Bobby Lutz: Gottfried’s Right Hand Man

Bobby Lutz has seen it all in his illustrious college coaching career. He has paved his way through the ranks as he started as a high school basketball coach at Parkwood High in North Carolina and then got a graduate assistant job at Clemson. Following his time at Clemson Lutz went on to coach at Pfeiffer, while there he complied a record of 180-89. From there he went on to coach at his alma mater UNC Charlotte. Lutz was able to lift his school to heights it had never seen before as he led them to 5 NCAA Tournament appearances and finished his career as the all-time leader in wins at 218.

Mark Gottfried would tell the story of how he came to respect Coach Lutz when he was a broadcaster for ESPN. On assignment he was covering a game featuring Louisville vs UNC Charlotte. He recalls how he saw both teams practice and their accompanying walk-through’s. He thought after seeing both practice and approaches that Louisville would wipe the 49ers off the court but was impressed when UNCC won the game. Bobby Lutz complied an impressive head to head record against some of the best coaches in college basketball. Lutz owns a winning record over John Calipari (3-2), and Tom Crean (6-4). As for his battles with Rick Pitino he was 3-4.

NC State has enjoyed a resurgence in its’ basketball program since the arrival of Gottfried but Lutz has been just as instrumental in trying to re-establish NC State’s relevance in the ACC. Lutz possesses a brilliant basketball mind and does excellent work in knowing his opponents and their tendancies. Seriously listen closely the next time you are at a State basketball game, you can clearly hear Bobby Lutz spewing useful information to our players. My favorite line from him had to be the time he instructed Richard Howell to take the ball from another player…”Rich he is soft as candy.”

Each offseason I get nervous that he will land a head coaching gig; however, he has stayed with the Pack. If State wants to reach the top of the mountain Gottfried needs great assitant coaches and Lutz fits that billing to a T. There are few assitant coaches who have Lutz’s combination of knowledge and experience and he is no doubt a valuable asset. Lutz is also insanely competitive and approaches each game and practice with an inspiring amount of fire.

Off the court you will be hard pressed to find a better person and representative of North Carolina State Univeristy. Lutz is a devoted family man and is an avid sports enthusiast who can be seen at many NC State sporting events. He is a regular at many baseball games as well football. I can confidently say that Lutz will give State his absolute best to get our program where it belongs…which is at the top of the ACC.