[bigsmooth]

no use in discussing this with texas fans. austin is a better place to live, nc state has no money, and the program is a mess.( i guess 5 straight NCAA appearances is a mess. im not a state fan, and i can certainly see the lure of a challenge. again rick barnes has not won a national championship, and i certainly think the though of coming home is appealing, but again it is not "God's country" austin texas or for that matter any city in texas. just be objective about it, there are some pros to making the move.

[Sly Fox]

I didn't say NC State had no money. I just said they can't win a bidding war with the richest university in the nation.

I would think the challenge of winning a national championship would be enough to keep a coach out of the Triangle. I know it was for Mack Brown and that seemed to work out OK.

For the record, I'm not espousing the "God's Country" mantra for Texas. There are plenty of other places I'd prefer living. But Austin is a fairly special place. Just take a look at any of the Places Rated lists and the cty if always top five every year on every list. There must be something to the mystique. As someone who lived there for six years, I bought into it. Again, I like the Triangle and would have no problem moving there myself despite the winters if my wife would consider it. But that's not happening anytime soon.

[Hold My Own]

Yall didnt hear? it's bigger and better there

[Sly Fox]

Glad to see you coming around, HMO.



Seriously, I'm curious to hear more about Marshall's name coming up for various openings.

[SuperJon]

NC State is not second tier. They have had a few "down" years compared to the other schools in NC. Wake Forest had a down year but I don't consider them a "second tier" program. All four NC schools are top notch schools. NC State is an excellent univeristy with a ton of resources. If someone was offered the job, they better have a great situation in place to turn it down. Texas may be that situation, but saying NC State is second tier is just not right.

[TIMSCAR20]

SJ,

I don't think everyone means it is a second rate school but it is second tier if you consider Duke, MD, UNC the top tier. You are automatically in 4th place or worse in any given year with those 3 teams in recent years. I think NC State is stupid for treating Sendek the way they have. He is a good coach and consistently wins there but I don't blame him for going west if he takes the AZ State job.

[Sly Fox]

I was referring the pecking order in the ACC ... there is Duke & UNC and then there is a step down to NCSU, WF & Maryland. There's no honestly denying the distinction. Otherwise Sendek wouldn't bailing out to head to Tempe.

[SuperJon]

NC State was consistently better than Dook until the early 90's. With a good coach and good recruits they could quickly become at the top again. They have as much tradition as Dook, just not lately. That only have one less national championship (2) than Dook (3). NC State could easily because top tier again. As a coach, what is better than the chance to restore a former national powerhouse to that level again? What is better than bringing your school back up to the level of UNC and Dook?

[Sly Fox]

This story fits this thread perfectly on several fronts:

College coaching carousel in full swing

Forget the RCA Dome. The hottest action at the Final Four in Indianapolis is in lobbies and hotel rooms, as athletic directors interview candidates for prospective openings and coaches at the lower rungs of college basketball try to climb their way to the top.

Interest stretches from Oklahoma City to Raleigh to Wilmington, N.C., where stunned UNC Wilmington fans are still trying to understand former coach Brad Brownell's jump to Wright State. It's far from a lateral move: UNCW is a program in the hot Colonial Athletic Association, the Seahawks are coming off their third NCAA Tournament berth in five years, and Brownell was solidly positioned to follow former boss Jerry Wainwright, who used Wilmington as a springboard to Richmond and ultimately DePaul.

So why Wright State, a program with zero tradition, plays in the so-so Horizon League, went 13-15, and recently fired a coach connected to the recent crookedness at Ohio State? There are plenty of insinuations out of Wilmington that Brownell never got along with new athletic director Mike Capaccio, hired last year. Some will tell you that Brownell, a hard-core Xs-and-Os guy, was never really appreciated by fans who missed the one-liners and back-slaps the outgoing Wainwright always had at the ready.

So now Wilmington, reigning champion of the hottest league in mid-major college basketball, is looking for a new coach. So is North Carolina State, where Herb Sendek finally had enough of sniping from fans and fled to Tempe. Word out of Raleigh is that the No. 1 choice in Raleigh is Texas coach Rick Barnes, a native of Hickory, N.C., who took Clemson to three NCAA Tournaments in four years.

Ain't going to happen. "I have one of the best jobs in the country," Barnes recently told the Austin American-Statesman. "I've got no other thoughts about (N.C. State)." Barnes, fresh off an Elite Eight appearance, is also well aware of how badly some State fans treated Sendek.

Other named being tossed around by Triangle media include more realistic possibilities, like Tom Crean of Marquette, John Pelphrey of South Alabama, Jim Les of Bradley and Gregg Marshall of Winthrop. Some of those same names are surfacing at Oklahoma, where Memphis coach John Calipari has evidently emerged as the dream choice to succeed Kelvin Sampson. The Sooners are more likely to get someone like Dana Altman, who for years has done a splendid job under the radar at Creighton.

And then there's Murray State, which is seeking a successor to Mick Cronin, who left to take the job at Cincinnati, which interim head coach Andy Kennedy left to go to Mississippi ... and the wheel goes 'round and 'round.


David Caraviello

http://www.charleston.net/stories/?news ... ion=sports

[PAmedic]

mommy my head hurts

[bigsmooth]

SJ is correct NC State has a good tradition with 2 national titles. the probation deal really hurt that program, and herb did a pretty good job getting it back. Overall carolina and duke have better overall programs in my opinion, but with a top quality coach, i think state could be that 3rd or 4th ACC team. i do not think it is realistic to think state could be duke or carolina, but a maryland yes. i think the state job is a great job..they have a top notch facility, and raleigh is a quality place to live. it is a challenging job to beat duke and carolina, and a coach who wants that challenge could really make a name for himself.