been successful at VCU, leading the Rams to a 79-41 record in four seasons. It included a trip to the NCAA Tournament where they nearly beat a highly-seeded Wake Forest in the first round. Don't disregard the pedigree of growing up in a basketball family either.

Here's a good look at the process that Castiglione went through in selecting Capel. Their search was surprisingly quiet (especially in light of the number of articles written by national media about the NC State search over the past few days). It makes me wonder what role these search firms play in assisting AD's in keeping a lid on things. Then again, perhaps it's just a difference in culture. After all, it's spring football season in Norman.

My Least Favorite Season.

College basketball (and football for that matter) has turned into a series of seasons. Of course, there's the regular season. There's the postseason. The recruiting season (which now runs most of the year but heats up in the summer and early fall). And the coaching carousel season.

If you've noticed, I've been relatively quiet since the regular and postseason ended. I've grown to really, really dislike the recruiting and coaching carousel seasons. Part of the reason I started this blog was because I really enjoy watching basketball. And I think I have something to say. The other two seasons -- recruiting and coaching changes -- are really about speculation, hope, and rumor. They can also be about good reporting and really, really bad reporting.

So pardon me if my postings are more sporadic.

Weekend Update.

The NC State coaching search has heated up. Despite reports earlier in the week, it appears that Rick Barnes has now worked out a raise from Texas and will stay with the Longhorns. Of course, it's not over until it's over. But the Wolfpack has apparently turned its sights on John Calipari. Really, it's all speculation at this point. Athletic Director Lee Fowler has done a great job of keeping the media (and the public) guessing. If you want to run a coaching search right that's what you have to do.

Meanwhile, the national media continues to question Herb Sendek's departure for Arizona State. Gregg Doyel's column surely got NC State fans in a frenzy. But while Wolfpack fans are busy calling Doyel an idiot (and less cordial things), I thought the most interesting thing was Doyel's criticism of the local media coverage of Sendek (particularly the News & Observer). Especially when you consider that Doyel was once a part of the local media covering the ACC for the Charlotte Observer. Whether you were for keeping Sendek in Raleigh or not I think it's troubling that the media now takes its cues and sources from the internet and fan message boards and really panders to the public. The line between reporting and editorializing is seriously blurred. And as great as I think the N&O's ACC Now blog is ... it only complicates the relationship.

Some interesting articles of note from around the nation:

Coaching carousel affects recruits.
Gators super-sophs (Noah, Horford, Brewer) coming back.
UConn's Josh Boone to test the NBA waters.
Sad story death of 28-year-old Army women's coach Maggie Dixon (sister of Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. Here's a personal account from Andy Katz.
Mike Davis feels good about being at UAB. UAB's paying $1 million? Wow. Rick Bozich points out there's probably some doubters.
Watch out Big East. Bobby Gonzalez is taking over at Seton Hall. Gonzalez is a proven recruiter who's already been successful as a head coach at Manhattan.
Ed Conroy is the new coach at The Citadel. Conroy was once on Les Robinson's staff at NC State.

Sure is strangely quiet in the Oklahoma head coaching search. Of course it is spring football season.

NC State Better Get A Coach Sooner.

There are plenty of rumors flying around about Herb Sendek's replacement. Pick a name, it's likely been discussed. Instead of hashing through rumors here's an alternate approach. Oklahoma is also in the midst of a coaching search. Some would argue that that's actually a better job than being the ocach at NC State.

So, instead of Wolfpack rumor-recycling let's take a look at who Oklahoma is considering.

• Here's the Daily Oklahoman's take on coaching hoops at a football school. The sidebar here is really interesting. It ranks the top 25 college basketball programs. NC State is ranked 25th noticeably behind Utah, Purdue and Stanford.
• And whlie there are some common names among wishlists -- John Calipari and Jay Wright -- Frank Haith's (of Miami) name has also come up at Oklahoma. Seems he'd be a pretty inexpensive hire based on his current salary at Miami. I just can't NC State going after Frank Haith. I mean if you were going to go after another ACC coach why not Paul Hewitt (as Oklahoma says) or even Skip Prosser? They've both proven much more than Haith. The Sooners are also interested in Hewitt but apparently it's not mutual.

And while we're doing coach talk, George Mason's Jim Larranage is talking to Seton Hall.

Linked Up.

So this is officially the offseason, right? Doesn't seem like it. There's plenty of news.

Gregg Doyel gives you his Top 25 for next season. While UNC, UCLA, Florida, Ohio State and Kansas have been popular choices for the top 5, I hadn't thought of Georgia Tech being in the top 15 or Virginia Tech in the top 25. He's got six ACC teams making the NCAA Tournament and NC State, Wake Forest, Miami and Maryland aren't among them.

Andy Katz gives you his top 10 too. 1-10. 11-25. And Joe Lunardi's already projecting next year's bracket.

Eric Boateng is leaving Duke. If Josh McRoberts were to go pro and Brian Zoubek gets really interested in Kelvin Sampson, then it would re-define rebuilding at Duke.

Former Hoosier coach Mike Davis interviewed for the UAB job. He's interested in both the NC State and Oklahoma jobs too but likely won't get an look for either.

If you missed it, there's now two of John Thompson's sons who are head coaches, Johnny and Ronny. Ronny got the Ball State job.

Kentucky's Rajon Rondo is going pro.

Pat Forde of ESPN.com is becoming one of my favorite college basketball writers. Here's a great take on Billy the Kid.