You can't write about Herb Sendek without the comments section turning into a referendum on either N.C. State fans and how they supposedly ran Sendek out of town or the News & Observer and how we supposedly mistreated Sendek.
This is an attempt to just talk basketball and Sendek. That's it.
There was nothing surprising about Arizona State's 66-57 win over Temple in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Preparation has always been Sendek's calling card and that is evident in Sendek's opening-round record in all tournaments.
He improved to 6-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament — winning once with Miami, Ohio in 1995, four times with N.C. State and in his first trip with ASU today.
Sendek's also 5-2 in the first round of the NIT and 12-4 in the first round of conference tournaments (two of those losses with Arizona State).
What was remarkable was watching a basketball game between Temple and a Herb Sendek-coached team and Temple was playing man defense and Sendek a 2-3 zone. I shook my head, changed the awkward four-digit cable channel and then flipped back to make sure I was watching the right game (State Fans Nation has noticed the same changes).
Since leaving Raleigh after the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Sendek has adjusted his coaching methodology. Like Mike Krzyzewski, Sendek insisted on playing man-to-man defense in 10 seasons in Raleigh, regardless of the level of talent on the roster.
Unlike Krzyzewski, Sendek never increased his overall talent level to the point where he could play 40 minutes of man-to-man, regardless of the opponent or situation.
Then there's Sendek's choice of offense. You could write a book about the "Prince-State" offense and its successes and failures (notably in the second half and end-game situations). At first, Sendek needed the offense, brought in by then-assistant coach Larry Hunter after missing the NCAA Tournament Sendek's first five seasons in Raleigh. It actually saved Sendek's job.
But by the end of his tenure, he had better talent — notably a first-round pick in Cedric Simmons in the post — and he never adjusted.
Once in Tempe, and with a fresh start on all levels after a disappointing 2005-06 season in Raleigh, Sendek implemented a 2-3 zone defense. He also ditched the methodical offense in favor of the flex cuts, like those favored by Maryland.
After one losing season at ASU, Sendek added top recruit James Harden, who'll likely be a lottery pick in the next draft. Instead of cramming Harden into an offensive system, he tailored the offense for Harden.
The zone defense and the flexible offense are all good moves by Sendek, who no one disputes is a good coach. They have paid off for a program that had previously made three NCAA Tournament trips since 1981 and was best known for a point-shaver named Hedake (appropriately pronounced "headache").
Harden (eight points) wasn't great Friday but Sendek found another way to win, another sign of good coaching.
Syracuse, and its famous 2-3 zone, is next for Sendek. As good as Sendek has been in the first round, he's 1-5 in the second with at least one infamous missed step — against Vanderbilt in 2004. That record is also telling about Sendek's inability to adjust, either within a game or a weekend.
Two things are certain:
1) Sendek will need more from Harden to beat the Orange and improve to 2-5;
2) If ASU does win, it won't be the final words written about Sendek on this blog.
With one more win each, ASU will be in the same regional as UNC. If that happens, then we can talk about who was mistreated and how it all ended.
Comments
Sidney Lowe = Lame Duck
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 10:45 — acc_hoops_fan73178Now that we're losing Costner and Ferguson in addition to Fells and McCauley from a team that finished 10th in the conference, I think our race for the bottom of the conference may only be challenged by UVa. I can't find 5 guys worthy of starting for us next year. I tried to name them: Tracy Smith, Dennis Horner, CJ Williams.... That's as far as I can go before I'm overwhelmed with the urge to take an antidepressant.
Sidney Lowe has guaranteed failure next season by his lack of ACC-caliber talent on the roster. Only John Wall can save his job at this point.
Educate Yourself
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 22:03 — Baller87When you are trying to put together a starting 5 for next year maybe you should do a little research. Sidney has a top 15 class coming in with 2 top 50 players in Lorenzo Brown abd Richard Howell, both of who will most likely both start. This will not put them in the top of the ACC immediately, but they will be more talented and athletic than they were this year. They will be young and fun to watch, how good nobody can answer that. Costner became a stumbling block to the growth of the team.
Track record
Mon, 03/23/2009 - 09:10 — realwufTrack record in the NBA and now 3 years at State proves we will never get there with Sidney Lowe!
Nothing Has Really Changed
Mon, 03/23/2009 - 09:03 — Carl_NCSU_73I commented on Scott Fowler's column that Az State would not survive a contest with a real program like Syracuse and to no surprise they didn't. Herb may have finally learned after 10 years here that adjustments are required but now he needs to learn that adjustments have to be made quickly. Not in weeks, but in days as in the case of 2nd or 3rd round playoffs. So let's see how long that takes. The 'Pack's basketball may suck for now, but I'm pretty frickin' sure that we'll be at the 2nd round before Herb makes it to the 3rd round.
I'll take that bet
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 10:29 — acc_hoops_fan73178If you could somehow guarantee that Sidney Lowe won't get fired and will stay at State, then I'll take that bet.
State fans don't rant about Herb
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 21:56 — bradleyb123Someone posted that State fans always rant about Herb. The only time we rant is when fans of other schools (usually Carolina) START ranting about how dumb we were to run him out of town. We didn't run him out of town. He left for a fat raise and we didn't care to match it. We are glad he's gone, and we don't want him back. Most of us just wish everyone would drop the Herb subject. We don't care. And most of us wish him well. How many years will we hear the complaints from the fans of OTHER SCHOOLS about us getting rid of Herb?
Of course you'd like to drop it!
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 10:27 — acc_hoops_fan73178Of course you would like to drop it! B/c everything that's happened since he left has been a complete disaster. Lee Fowler did exactly what Herb haters wanted him to do... he threw every $ we could find at some of the biggest names that would consider the job. Rick Barnes wouldn't come home. John Calipari, who has no intention of leaving his tiny conference and guaranteed 30-win seasons, pretended to be interested to get a raise from Memphis. Beilein wouldn't come and Steve Lavin would rather do TV than coach at State. After several weeks of searching and lots of "NOs", all that was left was a former player and failed NBA head coach who still hadn't received his college degree some 20+ years after leaving NC State. And I don't need to rehash how bad the last 3 years have been. So if I were you, one of the people who drove away a good coach who took us to 5 straight NCAA tournaments, I'd want to drop it too.
Great article
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 10:50 — LKNpackfanI took this blog post as a reply/rebuttal to Scott Fowler's "Sendek’s style same as it was with Pack" article that ran Friday (which was completely off-base because Sendek's style has certainly changed), and I think it's fantastic. Finally, a member of the media (Giglio) understands and prints what NC State fans saw during Herb's last few years - that Sendek and his disinterest in changing his offensive/defensive schemes had peaked in Raleigh. It is BECAUSE Herb has finally adjusted those schemes that he has been able to be successful in Arizona. I applaud Sendek for his hard work both in Raleigh and in Tempe, and wish him the best of luck.
Good luck with that.
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 09:43 — JPDOhioIf you put "Sendek" and "basketball" within 100 words of each other, you will get ranting from Pack fans. So be it. You have to report what's happening with Herb in the tourney, and it sure does generate interest.
I sincerely hope Herb does well this year. If ASU does happen to meet UNC and upset them, you'll have to dedicate an entirely separate blog to handle the traffic. The system could very well crash under its own wait.
One thing I don't miss is this type of comment (taken from the N&O article on Herb's style)- "If you only evaluate somebody's impact on their numbers, you can really miss the totality of what they're influencing in the game." The worst tax conference I have ever attended is better that listening to a Herb press conference
Good Luck!
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 08:29 — realwufGood luck Herb in the tournament. I wish you and ASU well. States bball program is terrible and no end in sight. I see why alums like Bill Cowher go to see Duke play bball over in Cameron....Nate McMillan wouldn't even send his son to play at State. That speaks volumes!
Herb and ASU ROCK!
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 01:10 — lil576Way to go Herb. You left town at the right time. NC State won't be back to the NCAA's for the forseeable future. It's a sinking ship. They better be lucky they got a good football coach, because the B-Ball Program is in shambles.
"The zone defense and the
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 00:38 — gvillegatr"The zone defense and the flexible offense are all good moves by Sendek, who no one disputes is a good coach."
It is what you said after the comma that I have to disagree with. Not me, of course ... but for the 70% of ncsu nation that booted his arse out. make no mistake, it was a boot.
From one of the other "30%"....
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 10:36 — acc_hoops_fan73178Thanks for booting him out. You were right all along. Going to the NCAA tournament isn't all that it's cracked up to be. It's much better to have a clueless former player coach the team and not play in the postseason.
That Herb Sendek is so bad of a coach that he took a program in much worse shape than NC State and got them in the NCAA tournament in year 3 while we have yet to play in the postseason.
Let it go
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 00:08 — dnbratSeriously, let it go. It's over, he's gone. Don't keep trying to tell us how much better off you are without him. Let NC State show us with it's win loss record and their tourney appearances. You are only trying to make yourself feel better and it's clearly not working.
"This is an attempt to just
Fri, 03/20/2009 - 22:55 — baldezar"This is an attempt to just talk basketball and Sendek. That's it." Really? How about that title?
N.C. State
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 12:08 — mauricehowertonWhy are we even talking about The Wolf Smack or Sendek. He left town, so The Wolf Smack should go out and breed the cows.
Let it go...
Fri, 03/20/2009 - 21:10 — sirwallyraleighI saw Herb today at the news conference and he doesn't appear to be sweating any role you played in "running him out of town". At least one of you has gotten over it! Stand back and take a long look at your article and you will see what I mean. Take Herb's lead and ...let it go. Oh, and by the way, how many times have we gone past the first round since he left? Winning in the first round only sounds like a luxury we could live with and who knows maybe by now he would be making the same adjustments to our team and taking us to the next level and beyond...