The Sidney Lowe era at N.C. State, as a whole, was miserable. However, everything changed when head coach Mark Gottfried was named the new man in charge.
In Gottfried’s first year, he led the basketball program to a 20-win season en route to a magical run to the Sweet 16. His first full offseason with the team compiled continued success by landing three McDonalds All-American recruits in freshman guards Rodney Purvis, Tyler Lewis and forward T.J. Warren.
The combination of four returning starters, an excellent finish to the 2011-12 season and the addition of three talented freshmen arose expectations that had not been echoed around N.C. State for years.
Fans latched on, but Gottfried did not.
Before the team’s trip to Spain last summer, Gottfried said that the team had a good finish to the season, but it wasn’t a great year. He also said the team still had to grow to be worthy of all the pre-season accolades it acquired.
He was right: It didn’t deserve a No. 6 preseason ranking, but had Gottfried made different decisions, the team could have achieved much more.
Don’t get me wrong — last second shots and tip-ins happen, such as those in the waning moments against Maryland and Miami, but the team shouldn’t have been in those down-to-the-wire situations.
This year’s Wolfpack squad has arguably the most talent of any team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and more than many in the country. But you can’t win on talent alone.
Who’s responsible for not harnessing that talent into a juggernaut? Well, it essentially falls on Gottfried.
Could this team win the ACC Championship this weekend? They have as good of a chance as anyone in the field.
Does the team have what it takes to win a National Championship? Maybe, but it better pull itself together — and quickly.
With a lineup that includes senior forwards Richard Howell and Scott Wood, junior forward and guard C.J. Leslie and Lorenzo Brown, and the combination of freshmen Purvis and Warren, the team should have ranked no lower than third in the ACC.
State has been one of the most inconsistent teams in the ACC: It came out with a convincing win against top-ranked Duke, followed by a loss to bottom-dwelling Wake Forest.
The Pack crushed Florida State in Raleigh but fell to the Seminoles in Tallahassee in a game that would have clinched a first round bye in the ACC tournament.
In Gottfried’s second season at the helm, the team finished 22-9 and 11-7 in the ACC. Their record is nothing to be ashamed of. Two back-to-back 20-win seasons is great for a team that wants to remain on top in the conference annually.
On the flip side, the team had the potential to win 25 or more games, but Gottfried wasn’t able to get it done. He alone can be credited for the transformation of Howell and Leslie’s game. There’s no doubt that he can win, recruit and help in the growth of players’ skills, but his decision-making at times has been head scratching.
He could lead the team to greatness. He could cut down the nets in Greensboro and Atlanta. But if the team’s season ends sooner rather than later, fans will be wondering “what if” for years. Gottfried’s reputation as a coach could be tarnished if perhaps the best team to grace N.C. State’s campus since the 1983 team fails to mediocrity.
