The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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24 ■ THE WOLFPACKER they have had people in their lives that they have trusted since they were children. We enter their lives when they are 16, 17 or 18. "They're going to trust those individuals, those who they think have nothing to gain. "The second factor is the extraordinary attention and hype that goes with Division I basketball these days, and the extent of noto- riety and fame that the players have. "Their expectation is that they play, and they play a lot. Sometimes they see others coming in behind them that they see as a threat. The easy out is you just leave and find a program that you think needs you right now and you won't have to worry about playing time. "What players don't have a full apprecia- tion for is that no matter where they go, that coaching staff is going to continue to try to recruit over them. That's what they are paid to do, to go get the best people, students and players that they can. There are no guaran- tees. "It feels good to transfer, be re-recruited and be told that you are the man, but it does not always turn out that way. We have ex- amples of individuals who have left NC State and found that out the hard way." How will incoming basketball center Omer Yurtseven's case before the NCAA clearinghouse be handled? "We are reviewing Omer's professional playing time, and I'm not sure people un- derstand that he can play professionally and still play in college. It all comes down to how much money did you accept, what were your expenses and how does it look. "This is not about his academic creden- tials. He is a brilliant student. We are just looking at the other parts. We gather all the information, just like we would for any inter- national student. "We have 38 student-athletes who were not born in the United States. This is not a new process for us, but it's an extensive one. We have to make sure that we are not wrong about the material we have to provide to the NCAA. "Then they'll make a ruling on it. I think Omer feels confident that this will all work out. I really don't know yet. It takes time to gather information from Turkey. We might at some point send someone to Turkey if we have to, but we have not reached that point, yet." What were your feelings about wom- en's basketball surprisingly not getting an NCAA Tournament bid? "They belonged in the NCAA Tourna- ment, undeniably. There is no justification for them being left out, absolutely none. I talked to the committee chair the night of the selection show, and again the next morning we communicated. "Every answer they gave me I could refute quite easily. We deserved to be in, period. It was just a stunning injustice for those young women, and something they'll never forget. "The only silver lining for this is they will think about it every time they take the court and know they can't afford to leave anything undone. They cannot afford to slip up at the end and lose to Louisville and Syracuse. Those were the games that ended up costing us so much. "Yet they still, by far, without question, de- served to be in the tournament. The ACC did not have a women's basketball representative on the committee. It hurt us. We did not have anyone in the room appealing for us." How did you think coach Wes Moore and the players handled the disappoint- ment, and how will they respond? "I think he was stunned like they were. It's the recognition that it's reality, and you are not going to change it. "What are you going to do about it? My hope is that they are going to get very angry about it and determine in their hearts this will never happen to them again and won't allow it to be even close. "We have a top-20 recruiting class coming in this year and the year following. We are going to be back in Reynolds. It's going to be fun to watch them play." What were your thoughts about base- ball, which came close to getting to Super Regional? "Elliott [Avent] just finished his 20th sea- son, and we're going to go forward. It was very unfortunate that he was not available to coach the team in what could be charac- terized as the most important game of the season." Wrestling coach Pat Popolizio was named the National Coach of the Year by FloWrestling, and swimming coach Braden Holloway's men's team finished fourth at the NCAA Championships. What are your thoughts on the pair, who were both hired by you? "They have both exceeded our expecta- tions at this juncture of their work here. "In wrestling, we looked at the top 25 for a program that didn't belong. We found Pat's program at Binghamton, which — I think — was ranked in the top 10. We found out that he had only half of the available scholarships and was still doing that. We said get him down here quickly for an interview. "I also wanted a strict disciplinarian, and he has been that. Although he loves his wres- tlers, it will be done Pat's way. I appreciate that. His values fit us to a 'T.' "With Braden, there was, on the surface, more of a risk — he had never been a head coach. He was the associate coach at Virginia Tech. We looked at the success at Virginia Tech and knew Braden was very much a part of that. "We knew that he and his wife both swam for us, which was icing on the cake. I want to hire the best coaches for NC State, period. If they happen to have history with us it's all the better, but that's not the driving force with any hire. We decided to take a chance, and it has been amazing. "I would have a hard time putting into words how much respect I have for what he and his staff have achieved in a short period of time. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it. "We're blessed that they are here, and hope that they are always here, and that we can meet their needs and most of their wants." When you have coaches achieving that level of success, what are the biggest chal- lenges you have in retaining them? "Coaches leave for the following reasons: for more money; for a better title, an assistant coach becoming a head coach as an example; and for the opportunity to do something spe- cial. "If a coach said I have an opportunity to win a national championship at another school and I can never get it done here for whatever reason that would be a reason to go. Wes Moore's women's basketball team went 20-11, swept UNC and Duke for the first time since 1990-91 and finished 10-6 in the ACC, but was not selected for the NCAA Tourna- ment. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN