Armstrong is saying that multiple sources are telling him that over the weekend the decision was made that Gottfried would not return after the season. However, NC State quickly came out with an official statement making it clear that Gottfried was still the coach and nothing had been decided.
So what is the truth? Believe me, we’ve been on the phone constantly over the past few hours and have talked to every source we’ve had over 8 years and here is what we’ve got:
– There has been no ‘official’ decision to let go Gottfried, but the NC State decision makers have seen just about enough. But that doesn’t mean he’s gone. They are letting him ride out the season (as of right now) and while there is probably a decent chance it’s the end of the line for him, I’m very confident that Mark Armstrong’s source may have jumped the gun in saying “it’s been decided.”
– Armstrong also reported that NC State has put out preliminary feelers for Archie Miller. Let me just say this. If your are an AD and you are about to finish last in the ACC and you are even THINKING about getting rid of your coach, then you are not doing you job if you AREN’T putting out feelers at this point. Has Debbie Yow contacted Archie or his agent? Nope. Have donors reached out to people that know Miller to gauge his interest? Pretty good chance that’s a yes. But again, this really isn’t any breaking news. It also doesn’t mean that Gottfried is leaving. It just means that it’s a possibility and options are open right now. I also know that NC State does not have a coach waiting in the wings. So the theory that they are letting go of Gottfried because they have someone lined up, is 100% wrong as of this moment.
So where is Armstrong getting his information? I don’t know. He’s pretty well connected, but we’ve gotten different information from three separate sources that have been very accurate with this type of information in the past. All three are saying basically that “yeah, they’re mad, but they haven’t decided he’s gone for sure.” Could they be shielding the truth in hopes to keep the info under wraps until the proper time? Sure. That is very possible, however all we can do is report the information we’re given.
Either way you cut it. If anything Armstrong says ends up being true, then it’s a straight up embarrassment for our program. If this somehow does turn our to be correct then whoever is out there leaking this information is doing NC State no good at all. Thomas Allen (4 star, 2018 commit) has already reached out to a member of the media to try to figure out what is going on at NC State (however he tweeted last night that he is still committed – which is not really news since he has already signed is LOI.) You have a basketball team who still has a little less than 1/2 the ACC season left to play wondering if their coach has basically been fired. You have now made it clear that Archie is in our sights and likely have pushed Dayton’s timeframe up to put together some mega package to attempt to keep him around.
NC State once again finds themselves in a embarrassing situation with what looks like all their dirty laundry hanging out for everyone to see. I’m not sure if this is the fault of the program itself, a very leaky board of trustees, or media members who jump to conclusions when it comes to NC State.
However you slice it, are you really surprised? You’re an NC State fan. You’re used to Murphy’s law always being in order.
Miller had a front row seat, literally, for the fans and in particular the Wolfpack Club turning on Sendek. I suspect 2006 was enough to sour him on ever wanting to come back, but you never know? Maybe it’s not too late to rekindle some interest from Gregg Marshall. Too bad we’re a year late on Bryce Drew.
Wolfer96
6 years ago
Well, we haven’t done a proper coaching search in 30 years so is anyone surprised at another bungling? Even Yow who is thought to be a good AD hired a guy who was out of coaching after being fired. If Yow hired Lutz, I will give her props for that. That was her finest move. But Doeren & Gottfried? Hope she gets it right this time.
NC State defeated Maryland Eastern Shore 93-61 last night, improving to 6-2 on the season. Ironically, they fell one spot in the NET Rankings, from 51st to 52nd.
NC State’s two losses were against #1 BYU (!) and Ole Miss (#89). BYU was a Quad 1 loss, and Ole Miss was a Quad 2 loss.
The Wolfpack currently rank 7th in the ACC.
ACC Teams in NET Rankings
17) Clemson
23) Virginia
37) UNC
38) Miami
42) Duke
46) Pittsburgh 52) NC State
71) Virginia Tech
91) Boston College
105) Wake Forest
107) Florida St.
114) Syracuse
159) Georgia Tech
212) Notre Dame
276) Louisville
For a refresher on how the NET Rankings are calculated:
Using the quadrant system, which was in its fourth season in 2020-21, the quality of wins and losses will be organized based on game location and the opponent’s NET ranking.
Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75 Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135 Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240 Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353 The number of Quadrant 1 wins and Quadrant 3/4 losses will be incredibly important when it comes time for NCAA tournament selection and seeding. (NCAA)
We’ve seen a lot of new faces on the NC State Men’s Basketball team this season, but one face we haven’t seen yet is Kansas Transfer Guard/Forward M.J. Rice (6’5″/215)…until tonight.
Rice stepped away from the program for personal reasons earlier this Fall, and when he returned, he had a little catching up to do. It wasn’t until today during shoot around that Rice and Keatts both knew that tonight would be his debut.
“He’d been practicing for the last couple of weeks, and you know, I was just trying to figure out when he was ready. He and I, we talked a little bit after shoot around today and I said ‘MJ you ready to go tonight?'” said Kevin Keatts. “and he had this big huge smile on his face. He’s like ‘You sure you ready?’ He’s like ‘Ask me some plays.’ So he and I sit over there on the scores table at the Dale and we went over plays and I was like ‘You know what, you are ready to play.'”
Out of all the transfers Keatts brought in this offseason, Rice might have the highest ceiling. Rice was a 5-Star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, and ON3 ranked him as the #24 overall prospect nationally. He committed to Kansas, where he played in 23 games for the Jayhawks as a Freshman in 2022, averaging 2.2 points in 7.6 minutes per game. Rice was a huge pickup in the Transfer Portal, ranked as the #2 player in the Portal, with three years of eligibility remaining.
Rice also isn’t new to the area either, playing high school ball at Durham Academy, before heading off to Oak Hill Academy and Prolific Prep.
In a short sample size, Rice gave us a glimpse of what the hype is all about tonight. He scored 11 points in 11 minutes of play, also grabbing 6 boards. Rice was 5-6 from the field, and hit the only three he took. In the most electrifying play of the night, Rice took it coast-to-coast, finishing with a soaring dunk.
“He gives us another dimension. We’ve been playing with six of our new dudes. Now we added the seventh and I’m happy for him. He’s going to help us. He’s going to be really good for us.” said Keatts. “I said this on the radio just now…we’ve got some older guys, but two really good young players in Dennis Parker Jr. and also MJ Rice. It was good for MJ to see the ball going in. I think he played 10 minutes had 11 points. He made a three. He had a big time dunk, so I was excited for him.”
“He gives us the ability to play a little bit more small ball. If we have to, we can play him and Dennis Parker both at the three and four. Really good defender at that position and can rebound the basketball,” said Keatts. “It’s going to take time. I’m trying to figure out how to kind of put him into the rotation, and now we’ve added another really good exciting piece to it, but it was good to have him back out there.”
Welcome to the Pack MJ! We’re glad you’ve arrived!
Ready to watch NC State’s Men’s Basketball team play in the ‘old barn’ tonight against Maryland Eastern-Shore? Well, until 7pm, go ahead and get yourself hype by watching Pack Insider’s Highlight Reel of the Wolfpack’s ACC opening win over BC this past Saturday. Check it out above.
Miller had a front row seat, literally, for the fans and in particular the Wolfpack Club turning on Sendek. I suspect 2006 was enough to sour him on ever wanting to come back, but you never know? Maybe it’s not too late to rekindle some interest from Gregg Marshall. Too bad we’re a year late on Bryce Drew.
Well, we haven’t done a proper coaching search in 30 years so is anyone surprised at another bungling? Even Yow who is thought to be a good AD hired a guy who was out of coaching after being fired. If Yow hired Lutz, I will give her props for that. That was her finest move. But Doeren & Gottfried? Hope she gets it right this time.