By now, Herb Sendek has already been formally introduced as the new head coach of Arizona State’s men’s basketball team. By now, everyone has had time to voice his or her opinion on the Sendek situation. In fact, the last thing people want to read is one more column about Herb Sendek, but since I have been a State fan for over 10 years I feel entitled to state my assessment as well.
Herb Sendek arrived at the University in 1996, when I was just a miniature Wolfpacker at the age of 10. The former Mid-American coach of the year bravely stepped into a coaching opportunity that many others would have gladly declined. At the time, N.C. State was tarnished with NCAA violations and sanctions. Les Robinson helped to fix our off-court troubles but only with the expense of recruiting and playing players that were not of ACC caliber.
Sendek stepped into this messy situation intent on turning not only individual players around, but also the program in its entirety. Recruiting quality players as well as people became the norm, NCAA sanctions disappeared and once again NCSU was winning basketball games. Players such as Justin Gainey, Anthony Grundy and Julius Hodge put NCSU back on the map in not only the ACC, but in the whole NCAA. It took Herb some time to get NCSU back to the NCAA, but when he did, he did it consistently.
At this point, fans commonly argue, “Yeah, he got us to the NCAA, but who wants to consistently go and lose in the first or second round?”
To this, as a longtime fan, I say, “not me.”
I feel for coach Sendek as he leaves, even if fans argue that he wasn’t a good coach, it is impossible to argue that he wasn’t a quality gentleman.
Larry Tombaugh, former College of Natural Resources dean and current neighbor of mine, defends orphans in court. One day he asked coach Sendek if he would get all the orphans tickets to a basketball game.
“Herb not only gave all of the children and myself tickets, but he also offered for us to attend practice and meet the players,” he said.
There is no doubt in my mind that despite the lack of emotion shown on court, off the court, Herb is full of kindness and charity.
But back to the business at hand, when you are a head coach in the nation’s premier basketball conference and making over $800,000 a year, the spotlight is bright and expectations are high. It didn’t help that his team would always be compared with two of the nation’s biggest basketball schools, both of which are in the same conference, not to mention 30 minutes down the road.
Sendek managed to weather the storm of strong criticism that had been gaining strength over the past few years. But this year, despite 22 wins and a NCAA second-round appearance, the storm was just too strong.
Losing to a weak Wake Forest team twice late in the season was critical, but more importantly, losing to a young UNC team by 24 at home was simply unacceptable.
The fans, now, have made that known.
I imagine the world in which Sendek lives is a whirlwind. I clearly believe that heading to Arizona State is going to be a great thing for Herb and his family. Escaping the rigorous and demanding schedule of the ACC, not to mention our own fan base, will hopefully be relieving. Going to the other side of the country to join the Pac-10 and start afresh should serve Sendek well. Not to mention the fact that he will be making about $1.3 million a year.
So now coach, I want to personally thank you for all that you have done for not only our team, but for our University. I wish you the best in all of your endeavors, not only in basketball, but also in life. So I thank you and cordially say goodbye. No hard feelings, right?
Some questions remain as to where this leaves the rest of us remaining here at NCSU. I believe that we have the ability to bring in a real quality head coach, but I assert, and I think many would agree, that someone with the Princeton-style offense will not work nor do.
Send Warren your thoughts at [email protected].