North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Lowe Calm About Official Coaching Debut
11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH -- For the first time since April 4, 1983, Sidney Lowe will walk on the floor officially leading NC State. For the last six months, including three exhibition warm-ups, Lowe has lived his dream, sitting in the chair once occupied by his mentors, Norm Sloan and Jim Valvano.
He’s done all the preliminary work: installing completely new offensive and defensive systems, forging his own path on the recruiting trails, trying to hold onto the remnants of a program that Herb Sendek guided to five consecutive NCAA appearances before he left last spring for Arizona State.
“It’s time,” Lowe said with resolve Tuesday night after his team’s victory over cross-town Division II opponent St. Aug’s.
Of course, for Lowe, Friday’s official debut at 7 p.m. against Wofford at the RBC Center won’t be any different than the intra-squad Red-White Game that was played in Reynolds Coliseum or the two exhibitions games at the RBC Center. He has now shaken off the unknown of coaching in his first college games, after spending most of the last 24 years playing or coaching in the NBA. That included stints as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies.
“There is really no difference, in this game and the exhibitions,” Lowe said. “That was quite an interesting and exciting time. Now that I have done it, there is really no difference. We prepared for those games just like we are preparing for this one.”
The stands at the 19,000-seat RBC Center might be a little more full, of course. And the introduction might be a little longer. Even the players expect Lowe to bask in the spotlight of his introduction.
“I think it will be a lot of excitement in the building and everybody will be ready to get the season started,” said redshirt freshman Brandon Costner. “I know Coach Lowe is going to be happy and will have a big ol’ smile on his face. We are all ready to get it started too.”
Lowe is definitely excited to get his version of NC State’s program underway, but he has been cautious about getting too caught up in his return home to take over a program that has been to three Final Fours and won two NCAA titles.
“Our program is established at NC State,” Lowe said Thursday. “As for my era here, we are just trying to go out and compete, win some games and do it with some class and dignity. It’s a tough challenge this is the ACC. It’s the Mecca of college basketball, as far as I am concerned.”
So far, Lowe has been impressed with his players’ ability to learn his offensive and defensive systems, to do whatever needed to make up for the team’s thin roster, from junior Gavin Grant’s willingness to step in at point guard for injured senior Engin Atsur, to redshirt freshman Brandon Costner’s sacrifice of his scoring for rebounds, an area of concern throughout the season.
“We are very unselfish, that’s what has impressed me most about this team at this early stage,” Lowe said. “I also like that we have been able to turn it up on the defensive end at times. Certainly, we would rather have it going all the time, because defense is something you can do every game. Shots are not going to go in every time, but you can always defend.
“I have been impressed by the fact that when we needed to, we bore down and got it done.”
Lowe knows that externally, in preseason magazines and media polls, that the expectations for his team are not high. He doesn’t care about that. He doesn’t plan to use the fact that the media picked the Wolfpack to finish 12th in the ACC at Operation Basketball a couple of weeks ago.
“It is not motivation for me at all,” Lowe said. “For me, just winning a game is motivation. It doesn’t matter who you play, what your record is, where you are ranked: you go out and play to win the ball game.
“It doesn’t bother me (that some people have the Wolfpack picked in the lower half of the ACC),” Lowe said. “Do I like it? Absolutely not, but those are opinions and we can’t be concerned about that. We have to be concerned about the guys in that lockerroom, that we stay on the same page. We are not concerned about what other people do and say, we are only concerned about what we do and what we say, the things we can control. That is how we are going to approach it.
“As far as expectations, we are going to go out and compete. We are going to go out and play hard, represent NC WState University in a class manner.”
Those are all things Lowe learned here long ago.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
