What is going on with the Men’s Basketball program? This offseason has been tumultuous even by NC State standards. Some of the moves were foreseen, while others have been puzzling to say the least. Lets look at some of the big headlines and dig a little deeper as to what is happening…
Coach Moxley taking a different position in the program…
This move makes perfect sense, Coach Moxley had serious health issues last offseason and was not really capable physically to handle the demands needed for an assistant coach. His whole demeanor was different on the sidelines, and I am sure that this affected him mentally. I will be the first to say that Coach Moxley is one of fiercest competitors that I have ever been around. He was fiery and intense to a point where you either stepped up or stepped out. The players always found a little extra for Rob Moxley in his drills. I believe he will be a vital asset to the Pack in his new role as Director of Player Personnel. In this role he will help in player development and in setting up on campus recruiting visits. His knowledge and experience will be utilized in this position.
Cody and Caleb Martin transferring…
This may of seemed like a shock for many NC State fans, and was probably frustrating. Many fans echoed the same story, “Gottfried cannot keep players.” While it is troubling it seems like the Martins wanted a guaranteed minutes allotment for next season. Mark Gottfried cannot guarantee minutes for any player, they determine their minutes through their work ethic and play on the court. Sorry but the Martins had some good moments but by and large they were not up to the challenge. Both struggled defensively and offensively. They had their opportunity this season to earn their stripes and didn’t. I believe that there was room for one Martin, but not two, especially considering they play the same position. Now I applaud Coach G for sticking to his guns and not giving in to demands or outside pressures. It would of been nice to have the added depth but if they were expecting 30 minutes apiece then that was not going to work.
Cat Barber going pro…
This was expected and the staff did a great job at covering themselves for this by landing Dennis Smith Jr. NC State also has Terry Henderson, Torn Dorn, and Maverick Rowan to play the perimeter. Coach Gottfried shouldn’t be too concerned about his perimeter play this season. Sure a back-up point guard would be nice, but both Henderson and Dorn are more than capable of filling that void in spot situations.
Coach Lutz moves into a new role…
If Lutz would have just moved into this role it would of been understood, but he has had his name tossed around for potential Head Coaching jobs, and the same day he accepted the new role he was linked to a move to Georgia Tech. It was a whirlwind of rumors that lead to him staying at NC State, albeit in a different role. On the flip side NC State losses a great basketball mind on the staff, but at age 58 Lutz was not very active in recruiting. This really left the Pack shorthanded on the recruiting trail as Moxley was still recovering. The silver lining to this move is that Lutz will be a great tool for NC State moving forward in his administration role and State hires another coach that will be a good recruiter.
Hiring Butch Pierre…
Gottfried went with a proven commodity as he hired former Oklahoma State Associate Head Coach Butch Pierre. Pierre has been around the college landscape his whole career and will be a great assistant under Gottfried. It is noted that Pierre is one of the top recruiters in college basketball and has a keen defensive mindset. Oklahoma State finished 3rd in points allowed per game in the Big 12 a season ago. Hopefully Pierre can help implement some new defensive schemes to alleviate the porous defense the Pack have employed the past few seasons.
Hiring Heath Schroyer…
To replace Lutz, Mark Gottfried hired Heath Schroyer former head coach at UT Martin. On the surface I am sure many like myself were less than excited about the hire, but upon more research it seems that Schroyer could be an excellent fit for the Pack. In his first season at UT Martin he had the biggest turnaround in wins for a first year head coach that year, taking a team that only won 8 games prior to his arrival and winning 21 games in his first year. That is a big improvement regardless of competition level. Not only was he successful as the head coach but he was a great assistant at UNLV. In his three seasons with the Runnin’ Rebels, Schroyer helped the program win 71 games, 7 wins over ranked opponents, two top 10 recruiting classes, and helped land a future #1 overall pick in the NBA; Anthony Bennett.
Another side note on Schroyer is he is from Maryland and went to high school at DeMatha High School, where he played for Morgan Wootten, whose 1,274 wins as a head coach are the second most in the history of basketball at any level. So Schroyer has plenty of experience and recruiting connections across the country!
Another reason why Gottfried mentioned why he wanted Schroyer is because he is a great in-game coach. This will help with the loss of Lutz who was utilized for his in-game coaching. NC State could benefit from the new voices around the program. Hopefully both Schroyer and Pierre can bring in some new ideas that will help NC State in getting back to the NCAA Tournament and challenge for the ACC.
Malik Abu transferring? Or going to the NBA?…Or neither?
The report by Jeff Goodman of ESPN was a shocker to say the least, I thought Abu would test the NBA and find out he is not ready, then come back to State and have a solid Junior campaign. I still cannot understand why Abu would rather transfer than play for State next season. At State he will be the key player in the post, and would have plenty of touches. He will be playing along side Dennis Smith Jr., who is widely regarded as a program changing point guard. Smith is more than willing to distribute and is a great floor leader. He is a winner! Not only would Abu have a great point guard but he will have Terry Henderson and Torn Dorn. All the scouting reports on these two suggest that they will be solid contributors who bring versatility on offense and defense. Then throw in the fact that Maverick Rowan will be improved gives State a chance to have some real balance on the offensive end.
If Abu is not in Red & White come next season, the Pack will be against the 8 ball once more. Abu should be a walking double-double next season and could really make a name for himself. Whoever is trying to steer Abu away from the Pack would be doing him a huge disservice. Hopefully Abu can look at the positives and recognize that NC State offers him the best chance at succeeding!
Your Thoughts…
I am curious am I in the wrong at thinking Abu should stay? Being completely unbiased I still believe that State is the best option for him. As far as the other changes, I think it can be a positive that some new coaches are in tow, nothing against the former coaches, but sometimes new perspectives are needed.
How does Wolfpack nation feel about the state of the Men’s Basketball program? I am concerned as well about the turnover in players and would like to see improvements defensively, but I do not think Gottfried deserves to be fired. He has done some great things with our program, but the rest of this offseason and next season could make or break Coach Gottfried.
cebner I wouldn’t base my opinions on a few fans that don’t know anything about college sports outside of a few powerhouse programs. There is no knowledgeable fan of college sports anywhere that doesn’t know about NC State. The only one living in a bubble is you and a few casual fans around the country that have stumbled across your big S.
@ccebner I look at it differently. Look at what Tony Bennett has done at UVA. UVA does not have the history of State nor do they have any recent success prior to Bennett. All it takes is one good coach to turn a program around. Really what State needs is a systems coach. One that emphasizes defense and ball movement. There are many paths a program can take to get to where they want to be. Recruiting is only one. There are some solid mid majors out there that win every year in the tourney with guys no one ever… Read more »
I love nc state and want nothing more than to see us win but our rich history in basketball happened WAY too long ago to help us in recruiting. Our football program is and has been a train wreck since Rivers graduated. No big name coach will want to take our job as we are too insignificant of a program. These are major challenges for us but constantly firing coaches is not a good idea. Give both coaches plenty of breathing room and long term contracts. It took Bill Cowherd (nc state grad) over a decade to get the Steelers… Read more »
Folks….as an NC State grad and die hard we must realize who we are. We stink at the two major sports in basketball and football and we have stunk for a long, long time. Coach G got us to a couple of sweet sixteens in the last few years….we should make a giant bronze statue of him on campus as far as I am concerned. We are not a national program like we once we’re in the 70’s and 80’s. We are essentially a regional entity with little recognition outside of the Carolinas. I have lived in the south, north… Read more »
FromTheClassOf1975 Aside from all the transfers what do you think about his coaching? Sure he is better than the guy he replaced but that was a pretty “lowe” bar to begin with (yes I pun). In my opinion based on the 5 seasons I’ve witnessed, Gott is horrible at in-game adjustments, his offenses are generally one-dimensional (get the ball to: CJL, Wood, TJ, Cat), and his defenses are the worst. I don’t think you can blame 5 seasons of lackluster defense on the players alone. This past season should have been one of State’s best defenses ever. I mean they… Read more »
No, we should not fire Gott, we don’t have enough information to draw any substantial conclusions. It’s all circumstantial. It would be nice to get more than 140 characters from Abu, if he has a legit complaint. Coach Gott stood with us when no one else would, at any price. It would seem to me that we should stand by him until we are sure he doesn’t deserve our loyalty. He has much better results than previous coaching with less than stellar talent. I don’t recall any of the transfers getting drafted recently… We all wear red because we love… Read more »
Thank God we still have the two Chris’s. We will be the laughing stock of North Carolina if we keep Gottfried.
I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes so I won’t speculate. Abu trying to transfer as a rising junior is a seriously foolish move. The NBA is like a dirty old man, it doesn’t like 22/23 year olds. It likes 18/19 year olds with high upsides. Let’s say Abu transfers and has to sit out next season. The following year even if he improves upon his numbers at a new school marginally, now he is 22 years old entering the draft and his upside is non-existent. That drops him down to late 2nd round or worse and most… Read more »
Why Abu would leave/transfer is beyond me. The twins played hard and tough but seemed to always to be looking out for themselves so I don’t mind them leaving. Cat will be another Jeff Teague so his move made sense. Gottfried needs to do whatever he needs to do to keep Abu. If he transfers then something not good has got to be going on behind the scenes. He won’t get drafted so we don’t have to worry about that happening. One thing for sure is, you never know what to expect in the off season with NCSU basketball.