For the first time in a while, things are looking good for North Carolina State and coach Sidney Lowe.
Junior forward Tracy Smith decided to return to school instead of remaining in the NBA Draft. Committed, then decommitted five-star recruit C.J. Leslie returned to Lowe’s fold. He joins fellow five-star recruit Ryan Harrow and four-star recruit Lorenzo Brown to form one of the best incoming classes.
Three out of four of the team’s top scorers will be back next season, too.
But one major departure from the Wolfpack family will be athletic director Lee Fowler, the man who hired Lowe in 2007.
And that means Lowe’s days are numbered unless he can win the support of the Wolfpack faithful.
Thankfully for Lowe, the path to the hearts of Wolfpack fans doesn’t require a complicated road map. It just requires a journey along the Road to the Final Four in March 2011.
Smith promises to be one of the best big men in the ACC next season. Lowe has two uber-talented guards in Harrow and Brown to run his offense, something that junior point guard Javier Gonzalez has not been able to do in three seasons. With Harrow and Brown alternating time at point guard, Gonzalez can spend more time at the 2 guard spot.
Freshman swingman Scott Wood, a strong long-range shooter, figures to pair with Leslie to create match up problems against teams that try to double Smith in the post. All of a sudden, Lowe has a talented lineup that has no reason not to succeed. And that places lofty expectations on Lowe to deliver results on the court, not just on the recruiting trail.
The natives are already restless. A Google search for “fire sidney lowe” delivers 4,040 results. Someone already has FireSidneyLowe.com registered in protest. And 87 Facebook users have joined the Fire Sidney Lowe fan page. On Twitter, several Wolfpack fans prognosticated that Lowe would be following Fowler out of Raleigh.
The unpopular AD recently agreed to step down despite having three years remaining on his contract. His tenure will close June 30, the end of this academic year.
For Lowe, anything short of a run to the NCAA Tournament — possibly the second weekend of the Big Dance — will likely close Lowe’s tenure at the end of next basketball year.
