Costner, Fells, Atsur, Ferguson....all perimeter players that can shoot the 3. Herb would not have abandoned his live and die by the 3 attitude next year.

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 2:32 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2006 2:32:10 PM

^^shit i woudl be happy if could duplicate our record too

it was a 20 win season and we have alot of talent coming back.

but in the post you point to i was referencing the fact that whoever wrote what wolfpaack wrote seemed to be content w/ "mediocre" records as long as it was with a different coach

which is stupid


*****

^look at late last year and tell me atsur can shoot, how many 1-10 nights did he have

we hope costner can shoot the 3 in ACC play and we hope Fells can shoot the 3 in ACC play and we hope Ferguson can even compete in ACC play

Fells didnt show himself as a shooter when he played and costner only played against shit team and still didnt show himself as a shooter

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 2:35 PM. Reason : a]

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 2:36 PM. Reason : a]

4/21/2006 2:32:35 PM

well i've already said that the main point of me copying it was to point out the good in Whitt.


We're on the same page, idk why we're even arguing. I shouldnt have kept the part about herbs record, because its obviously not comparable.

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 2:34 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2006 2:34:01 PM

i think we can still do better than a mediocre A-10 coach. who cares that he played here?

4/21/2006 2:36:14 PM

Herb would still have them jacking up 3's....he never stopped Atsur from shooting....




I never said they were good, but thats what they do....jack up 3's.

4/21/2006 2:40:38 PM

gotta remember, jim tressel was a division II coach at youngstown state before taking over the reigns of arguably the biggest, most die-hard football program in the country. Granted, he had a couple D II championships under his belt, but he had no DI coaching experience, let along a program of that magnitude, and look how things turned out.

4/21/2006 2:52:46 PM

he cheated his way to a NC?

is that the answer you are looking for?

4/21/2006 2:55:18 PM

Jim has notihng to do with this at all

he had experience on smaller level with good competition and was winning Championships

I would hate to see what would happen here if Whit came back and did poor and we had to fire him, therefore I dont think he will be our coach.

4/21/2006 3:08:07 PM

Hmm, well if Whittenburg could get ateast 2 descent recruits to pick up the slack from last year....who knows....but Im all about giving the dude a chance...someone had to give Coach K a chance and when he started out his teams were pathetic as hell....so why not this coach? As long as he can coach his ass off, I dont care about his skin color. I just want the Pack to have a quality guy before the summer gets here!

4/21/2006 3:14:38 PM

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 3:16 PM. Reason : fuckin double post]

4/21/2006 3:15:17 PM

well its not like we were winning championships with Herb, and we werent about to fire him.


If Whitt leaves with a mediocre record it will be on his own terms. If he sucks, he might even step down in the first place. Its not like we're begging him to come, I think its quite the opposite.



Lee ought to go to him and say: "look, you want the job, take it, its all yours, with the understanding that anything that goes wrong is all on you."


I think he could come here with the attitude that he has to prove himself, and he could get that point across to the fans. Most coaches arent going to shy away from the fans like Sendek did, which is basically what made us hate him in the first place.

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 3:19 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2006 3:16:01 PM

Quote :

"^look at late last year and tell me atsur can shoot, how many 1-10 nights did he have"

Atsur is great IF HE'S SPOTTED UP.

For some reason, he spent the entire season trying to play as if he could shoot on the move. He can't.

4/21/2006 3:34:57 PM

Quote :

"but Im all about giving the dude a chance"

You can't give him "just a chance." Firing a well-loved alumnus is extremely difficult if he doesn't work out.

4/21/2006 3:37:56 PM

This belongs here too. Because if we hire Whitt...

4/21/2006 4:40:39 PM

the point about tressel is that Ohio State is arguably the biggest football school in the country along with a few others and they went with a relatively unknown coach. I mean, be honest, how many of you had heard of jim tressel before the got the job? my point is that hiring someone that isn't a big name could turn out to be a good thing. you never know.

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 4:43 PM. Reason : .]

4/21/2006 4:42:43 PM

Has Whittenberg won the A-10 yet?????

Alright then.

4/21/2006 4:45:06 PM

of course it's not apples to apples and I'm not even comparing whittenburg to tressel. I'm just simply saying that a no name coach might not be a bad thing. jesus

4/21/2006 4:47:59 PM

Yeah but he was winning national titles...

Whittenburg really hasn't done anything of note.


Whittenburg is way too big of a leap of faith.

4/21/2006 5:27:52 PM

He's the only coach at this point that our fans wont run out of town after one bad season, and whoever we get is going to need time....ESPECIALLY the "b" list candidates.

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 5:31 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2006 5:31:05 PM

The other candidates will at least be good placeholders in this interim until we find a better option.


If we hire Whittenburg our program has the potential to drop off the map. I'm talking about no recruits, no NCAA tournaments, no excitement levels.


This is a disaster. Turn around right now.

I've kept a positive outlook this entire search, but Derek Whittenburg is where I draw the fucking line.

You hire this guy and you are asking for it.

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 5:37 PM. Reason : a]

4/21/2006 5:35:48 PM

well you're probably the most irrational retard on TWW, so nobody is going to listen to your bitching anyway.


Like we give a fuck if we lose you from our fanbase.


Whitt is better for NC State than Lavin, Beilein, or Kruger.


And whats this about a "placeholder". Wasnt Les supposed to be a placeholder? Wasnt Herb supposed to be a placeholder? good one

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 5:42 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2006 5:41:11 PM

If by irrational you mean knowledgeable then thanks...


Whittenburg is completely unproven.


And i dont mean unproven as in "demonstrates that he can win but is untested"


I mean unproven as in "his career bio was three sentences long so they added some stuff about his hobbies, family tree, and service work".

4/21/2006 5:53:22 PM

Quote :

"The other candidates will at least be good placeholders in this interim until we find a better option. If we hire Whittenburg our program has the potential to drop off the map. I'm talking about no recruits, no NCAA tournaments, no excitement levels. This is a disaster. Turn around right now. I've kept a positive outlook this entire search, but Derek Whittenburg is where I draw the fucking line. You hire this guy and you are asking for it. "

agree 100%

4/21/2006 6:04:05 PM

omg I agree with Rally.

Whittenburg probably has the least coaching ability of any of our candidates right now. And I really don't see how you guys would rather have him, despite his connections with State, than a guy like Lavin or Greg Marshall. Hell, if we're going to go with a huge gamble, I'd choose Marshall over Whitt any day.

[Edited on April 21, 2006 at 6:10 PM. Reason : ...]

4/21/2006 6:10:00 PM

Jeff Gravley reported on WRAL that he talked to Whittenburg and Whitt said he was contacted by someone at NC State but not Lee Fowler. Gravely admitted that had he been contact by Fowler, Whitt probably wouldn't have told him.

4/21/2006 6:45:20 PM

rally is one of the most knowledgeable posters on this board

but he uses his knowledge frequently to draw people into an argument

so you people dont respect the knowledge

you might not always agree with what he says but he always brings up valid and worthwhile points

4/21/2006 9:32:35 PM

Rally aways has about half of his posts dead on, then he says something ridiculous to piss everyone off, and its blatently wrong, but he focuses on the correct information to argue.



Its not a fair fight, basically because he's cheating. He's a fucking loser coke head

4/21/2006 9:46:43 PM

Its never gonna be a fair fight as long as Im pretty.


And it doesnt help that I know more than you.

4/22/2006 3:48:14 AM

see, he starts out with a reasonable comment, then makes an assurd assumption that everyone knows is false!

4/22/2006 6:37:07 AM

LOL, I agree Rally be dead on with alot of comments and probably one of the most knowledgeable, but does not mean I have to agree and follow his thinking. I am still for D.W. ova Lavin and others.

You may not agree with my reasons, but here goes. Yeah, Lavin and who eva are tested and have done pretty good (not great, not stella, not exceptional). Whit is rather untested, with raw talent. I am at the point where I want NCSU to take a risk, make the uncalculated and untraditional move and decision. Lets be that program that took a chance on someone relatively young, new to ACC level of ballin. Whit would not be "stuck" in his own traditions, and plans and can evolve, change, and adjust since everyone will not have such "expectations" of what he has done in the past.


III

4/22/2006 9:54:22 AM

what has whitt done that makes anyone think he's even a DECENT coach?


lavin has numbers. he has sweet 16's. he's gotten great recruits. etc etc etc.

all whitt has done is lose at fordham in the a-10

4/22/2006 11:08:02 AM

I hear what you saying, and ok, if taken at face value and in agreeance with you, I still would like to see what Whit can do with NC State backing him. Lavine has numbers etc...but set in his ways and how he is going to do things. I see Whit as merging with what the players can contribute and forming his own style and bring something fresh...

I guess I am more for the under dog right now...raw/unproven talent v. talented/tested/proven

So not logical I guess...but I want to see something new, start afresh...not someone that already has a "history & baggage" with him


III

4/22/2006 11:50:40 AM

Whit could still come here if someone else is hired as a head coach.

4/22/2006 11:53:18 AM

I think its time Chancellor Oblinger and ???(not Murphey, but the 'other guy' who runs the WOlfpack club)

1. take over the search...
2. Hire Whittenburg
3. get rid of Lee Fowler.

This is rediculous

4/27/2006 10:24:17 AM

Bobby Purcell

[Edited on April 27, 2006 at 10:28 AM. Reason : spelling??]

4/27/2006 10:28:03 AM

but if i was Whitt...i'd be just about pissed enough by now to turn the job down just out of spite and principle...talk about not getting any love from his alma mater...

4/27/2006 10:29:11 AM

Why couldn't we seriously do this:

Hire someone like Gregg Marshall as head coach and hire Whitt as an assistant coach. Pay Whitt a good deal of money, but the entire deal would still be much lower than hiring a "big" name.

And if the arrangement with Marshall doesn't work out in a few years, Whitt's already familiar with the recruits and staff, etc. to take over, provided no one better is around.

4/27/2006 10:35:39 AM

You are just dumb. Whitt will not work as an assistant under someone like Gregg Marshall. Whitt coaches at Fordham, Marshall coaches at Winthrop. No difference at all, except that maybe Fordham is a bigger program because they are in the A-10.

Why would Whitt work as an assistant under a coach that he feels he's just as good as??? That would be a slap in the face if we were to even ask him that. At the best, we would have to hire a Carlesimo or Montgomery that is levels above to Whitt to even have him THINK about going back to being an assistant.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

4/27/2006 10:40:10 AM

Chill, it's just an idea. Whitt might go for something like that if, as I explained, we offered him a substantial pay raise. Also, he'd be returning to his alma mater.

Forget the idea....let's just get Marshall.

4/27/2006 10:59:26 AM

I doubt he would come here to be an assitant.

4/27/2006 11:46:28 AM

BTTT get that Phil Ford shit out of here.

4/27/2006 6:46:51 PM

Has it really come to this? Are we really arguing over whether we should choose DERECK WHITTENBURG or PHIL FUCKING FORD as our next head bball coach?

4/27/2006 6:54:25 PM

start an e-mail campain!

the administration can't ignore us if we all unite!

we must get Fowler and Oblinger removed before we become the laughing stock of college basketball.

GET TO WORK!

4/27/2006 6:58:12 PM

http://www.statefansnation.com/

Give Coach Whittenburg His Shot — Let’s Not “Pass” on This “Longshot”
April 27th, 2006 by beowolf

Dereck Whittenburg is Wolfpack through and through. If there’s one thing Wolfpack fans agree upon in this coaching search, it’s this. Some fans, however, fear that Coach Whittenburg’s candidacy is based on that fact alone.

Let’s put that fear to rest right away: it’s not. What it is to Whittenburg’s candidacy I will get to later. But first, there are very good reasons why those of us who know about Coach Whittenburg wish him to be the next coach of the Wolfpack.

These are reasons that I think would make Coach Whittenburg an attractive candidate regardless of where he went to school.
This is a preview of Give Coach Whittenburg His Shot — Let’s Not “Pass” on This “Longshot”. Read the full post (1397 words, estimated 5:35 mins reading time)

Give Coach Whittenburg His Shot — Let’s Not “Pass” on This “Longshot”

Dereck Whittenburg is Wolfpack through and through. If there’s one thing Wolfpack fans agree upon in this coaching search, it’s this. Some fans, however, fear that Coach Whittenburg’s candidacy is based on that fact alone.

Let’s put that fear to rest right away: it’s not. What it is to Whittenburg’s candidacy I will get to later. But first, there are very good reasons why those of us who know about Coach Whittenburg wish him to be the next coach of the Wolfpack.

These are reasons that I think would make Coach Whittenburg an attractive candidate regardless of where he went to school.

Such as this: Over the seven yeas that Dereck Whittenburg has been a head coach, he is the only coach to improve his team’s record from the previous year each year. His team’s record was better than it was the previous year for each of those seven years.

At his first head coaching job, Wagner, Whittenburg inherited:

— a team that had just posted a record of 9-18 (7-9 conference) in 1998-1999

— a program that had never won its conference

— a program that had never gone to the NCAAs

Here is how Coach Whittenburg’s teams did:

In 1999-2000, his first team went 11-16 (6-10).

In 2000-01 he posted winning seasons in conference and overall: 16-13 (11-9).

In 2001-02 he improved on that mark, and his team ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring while nearly reaching 20 wins: 19-10 (15-5)

In 2002-03, Wagner under Coach Whittenburg again ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring, posted a record of 21 wins and 11 losses (14-4), won the conference title, and went to their first NCAAs.

In four years.

Impressed by that, Fordham came calling. Already the phrase “Whittenburg magic” was entering the lexicon. But maybe Whittenburg got lucky?

COACH WHITTENBURG AT FORDHAM

Here’s what Whittenburg faced at Fordham. If Wagner was a mountain to climb, then Fordham was Everest. Fordham had never posted even a .500 conference record, let alone a winning record. They had never even won a single game in the conference tournament. In fact, the Rams hadn’t had a winning season since 1991-92.

And the team Whittenburg was inheriting had just posted a grand season total of two wins. The previous coach’s record at Fordham was 36-78 in his four years there – and a paltry 2-26 his last season.

Coach Whittenburg wasn’t daunted by that challenge. Why would he be? He invited challenge. His attitude at Wagner was “play us any time, any day.”

About Fordham, he said, “I am very passionate about Fordham basketball. I know it will be a hard task. I welcome the challenge. I embrace the kids in the program.”

He also gave a hint about his success.

“I concern myself with the character of the program and the kids. Start with that and the winning will come.”

Fordham’s administration was impressed by Coach Whittenburg. Their decision to hire him was unanimous.

As Fordham president Rev. Joseph O’Hare said, “Dereck Whittenburg’s record, first as an assistant coach and more recently as head coach at Wagner College, demonstrates that he is the kind of coach who can achieve athletic success on the hardwood while maintaining academic integrity.”

His first year at Fordham, 2003-04, was a rough one. His team won only six games – 6-22 (3-13).

His second year, 2004-05, Coach Whittenburg had a team of five freshmen and only four scholarship players. But this team became Fordham’s first to avoid a losing record in conference. Their final record was 13-16 (8-8).

That year Fordham won its first-ever conference tournament game. There’s an excellent report about this here:

Though Duquesne spoiled the Fordham’s Senior Night a week earlier, this year’s Rams enjoyed the success the Dukes had aspired to. Six wins turned into 12, and a sixth-place finish became a four-seed. There was no great secret to the turnaround - an energetic and charismatic coach named Dereck Whittenburg was beginning to work his magic …

This year Coach Whittenburg’s team posted Fordham’s first conference winning season ever. They finished .500 for the season at 16-16 (9-7) – a far cry from the two-win team he had inherited and on the doorstep of Fordham’s first winning season since Les Robinson’s first year at NC State.

In short, Coach Whittenburg has put Fordham on the same path of ever-building success that he had his Wagner teams on. He did it with his “magic”: kids of integrity, his own unflagging energy, his charisma, his delight in a challenge, and his tireless effort.

A GREAT COACH

Overall, Coach Whittenburg’s career record is 102-104. Detractors are quick to point out it’s a losing record. That’s accurate without telling the whole story. Whittenburg inherited losing programs and made them winners – his record reflects the years in turning those teams around. Here’s a little year-by-year breakdown for you in his rebuilding both Wagner and Fordham:

— Coach Whittenburg’s predecessors’ win percentage in their final years: 11-44 (20.0%)

— Coach Whittenburg’s win percentage in his first years: 17-38 (30.9%)

— Coach Whittenburg’s win percentage in his second years: 29-29 (50.0%)

— Coach Whittenburg’s win percentage in his third years: 35-26 (57.4%)

— And of course during Coach Whittenburg’s fourth year at Wagner, his win percentage was 65.6%.

Well, OK, but that’s just Fordham and Wagner. What could Coach Whittenburg do in the ACC?

Coach Whittenburg is no stranger to the ACC. In fact, Coach Whittenburg has experience recruiting top-notch players and All-Americans to two separate ACC schools, Georgia Tech and N.C. State. He learned under two of the ACC’s best coaches: Bobby Cremmins and Jim Valvano. As an assistant coach under both coaching legends, he has won ACC titles.

That is to say, Coach Whittenburg is no stranger as a coach to the ACC, to success in the ACC, and to successful recruiting coups in the ACC. (He’s also no stranger as a player to winning championships, as we all know.)

Furthermore, not only has Whittenburg learned under the tutelage of great ACC coaches, he has also played for great coaches – Jim Valvano, of course, and in high school, the legendary Morgan Wooten.

In my view, this is an impressive coaching pedigree. Coach Whittenburg is a winner. He knows what winning takes, and he knows how to achieve it, and he does so with passion and integrity.

And here’s where Dereck Whittenburg’s ties to NC State should matter. The position of NC State men’s basketball head coach should be more than a job. It should be a dream. It was Valvano’s dream. It was Norm Sloan’s dream. Remember how the Sports Illustrated cover story on David Thompson (prior to our first national championship) described Sloan’s decision to take the Wolfpack job? “Sloan, another player under Case at N.C. State, hurried back to his alma mater.”

Dereck Whittenburg is a great coach who loves NC State, and if he’s our coach, you can bet he’s going to put his reputation for energetic coaching, charismatic salesmanship and character-building to work for something we all love: NC State basketball. He would make us proud. And we know it. Hiring Coach Whittenburg would do more to unite this fractured fanbase than anyone. He’d hurry home. And we couldn’t help but become excited.

Coach Whittenburg’s bona fides stack up favorably against anyone else’s before you speak of his being “in the family.” His being a Wolfpack alumnus doesn’t matter – but it does. It matters that NC State is Whitt’s dream job. It matters that he knows what it means to Wolfpack fans to beat Carolina and Duke. (Anyone remember seeing him limp out onto the court to celebrate after Sidney’s between-the-leg pass setting up Thurl’s slam that sealed Valvano’s first win over Carolina?) It matters that he can show his recruits and his players those championship rings and talk about dreams and what it takes to make dreams come true. It matters that he’s stood before cheering fans in Reynolds Coliseum in April to talk about winning the national championship. It matters that he stood by in Reynolds Coliseum ten years later watching Jimmy V give his farewell address to the fans and talk about how his team taught him what love means.

Some would say hiring Whittenburg would be a longshot. Maybe even a 30-footer.

I think it would be a slam dunk.

[Edited on April 28, 2006 at 12:07 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on April 28, 2006 at 12:08 PM. Reason : ..]

4/28/2006 12:03:34 PM

i just realised, if he's at Fordham, he's got ties in the tri-state area

that's good for recruiting

4/28/2006 12:12:45 PM

^Know what else is good for recruiting? A proven winning record at a REAL school.

Honestly though, at this point I'd be game to hire him...certainly over the alternatives that seem to be floating around.

[Edited on April 28, 2006 at 12:16 PM. Reason : .]

4/28/2006 12:14:44 PM

"Rich Brenner (Fox 8) said last night that Whitt and Marshall are not under consideration and Fowler has it down to one canidate, but did not name him. So, another media outlet says that Marshall and Whit are out." via PP

4/28/2006 12:16:48 PM

Quote :

"Well, OK, but that’s just Fordham and Wagner."

That ruined EVERY bit of your argument right there.

I like Whitt, but he should be our man in about 5 years after further proving himself.

4/28/2006 4:14:11 PM

NEWS-RECORD.COM

Quote :

"Ed Hardin: One of those days where you wonder who is in charge Let's assume for a second that Lee Fowler is insane. Another few days like Wednesday and that will be a safe assumption. But for now, let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's consider that maybe, just maybe, he isn't behind the search to replace Herb Sendek as basketball coach at N.C. State, that instead, someone with an airplane and a pig farm is in charge of hiring and firing within the State athletics department, and Fowler, the athletics director, is merely a front man. One of these two scenarios has to be true. Either the AD has lost his mind or the State basketball coaching search is being led by a bag man. Rarely do we get to watch something as fascinating as this unfold, but big-time basketball always has been a unique form of entertainment in Raleigh. We can go all the way back to Jackie Moreland in the '50s, when State's entire athletics programs was handed a "death penalty" by the NCAA for basketball recruiting violations, to find an equivalent to Wednesday's news. And not even that bizarre '50s episode trumps what we have now. N.C. State, having been turned down by at least four coaches, turned to the last man on earth -- Phil Ford. The former North Carolina point guard, with no experience as a varsity head coach, no ties to N.C. State and no chance in red hell of ever sitting on the Wolfpack bench, was approached by someone associated with the State athletics program about becoming the head coach in Raleigh. Not beloved Sidney Lowe, not Monte Towe, not Dereck Whittenburg, not Nate McMillan, not Eddie Biedenbach, all former N.C. State players now coaching elsewhere. Phil Ford. Needless to say, State Nation is apoplectic. This isn't just any former Tar Heel. This is -- and you can ask almost any Wolfpack fan -- the most hated Tar Heel of them all, the devil incarnate, the last human being on the face of the planet who could rally State fans for anything other than a diploma bonfire. You have to understand their plight. This has been hard on Wolfpackers, who have endured more in 50 years of college basketball than any other program anywhere. From the death penalty of the '50s, State endured a point-shaving scandal in the '60s, an NCAA probation in the '70s, the Valvano crucible in the '80s, Les Robinson's reformation in the '90s and the current situation that started with Sendek walking away after his own unique decade in the Wolfpack psyche. Still, nothing could've prepared State fans for this. They are now genuinely concerned for their program, for their reputation, for their AD. If this is true, they know one of two other things also has to be true: Either the situation in Raleigh is not all in Fowler's hands or he's lost his mind. Let's assume the latter isn't true. Let's assume Fowler has no intention of letting Ford, an assistant with the NBA's New York Knicks, anywhere near the N.C. State bench. Let's assume he's so angry that this news leaked out that he's, well, about to go crazy. Wouldn't you? Listen, there's no way Fowler contacted Ford. There's just no way, so forget that. It didn't happen. And there's no way anybody else, however loosely related to Wolfpack basketball, could've considered Ford for this job. Something else has to be true. Something sinister. Something insane. There's a pox on State's house right now, and it's infecting the collective mind of what we collectively know as N.C. State basketball. Apparently, that involves people other than Fowler. It involves people with money, lots of money. In one day, State was turned down by two coaches. In one day, simultaneous negotiations with two job applicants broke down. In one day, millions and millions of dollars were rejected. On that same day, someone with more money than sense approached Phil Ford about the job and turned this thing from a job search into a commitment hearing. A day ago we could heed the wisdom of those who believed this would all be taken care of in time and we would look back and not remember what transpired before. But not now. On an otherwise sane Wednesday, Ford said somebody connected with N.C. State contacted him. It was a day that will live in infamy. Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ehardin@news-record.com"

This is getting to be unbearable

4/28/2006 4:52:47 PM

Sorry if this is old, but I didn't see it posted in any threads yet....

Check out this bullshit written by that ass clown Jesse Jackson wannabe Barry Saunders. I swear this motherfucker plays the race card more than anyone I've ever seen. How he even has a job when he writes shit like this is amazing. I seriously like to kick this dude in the mouth.

Quote :

"Former Pack star is owed Barry Saunders, Staff Writer C'mon, Lee. Just invite the dude in for an interview and maybe some barbecue. I'm not as dumb as I look, so I know former N.C. State basketball star Dereck Whittenburg has no chance of getting the head coaching job at his alma mater. He does, though, deserve an interview and a plate of 'cue. You knew Wolfpack Athletics Director Lee Fowler would have a tough time filling the huge shoes of departed coach Herb Sendek (72 ACC wins, 88 losses), but not this tough. Job offers from Fowler have been left on the table more times than a green chitlin. Yet that still hasn't earned Whittenburg a seat at the interview table. A rumor is afoot that Phil Ford, Mr. UNC Basketball, is being considered. I can sum up Ford's prospects in two famous words from movie mogul Sam Goldwyn: im possible. A Wolfpack being driven by a Ford is something neither Tar Heel nor Pack fans want to see, and Fowler is not tone-deaf enough to force it upon them. When I called him this week to find out whether Whittenburg was in the running, Fowler said, "All I will say is that he is on a long, huge list, but I won't discuss anything having to do with the process." Now that two more BrylCreemed, Armani-clad coaches have rejected the Pack, that "long, huge list" is being whittled down. Whittenburg might soon be the only coach who hasn't been offered the job. From listening to talk radio and talking to State alumni, I get the feeling that Wolfpack fans crave anyone -- except Mr. UNC Basketball -- who'd restore the program's luster. Who better to entrust with that task than Whittenburg, an alum whose 1983 air ball -- he still swears it was a pass to Lorenzo Charles -- led to its last national title? Whittenburg has succeeded at Fordham, Wagner and Georgia Tech. He is no Norm Sloan or Dean Smith, but neither was Sendek when he arrived. Or when he left. Just as important, Whittenburg has shown that he can play by the rules. John Calipari left the University of Massachusetts on probation, but that didn't stop Fowler from pursuing him like an awestruck teeny-bopper. Calipari flirted with Fowler long enough to wring a few hundred thousand more dollars out of his current employer, Memphis. Decades ago, when the Republican Party was trying to show how racially progressive it was, just about every presidential candidate declared that Sen. Edward W. Brooke was on his short list for a running mate. Only problem was, Brooke laughed years later, the list never got that short. Brooke, the first black U.S. senator since Reconstruction, knew that he had about as much chance of being asked to run for vice president as I do now and that his name was being floated merely to make the GOP appear more inclusive. He wasn't offered the job because they knew he might've accepted it. That is precisely the reason Fowler isn't offering the Pack job to Whittenburg. After being turned down more times than a bed at the No-Tell Motel, Fowler is understandably feeling heat from Pack fans. He is, I'm guessing, floating Ford's name as Sendek's successor not to be politically correct but to scare the chitlins out of Wolfpack fans, who will now enthusiastically embrace anybody -- except a Tar Heel legend. You can call Barry at 836-2811 or send e-mail to him at barrys@newsobserver.com."

4/28/2006 4:56:35 PM