What Now?

Earlier in the week it was reported that both West Virginia head coach, John Beilein and ESPN analyst Steve Lavin had both been offered the NC State basketball job. By late Wednesday night it was clear that neither was going to take the job. Both decided to to not be the next 'Leader of the Pack'.

Will the Wolfpack ever find a coach? At this point they need to start looking at the "yes men," or those they know for sure will say yes. Of those potential candidates they need to rank them as far as who would be the best fit. Because I was unable to contact Director of Athletics Lee Fowler, I will take his role and give you three guys who would say yes and how they would fit at NC State.

The first candidate and the guy I think should be Fowler's last resort is former NC State player and member of the 1983 Championship team, Derek Whittenburg. Whittenburg would never say no. He could be option 1,000 and he would not turn down his dream job. However, if State were to go after him then they will find themselves with their version of Matt Doherty. It would destine to fail. If Whittenburg were the guy for the job, then other schools would be knocking down his door to get him. He has shown the potential to be a great coach. Each season his teams have improved upon the number of wins from the previous season; however, Whittenburg has an overall losing record. At this point State is staring a rough basketball season in the face, and hiring Whittenburg could cause a decade of rough seasons.

The next guy is Winthrop head coach, Gregg Marshall. He has led the Eagles to 6 NCAA Tournaments in just 8 seasons. His fast-paced style would be welcomed by the 'Herb Haters' and his fire would ignite the fan base. He has been able to recruit well at Winthrop and has made the Eagles the perennial team to beat in the Big South conference. The question with Marshall is, will he stay? He has no ties to NC State, so he could possibly be lured away by the money of another school. There would have to be a lrge buy-out written into his contract to ensure that he will stay at State.

The next guy seems to make the least amount of sense. But, I think he makes the most sense. He has publicly said he would listen to State if they called. He knows what it takes to beat Duke and Carolina. He is a high profile guy, who would be an excellent recruiter. Current New York Knicks assistant and all-time UNC great Phil Ford, is the lastest name to pop up in the search. The News & Observer quotes Ford as saying, "But I would be very flattered to be considered by N.C. State, and I would do everything in my power to make N.C. State the best program in the country." If State fans can swallow their pride and take a year or two of heat from Carolina fans and give Ford a chance, then they will get the last laugh when Ford takes down his Alma Mater. There would be no worry of Ford leaving because the only job he would leave for would be Roy's job. Roy's not leaving Carolina anytime soon; therefore, Ford would be at State for a long time. And maybe Ford has a vendetta against Carolina. He was an assistant coach under Dean Smith and Bill Gutheridge, but was not hired by either Doherty or Williams.

If State does take Ford as their next head coach, then they will have reason to be excited. He has been a great head coach in wiating for years and this will be his opportunity to make a lot of people feel bad for passing on the man once designated to replace "The Dean."