Sunday, January 02, 2005
Necessary Pain
The NC State men's basketball team experienced a humiliating defeat Thursday night. Although it was a road game, the Wolfpack lost to a bad St. John's squad in what was supposed to be a triumphant homecoming for senior Julius Hodge, a Harlem native. Here are a few stats that tell how poorly the State played:
scored only 10 points in the first half on 3-23 shooting
missed their first 11 shots in the second half to drop to 3-34 (9%) shooting
only one player made more than two shots in the entire game
This performance was pitiful, and it may have been enough to call head coach Herb Sendek's job into question. If so, then the loss was a necessary step toward long-term improvement, which will only occur after head coach Herb Sendek vacates his office.
Sendek has had just enough success to keep enough Wolfpack fans happy, and he has been lucky that expectations for his teams have been relatively low. Until this year.
Sendek is a bright guy and an effective recruiter. He is probably quite capable when it comes to studying film and providing analysis. I think he could be a good assistant coach somewhere (else).
However, coaching college basketball is more art than science. His recruiting and the mechanics of his job may be in place, but talking to players (and the media) as if he were giving a valedictory address does not lead to a winning result.
At his press conference just after being hired, Sendek was asked how he felt about being State's second choice for head coach. He responded by saying "Hell, I was my wife's third choice." That was a funny line. It's too bad that his ability to communicate effectively peaked in his first day on the job.
scored only 10 points in the first half on 3-23 shooting
missed their first 11 shots in the second half to drop to 3-34 (9%) shooting
only one player made more than two shots in the entire game
This performance was pitiful, and it may have been enough to call head coach Herb Sendek's job into question. If so, then the loss was a necessary step toward long-term improvement, which will only occur after head coach Herb Sendek vacates his office.
Sendek has had just enough success to keep enough Wolfpack fans happy, and he has been lucky that expectations for his teams have been relatively low. Until this year.
Sendek is a bright guy and an effective recruiter. He is probably quite capable when it comes to studying film and providing analysis. I think he could be a good assistant coach somewhere (else).
However, coaching college basketball is more art than science. His recruiting and the mechanics of his job may be in place, but talking to players (and the media) as if he were giving a valedictory address does not lead to a winning result.
At his press conference just after being hired, Sendek was asked how he felt about being State's second choice for head coach. He responded by saying "Hell, I was my wife's third choice." That was a funny line. It's too bad that his ability to communicate effectively peaked in his first day on the job.
