Rival Views: Is NC State a good coaching job?

Rivals.com national basketball recruiting analysts Eric Bossi and Corey Evans don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate the relative quality of the now vacant NC State job.

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Who replaces Mark Gottfried, we don’t know yet but the question is, will whomever ends up in Raleigh be taking a great job? For me, right now, the answer is no.

It seems that expectations are a bit high and for whatever reason nobody has really been able to compete at the elite level in Raleigh since Jim Valvano. Since State’s last ACC title in 1989, it has only made the NCAA Tournament 10 times. The program has produced just 11 NBA Draft picks during that time. It will be difficult for a new coach out recruiting and trying to sell the program that has lived in mediocrity for more than a quarter-century.

Let's face it, NC State's fanbase desires to compete with backyard rivals North Carolina and Duke, and that's not happening anytime soon. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels have combined to win eight national titles and 21 ACC championships while producing 72 NBA Draft picks since State's last ACC title in 1989.

The focus needs to be on fixing the 8-25 ACC record over the last two seasons and getting back on even footing with programs such as Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Virginia before worrying about playing catchup with Duke and UNC. The ACC is loaded with programs on the rise and it will be difficult enough just to stay with those schools.

That the job isn't currently considered a great one has shown in recent head coaching searches. Gottfried – who was working at ESPN when he was hired – certainly wasn’t the first choice as State chased Gregg Marshall, Shaka Smart and Mick Cronin. So, if fans are expecting a “big” name, they may want to prepare themselves for a relatively unknown up-and-comer who is hungry to take on what is currently a tough rebuild.

I might be in the minority here but, outside of a select few, there are not many bad jobs in college basketball as long as certain conditions are met: The school throws the proper money into the program, the right coaches are in place and the fan support is there.

Does NC State meet each of these conditions? It definitely has the first and last pieces to the puzzle; now it just needs to find the right person to lead the program.

Sure, expectations are fierce at NC State. Wolfpack fans believe that there should not be two blueblood programs in the Research Triangle, but rather three. Can the program in Raleigh compete, year in and year out, with Duke and North Carolina? That I do not believe. However, we are also talking about a program that, outside of the Sidney Lowe era, has made the NCAA Tournament in nine of the past 10 seasons, showing that consistent winning is not an issue.

NC State boasts great facilities, the perfect locale – it can attract some of the best from the states of North Carolina, Virginia, the DMV and the surrounding areas – and the chance to play in arguably the best conference in America.

The prior staff at NC State got it done on the recruiting trail as it landed four McDonald’s All-Americans, four five-star prospects and 10 four-stars, proving further that the Wolfpack can lure the best of the best to campus, similarly how it did this past year with future NBA lottery pick Dennis Smith.

At the end of the day, is NC State at the same level as Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas? No. But is it a program that can continually make deep runs in March thanks to its demographics, fan base, money and conference? Absolutely.