The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/112604
tracking the PACK ESPN���s College GameDay Makes First Appearance At NC State ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis said of NC State head coach Mark Gottfried, ���He���s a terrific coach and terrific face of the program. I think he understands enthusiasm, energy and excitement, and how to bring that to a program.��� photo by ken martin ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis had never been to an NC State home game at PNC Arena, but he���s no stranger to Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried. Gottfried played at Alabama his last three years and graduated in 1987, and then later coached his alma mater from 1998-2009. Davis, who graduated from Alabama in 1988, announced SEC games with Gottfried on ESPN before NC State hired him in April 2011. Davis, Jalen Rose, Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas and the GameDay crew came to see NC State roll past North Carolina 91-83 Jan. 26 at PNC Arena. The trip gave Davis a chance to catch up with Gottfried and observe his team in person. ���He���s a terrific coach and terrific face of the program,��� Davis said. ���I think he understands enthusiasm, energy and excitement, and how to bring that to a program. ���I���m really impressed as a host and analyst, and happy as a friend, that Mark has done so well here and is having great success.��� The ���two-year sabbatical��� could be one of the best things that happened to Gottfried���s long-term coaching career. Some coaches believe that being in one place for more than seven years isn���t easy. The chance for Gottfried to work for ESPN gave him an opportunity to watch what other college coaches like to do at practices and games. ���I think he���s re-energized taking some time off and working with us,��� Davis said. ���In all due respect to [former NC State head coach] Sidney [Lowe, who is an assistant coach for Utah Jazz], who I think is a good basketball mind and a great guy, I think maybe the program needed an infusion of energy and who has a deep passion for the college game. He���s done a very good job with it.��� Davis and Phelps both said Gottfried always knew he would get back to coaching one day. Utah showed interest before hiring Larry Krystkowiak, but then NC State came along a few weeks later in the spring of 2011. ���We would go to practice and we would go to shoot-around and he���d be picking guys��� brains, and watching and talking to them,��� Davis said. ���He would say, ���That���s interesting what they do.��� He always had his ideas, ���I would have done this here or I would have done that there.��� All coaches are like that. ���I think it was good for him. He had a lot of success at Alabama, but when you are at one place for a while and have success, maybe as virtually every program does that is not Kentucky, Duke or North Carolina, or Kansas or something, most of them hit a plateau.��� North Carolina boasts the Charlotte Panthers, Charlotte Bobcats and Carolina Hurricanes, plus a litany of successful minor league baseball teams. College sports will always be able to move the meter in the state, and that will likely never change. ���That���s your school, your name brand and something that was an important part of your life, sports and otherwise,��� Davis said. ���That gives you a connection on an emotional level that���s unmatched in other areas of fandom. That���s why you see the passion.��� 14��� ������ the wolfpacker 12,14,16,18,20,22.Tracking The Pack.indd 14 2/26/13 3:44 PM