Mark Gottfried was fired today by NC State. The pressure had become too much for the university to let things ride out any longer. At the start of the season, optimism was high with a highly touted roster that featured potential lottery pick, Dennis Smith, as well as landing five-star Omer Yurtseven. In addition to those two guys Gottfried landed Markell Johnson, Ted Kapita, and Darius Hicks. The new guys paired with in-house guys Terry Henderson, Torin Dorn, Maverick Rowan, Malik Abu, and Beejay Anya had things trending up.
It all proved to be a mirage at this point as NC State finds itself at 14-13 and 3-11 in ACC play. Defense and a general lack of heart have doomed the Pack to the cellar of the ACC. In the midst of a six-game losing streak AD, Yow decided that they needed to go in a different direction as a program but will allow Gottfried to finish the season.
Mark Gottfried did help NC State University. He found a way to get the program back to the NCAA Tournament four straight times after not making an appearance in its’ previous five seasons. Coach Gottfried afforded me a great opportunity allowing me to be a student manager his first two years at NC State. He knew us all by name and treated us with great respect and for that I am thankful. Gottfried and his staff worked hard to bring NC State resources and talent to compete in the ACC.
NC State has a rich basketball history. Mark Gottfried came into NC State and displayed that history throughout the practice facility with renovations worthy of that tradition. The training room was top-notch with resources to help players recover and heal quickly. At the PNC he helped renovate the locker rooms as well as the training rooms to reflect an ACC program. Gottfried also didn’t back down from the two schools to NC State’s west. He was savvy with the media helping NC State gain more national exposure with features on ESPN as well as ESPNU that gave inside looks to practice.
NC State has a lot to offer Mark Gottfried’s successor. The fanbase, facilities, tradition, greatest conference in the country, competition, and potentially a decent roster for next season. Things did not reach the heights many wanted for NC State; however, Mark Gottfried did provide some great memories. We beat UNC and Duke. Two Sweet Sixteens including knocking off the one seed Villanova. There is no reason to dwell on his shortcomings at this juncture. He made the most of his opportunity upon his arrival. He injected some much-needed life into the NC State Basketball program and for that, I am thankful for his service. I will be applauding him this Saturday and I hope others will too.
Gott has done nothing but talk good about the program. He is fired. Let him finish the season with class Pack Fans. Don’t have to agree with his coaching … That being said…If we are pressing for Archie…why does fire happen during the season. Now Archie has to answer media ?’s while coaching a 21-5 Tourney Team. Dayton is going to through the vault at him. This parting of ways seems sloppy.
As long as the ppl involved can keep their lips sealed we can talk to coaches during the season without anyone knowing. It’s all about being discreet and letting those outside of the administration do the talking. We should stay away from coaching search firms as they have a horrible track record. Let friends of the program do informal querying of interest by the coaches on our list.
tookandsaid
6 years ago
Congratulations- this is one of the best post I’ve seen in a while (not just talking about in this site – packpride, statefansnation, backingthepack, etc). Loved the videos – very informative.
Wish someone could really catch the ear of the one with the pocketbook at State and really open it up for Greg Marshall – or someone like that. Just seriously stop trying to find the bargain coach.
wolfpack74
6 years ago
Now the a$$hole gives a $hit what the fans think. Why in the hell is he still coaching in Raleigh? Let’s not say he is fired, let’s say he is transferring.
wolfpack74
6 years ago
Rejoice. Let’s celebrate. Can’t get any worse. Get rid of Smith and keep the rest. Get Y7 in shape. Fire all of the staff. Move on.
Tarhater
6 years ago
Basketball coaches aren’t the only people whose past performance has little bearing on the present. What Coach Gott did 2-4 years ago is only relavent as standard to compare his performance to today. His performance drop off has been rapid and dramatic. Any business person knows the price you pay in a performance based environment when this happens. It got Gott. I wish him future success.
Wolfer96
6 years ago
The ACC in my opinion has always been the best conference. But with the addition of Louisville/Notre Dame/Syracuse/Pitt, the ascension of UVA/VT, and overall improvement by league teams… it’s going to require a coach of magnitude to compete in this league. A half-ass coach will no longer make it in this new ACC. I hope we get a real motivator and bball scholar. Someone with V like charisma.
Call me stupid but if you want a motivator and bball scholar, go get Bruce Pearl at Auburn. I watched him take a lack luster Tennessee all the way to number 1. Didn’t end well but it was fun living in the midst of it.
Yeah I think he’s a great coach but doesn’t seem to realize that he’s an old man and shouldn’t be partying with college kids. I prefer a little more mature coach.
Wolfer96
6 years ago
Remember – State only dropped off the last 30 years due to an overreaction by shitty administrators. It had nothing to do with unc or duke or facilities or anything other than mismanagement of the program. No excuses, hire the right guy and get this program back to where it should be.
Wolfer96
6 years ago
I agree Mark did some good things. He recruited at a high level and even had some tourney success. But we deserve even better. Too many ppl compare him to Les, Sendek, and Lowe. That is crazy. Those were some of the worst coaches in State history. We need to aim high and not be afraid to have high expectations.
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.
Gott has done nothing but talk good about the program. He is fired. Let him finish the season with class Pack Fans. Don’t have to agree with his coaching … That being said…If we are pressing for Archie…why does fire happen during the season. Now Archie has to answer media ?’s while coaching a 21-5 Tourney Team. Dayton is going to through the vault at him. This parting of ways seems sloppy.
As long as the ppl involved can keep their lips sealed we can talk to coaches during the season without anyone knowing. It’s all about being discreet and letting those outside of the administration do the talking. We should stay away from coaching search firms as they have a horrible track record. Let friends of the program do informal querying of interest by the coaches on our list.
Congratulations- this is one of the best post I’ve seen in a while (not just talking about in this site – packpride, statefansnation, backingthepack, etc). Loved the videos – very informative.
Wish someone could really catch the ear of the one with the pocketbook at State and really open it up for Greg Marshall – or someone like that. Just seriously stop trying to find the bargain coach.
Now the a$$hole gives a $hit what the fans think. Why in the hell is he still coaching in Raleigh? Let’s not say he is fired, let’s say he is transferring.
Rejoice. Let’s celebrate. Can’t get any worse. Get rid of Smith and keep the rest. Get Y7 in shape. Fire all of the staff. Move on.
Basketball coaches aren’t the only people whose past performance has little bearing on the present. What Coach Gott did 2-4 years ago is only relavent as standard to compare his performance to today. His performance drop off has been rapid and dramatic. Any business person knows the price you pay in a performance based environment when this happens. It got Gott. I wish him future success.
The ACC in my opinion has always been the best conference. But with the addition of Louisville/Notre Dame/Syracuse/Pitt, the ascension of UVA/VT, and overall improvement by league teams… it’s going to require a coach of magnitude to compete in this league. A half-ass coach will no longer make it in this new ACC. I hope we get a real motivator and bball scholar. Someone with V like charisma.
Call me stupid but if you want a motivator and bball scholar, go get Bruce Pearl at Auburn. I watched him take a lack luster Tennessee all the way to number 1. Didn’t end well but it was fun living in the midst of it.
Yeah I think he’s a great coach but doesn’t seem to realize that he’s an old man and shouldn’t be partying with college kids. I prefer a little more mature coach.
Remember – State only dropped off the last 30 years due to an overreaction by shitty administrators. It had nothing to do with unc or duke or facilities or anything other than mismanagement of the program. No excuses, hire the right guy and get this program back to where it should be.
I agree Mark did some good things. He recruited at a high level and even had some tourney success. But we deserve even better. Too many ppl compare him to Les, Sendek, and Lowe. That is crazy. Those were some of the worst coaches in State history. We need to aim high and not be afraid to have high expectations.