With the Lowe resignation officially announced, Athletics Director Debbie Yow immediately turned her focus to the hiring of N.C. State’s next men’s basketball coach, talking it over during a press conference with the media Tuesday night.
“The hiring process itself will begin tomorrow,” Yow said. “The first order of business is to select a search firm and we will probably do that tomorrow or the day following. I am already familiar with the search firms that are available and that have excellent reputations.”
Working alongside the search firm will be a hiring committee headed by Yow herself. The committee will be a four-person committee, not counting Yow, made up of two senior staff members from the Athletic Department and two others that work within the University.
After both the search firm and hiring committee have been selected, both groups will begin to talk to coaches. However, Yow noted that most coaches that are on her radar are still currently coaching in the NCAA Tournament and will be off limits until their teams are eliminated from the tournament. Therefore, Yow stressed patience from fans during this process.
“The concept of changing coaching staffs quickly is unrealistic,” Yow said “There will be an element of patience required here and I know this will be challenging on our fans, but to do this and do it right, it has to be that way. When those people are available to talk and as soon as they are available to talk, we will be visiting with them.”
During the conference Yow never mentioned any specific candidates, however she did say that her list of possible candidates was a very small one.
“It is not very long. It is single digits,” Yow said. “And I anticipate trying like crazy to get one of those on the short list that I have.”
Even though Yow did not mention any specific coaches that she had on her list, she did list many traits that see is looking for to take over the reins for the Pack.
“The ideal candidate would be a person who is a career college coach, who has been highly successful, multiple trips to the NCAA Tournament and a person who has built a program and I think the things I would say past that you could say,” Yow said.
But no matter the traits of the next coach, Yow has very specific goals in mind for what the next coach will need to accomplish and that starts with winning inside the conference.
“The first goal is to be competitive in the ACC,” Yow said. “And if you competitive in the ACC it follows that you will be in the NCAA Tournament and it also follows that if we are competitive in the ACC there is a higher likelihood we will be more competitive with UNC and Duke over time.”
With that, Yow emphasized that money will not be a factor as she expects the search to be very competitive in terms of the salary for the next coach.
“We are going to be competitive nationally in compensation, in staffing and in every way you can think of,” Yow said. “We will be competitive.”
Yow also made sure to discredit what many national writers and publications have written about the N.C. State job, describing it as one of the nation’s best worst jobs due to the raucous fan base.
“Our fan base is our foundation, they are one of our greatest strength,” Yow said. “20,000 strong in the Wolfpack Club, what do we want, 20,000 strong or apathy? I’m just going to take the 20,000 any day. They don’t always agree with everything I do, I’ve found them to be respectful even when they disagree and they have a right to their opinion.”
It was also announced that for the time being, associate head coach Monte Towe will take over the team until a new coach is found and hired. The former State point guard said that for now the main priority will be the players, keeping them focused and continuing to develop their talents and abilities.
“This has not been a fun day for the coaches or the players, but the reality of the business is that we have to get a team ready for next year,” Towe said. “These guys have classes to attend and the spring is a big time impartially for improving individually. So we have a lot of work to do.”
Towe also felt that all of the players who have the ability to return will return for next season even without the coach who recruited them to come and play in Raleigh.
“I have that feeling,” Towe said. “I know they have a lot of love for coach Lowe and all the coaches on the staff. But they also love North Carolina State University.”
With many fans and players left with uncertainty about what is next for the basketball program, Yow seems to be the exact opposite as the Athletic Director seemed to be brimming with confidence about the next era of Wolfpack hoops.
“I have confidence in NC State and what we have to offer” Yow said. “Maybe it’s a different job than it was five years ago, but I am confident in where we are today, what we have to offer and there is someone out there who will gravitate toward the job.”
