Don’t look now, but former NC State head coach Herb Sendek might be about to have another moment at Santa Clara

I know when we post stuff about former players and coaches, we’ll get the normal push back.

“Isn’t this an NC State site? No one is concerned about —-insert player or coach here—–!”

And look, yes, I get it. There are some people, that when a player or coach leaves, they don’t want to hear that name ever again.

But there is the talk and then there is the data. People are interested in stories about past players/coaches, and the Pack Insider traffic report shows that. And you know what, data aside, I find it interesting, so I’m going to post about it.

Which brings me to this story.

Herb Sendek, who coached at NC State from 1996 to 2006, has pretty much gone missing from the national coaching conversation. Once an up and comer from Miami (Ohio), Sendek has some pretty good years at NC State and took them from cellar dwellers (under Les) to a Sweet 16.

But after his time at NC State was over, there were only a few blips of success where his name would bubble up. Those blips came when he was at Arizona State and had the one and only James Harden.

After Harden left, Sendek spent 6 more years at Arizona State with only one NCAA tournament bid.

Since then he’s been at Santa Clara, where in 9 years he has yet to make the big dance (however he has made the NIT 3 of the past 4 seasons).

However this year might be different. Santa Clara is off to a 4-0 start after blowing out Xavier and beating Nevada. Again, interesting, but not newsworthy IMO.

What got my attention was the play of his 7’1 sophomore Bukky Oboye who looked absolutely elite in the win over Nevada (22pts, 7 blocks, 2-2 from 3pt range).

This dude at Santa Clara is doing all of this at 7’1 😳

pic.twitter.com/7pIzrlWeaT

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) November 17, 2025

This 7’1 monster moves like a guard and has NBA written all over him. His emergence is coming as Herb Sendek’s Santa Clara seems to be becoming relevant.

Which made me go back and look. Herb Sendek has had a pretty mediocre career aside from a few ‘moments’ or groupings of years when he found success. These years almost perfectly align with years he had an NBA talents on this roster.

Let’s go back and look…

NCAA Tournament appearance with Miami (Ohio) : Wally Szczerbiak

4 straight NCAA Tournament appearances with NC State: Julius Hodge

NCAA Tournament appearance with Arizona State: Jame Harden

NCCAA Tournament appearance with Santa Clara?: Bukky Oboye?

Aside from these NCAA Tournament appearances with NBA stars on his roster, he’s only made the big dance twice in 24 years.

So what?

Well, I just think it’s interesting. Herb was always such an enigma here at NC State. His personality never fit with the fan base, but the players loved him. Still do to this day, we’ve talked with some of them.

Some think he was run off too early, some say it was the right move. But it’s always been a hot-button topic when brought up.

My takeaway from this, and the reason for pointing it out?

I think Santa Clara is about to have a pretty good season if they stay healthy, and I think Herb Sendek’s name is going to come up a little more. I also think this is showcasing a pattern that was always there. Sendek has an ability to not only uncover underrated NBA talent, but also get that talent to come play for him over school with much bigger names. He found Wally Szcerbiak who ended up being an NBA All-Star. He talked Julius Hodge into coming to NC State over Syracuse despite the Pack not making an NCAA Tournament the 10 years prior. He somehow convinced McDonald’s All-American and future NBA All-Star James Harden to play at Arizona State.

Does he have his next NBA star in Bukky Oboye? If so, given his history, Herb Sendek might be about to have himself another moment.