Chancellor James Oblinger and Director of Athletics Lee Fowler introduced Detroit Pistons’ assistant coach and former N.C. State guard Sidney Lowe as the Wolfpack’s 18th men’s basketball coach May 6 at the Dail Basketball Complex in front of current and former players, the Board of Trustees and prominent figures around the University. u8232 Lowe played on former coach Jim Valvano’s 1983 National Championship team, and as the first pick of the second round in the NBA draft that year, he has been involved in the NBA – as a player, as a coach or as an anaylist – since he left the University. His Pistons team has an 8 p.m. game against Miami tonight in Detroit. u8232 He did not, however, leave N.C. State with a degree, and he has not yet earned one. Since a four-year degree from an accredited college is required to coach at State, Lowe will have to complete his degree before officially taking over the team July 1.
For Oblinger, his new coach’s pursuit of a degree shows Lowe’s commitment to education.u8232 “Like one-third of the students in higher education in this country, he is an adult learner who has balanced work, school and family to complete a degree,” Oblinger said. “The fact that he has worked hard to achieve a degree, when none of his NBA employers required it, says a lot about the views he takes on education.”Lowe is scheduled to earn a degree in business administration from St. Paul’s College in Virginia sometime in June.
e said he’s going to maintain the commitment to academic achievement the school boasted during former coach Herb Sendek’s tenure.u8232 “We want to do it on both ends. We want to do it in the classroom and on the floor. That takes a lot of commitment,” Lowe said. “My story and what I’ve gone through to be able to be standing here today is something our players can look at and say ‘That’s the way you stick with something.'”u8232 Lowe, who has never coached a college game, brings 15 years of NBA experience and said he will bring a fast-paced style and let the players play to their strengths.u8232 “We’re going to be up tempo. We want to get up and down the floor,” Lowe said. “But I don’t mean the fun and gun of the Denver Nuggets. We’re going to play defense. Those teams don’t play defense.”Former Athletics Director Les Robinson said Lowe’s NBA experience will help him adjust to life in the NCAA.
“It’s a lot easier to adjust to college from the NBA,” Robinson said. “Everything is more difficult in the NBA.”
ith speculation on whether sophomore center Cedric Simmons will stay at State or turn pro, Lowe made sure Simmons knew he would have plenty of scoring chances if he chose to stay at State.u8232 “I know we’ve got some plays where if we have a big man inside, we’re going to throw it to him inside,” Lowe said with a smile staring down Simmons. “I’m just saying if we have a big man, he’s going to get a lot of shots – a lot of shots.” u8232 In all, the coaching search officially took 33 days. Through the process, several candidates spurned Fowler and the Unversity.
“I had a guy who had agreed in principle, but for whatever reason, it just didn’t work,” Fowler said. “And I only talked contracts with two or three of them.”
In the end, Fowler found a coach who, as a player, established himself in State history.
I don’t have a lot of rules, just a few,” Lowe said. “Play hard. Play smart. Play together, but the most important rule is to have fun. Have fun. You got to have fun playing with your teammates.”