Here we go again. Tonight, the men’s basketball team will face another highly ranked big four opponent. Another in-state matchup that should be a publicized contest for the top of the ACC. But, once again, we find ourselves in a position of irrelevance, absent from any NCAA bracket predictions and just hoping we can avoid a losing record in order to make some kind of post-season play.
Tonight will be a night of soul-searching for the Wolfpack nation. For in addition to playing the No. 7 Demon Deacons’ program that has seemingly passed us by in recent years, UNC-Chapel Hill will travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Duke in a nationally televised game at 9 p.m.
That rivalry, the Tar Heels versus the Blue Devils, is perhaps the most painful symbol of the decline of N.C. State basketball in the past two decades. There is no denying that it is a game of national importance, but it is also a reminder of how State seems to have been left behind.
When the Wolfpack won its last ACC Championship in 1987, State’s basketball tradition was on par with Carolina and light-years ahead of Duke and Wake Forest. Since that year, the Tar Heels have won seven ACC championships and two national titles. Almost more frustrating is that we have watched Duke basketball become a national brand name, winning nine ACC championships and all three of its NCAA titles in that span.
At 2-6 in the conference and 12-9 overall, we must ask ourselves two things: “What is wrong and how do we fix it?” It is this thought process that leads us to the big question. The one that many State fans are reluctant to say aloud quite yet, but many others are already screaming at the top of their lungs. It is the question of coach Sidney Lowe.
Have our failures in the Lowe era been the inevitable result of some flaw in Lowe’s system or approach, or is it simply a lack of the correct personnel, and Lowe will be vindicated if he is just given more time?
Most State fans at least want to believe the latter. We want to experience the same euphoria of that victory against Carolina Feb. 3, 2007, or the deep run into the ACC tournament. Lowe reminds us of the glories of N.C. State’s basketball past. He is one of us. He knows where N.C. State has been and believes we can return.
But all the nostalgic appeal of Lowe fades before the devastating mediocrity of where the program currently is. There are some indicators that suggest State basketball is headed for a resurrection, but many that suggest we are not.
Last weekend’s epic meltdown against Virginia Tech seems to be a microcosm of Lowe’s career up to this point. It reminds me of the fractal theory in Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park in which every component of a geometric shape resembles the whole at any level of magnification.
The missed free throws at the end of Sunday’s game resemble the evaporation of a double-digit lead. And the overtime loss as a whole resembles the rollercoaster ride of the Lowe era up to this point; high expectations and early results leading into disappointment and pessimism.
At the college level, an offensive set can only do so much. A team must have playmakers that can create shots in order to compete at an elite level. But most of State’s biggest playmakers have only a handful of games left in their college careers.
Redshirt junior Brandon Costner and senior Ben McCauley, the leading scorers and rebounders on this year’s team, will not return for the 2009-10 season. Though Costner has a year of eligibility left, he will be graduating this spring and has indicated he is not interested in sticking around.
Senior Courtney Fells, the team’s third-leading scorer and its best shooter, will run out of eligibility and should test his talents at the professional levels.
But the most ominous sign for Lowe is the growing discontent among the fanbase. At the time of publication, the Sidney Lowe credibility watch on thewolfweb.com had reached 89 pages, 4,447 replies and 102,976 views. There is not yet a consensus on Lowe, but in forums like this one, the big question is being debated.
The signs are not all bad though. Lowe has proved himself to be a capable recruiter. His 2009 class is already good and has the potential to be great. Sophomore Tracy Smith, one of the highlights of Lowe’s first true recruiting effort, has proven he has the potential to become one of the conference’s best inside scorers. Maybe, just maybe, all Lowe needs is time. After all, a coach can only do so much. Perhaps we should keep our faith and give this man the time he needs to bring in top talent.
And to be fair, Lowe is in just his third season working the nation’s toughest coaching assignment. He knows the expectations and embraces them. At a press conference two days before the Jan. 31 matchup against UNC-CH, Lowe acknowledged the pressures of being the men’s basketball coach at State.
“That’s this job. [The fans] love N.C. State. They want N.C. State to do well,” Lowe said. “You can’t blame the players, so you got to blame the coach. That’s the job, that’s the life I chose, and I deal with it.”
But as we watch the Pack play Wake Forest tonight, even if we score a stunning upset of a top-10 team, the big question will lurk in the back of our minds; is Lowe the man to restore N.C. State to the top of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball?