TRIBUTE: ACC creates nice video memory reel for Lorenzo Charles

The Atlantic Coast Conference has created a nice video tribute to Lorenzo Charles, voiced by Mike Hogewood.



"It’s devastating," former NC State teammate Thurl Bailey told CBSSports.com from his home in Salt Lake City, hours after hearing the news from another ex-teammate, Cozell McQueen. "It’s really like losing a member of my family, a brother. It’s just way too soon. Everyone talks about [Jim] Valvano running around, but Lorenzo was really the face of the culmination of what we did."

The crash scene (Travis Long/AP)

According to the Associated Press, what caused the accident has not yet been found as of Wednesday afternoon.

Mark Turgeon's Decision: Maryland Or Texas A&M (UPDATED)

[HT: Foxsports.com]

Jeff Goldman at Foxsports.com is reporting that Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon will make a decision perhaps today as to whether he will accept an offer from Maryland to become the new head coach of the Terps or remain in College Station. http://jeffgoodman.yardbarker.com/blog/jeffgoodman/sources_maryland_offers_texas_a_ms_turgeon/4701678
According to Goldman Turgeon is leaning toward accepting it.

Why wouldn't Turgeon. Texas A&M is a football school and basketball will always be something to do in the winter time before spring football starts.

Basketball is the center of the Maryland universe, the way it was at Kansas when Turgeon was a point guard for the Jayhawks.

Turgeon would be in chargehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif of a top level program in the ACC. Plus I havhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife a feeling Maryland pays a lot better for it's basketball coach than Texas A&M.

More when we know it.

We know it...
2100 UPDATE: Goodman is now saying Maryland...

Chick Hernandez of CSNWashington is saying on his Twitter feed that there is a presser set for noon Wednesday for the Turgeon announcement...

BREAKING: Gary Williams To Step Down At Maryland

The coaching carousal is spinning once again in the ACC. The University of Maryland has confirmed that Gary Williams is retiring as head coach of the Terps after 22 seasons.

"It's the right time," Williams said in a University of Maryland release. "My entire career has been an unbelievable blessing. I am fiercely proud of the program we have built here. I couldn't have asked any more from my players, my assistant coaches, the great Maryland fans and this great university. Together, we did something very special here."

As the top Terp Williams led Maryland to 14 NCAA tournament appearances, three ACC regular season titles, ACC tournament championships, seven Sweet 16's, two Elite Eights, two Final Fours and a National Championship in 2002.

Aside from winning the NCAA national championship in 2002, Williams biggest accomplishment at Maryland was returning the Terps as a force in the ACC after the painful incident involving the death of Len Bias that cast a pall over the program.

Those of us at the OSG HQ feel Williams will save on his dry cleaning bill since he won't be sweating through his suits any more.

Brother Wilkie interviewed and produced this feature on the out-going Maryland head coach last year. (Thanks ACC/Fox Sports South)

Does Jim Larranaga Like South Beach?

[HT: Sun Sentinel.com]

It appears the vacant men's basketball coaching position at the University of Miami is worthy of a coach with Final Four credentials.

Several media outlets are reporting that George Mason's Jim Larranaga is being wined and dined by the Hurricanes. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/sfl-jim-larranaga-miami-hurricanes-coach-042111,0,4867843.story?track=rss

Miami has received permission to speak to Larranaga from George Mason athletic director Tom O'Connor according to GMU media relations.

Larranaga has coached GMU for 14 seasons leading the Patriots to five NCAA tournaments including a Final Four trip in 2006. Larranaga is considered one of the premier mid-major coaches in college basketball.

Larranaga has been wooed before. Three years ago his alma mater Providence tried to hire Larranaga but he decided to stay at George Mason after receiving a contract extension.

Larranaga is not a stranger to the ACC, he was an assistant coach at Virginia from 1979-86.

Those of us at the OSG HQ like this development. While in the ACC Miami is one of the toughest jobs in college basketball simply because no one cares (Unless Duke & North Carolina come to town, then fans show up.)

Larranaga is a good sound bite though and entertaining. Plus he can coach some basketball too. Might be a good hire in Miami.

Mark Gottfried Ready To Lead The NC State Wolfpack

Our friends at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina interviewed new NC State head basketball coach Mark Gottfried Wednesday in depth. If you are a Wolfpack fan you will be very encouraged after watching this.

Gottfried even addresses Debbie Yow's comments on Maryland head coach Gary Williams on sabotaging the process.

(Thanks WRAL-TV)

No Surprise, Kyrie Irving Going Pro

In December not only was Duke's Kyrie Irving hands down the best freshman in college basketball, he may have been the best player in the country.

Then Irving hurt his toe against Butler and sat out until returning to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Wednesday Kyrie Irving announced what was pretty obvious, he's going to the NBA.

Here's Kyrie Irving explaining his decision. (Thanks goduke.com)

Does Anyone Want The NC State Job? UPDATE: Mark Gottfried Does...

[HT: packinsider.com, ]

The search to find a new head coach at NC State continues. It's been a month since Sidney Lowe stepped down. Credit athletic director Debbie Yow for keeping it private and not playing this out in the media. What NC State might be finding out is even though it's in the tradition rich ACC it's not a very desirable job. Shaka Smart, the hottest young coach in college basketball, turned NC State down. Gregg Marshall and Mack Cronin received extensions from Wichita State and Cincinnati.

So who does NC State turn to next? Who knows and exactly what is left. Yow sent this e-mail to Wolfpack fans recently asking of patience.

Dear Wolfpack Family,

I am writing to share with you the status of the search for our new head coach for men's basketball. There have been telephone conversations with successful coaches that did not develop into meetings -- sometimes because we did not wish to pursue those coaches further and sometimes because the coach involved is happy where he is.

The conversations have been candid. We have not tried to sugarcoat the challenge of rebuilding our basketball program. Our absence for 5 consecutive years from the NCAA Tournament was noted by each coach as evidence that the program is in poor shape and will require a special effort to rebuild. Finding a coach with the fight and fire to do this job has been a challenge.

That said, we will find an excellent college coach who shares the vision of what State Basketball can become and is up for the challenge. I realize there are multiple rumors surfacing about the nature of the search on websites and in newspapers.

Once our new coach is hired, I will be in a position to bring perspective to a number of those rumors. But, right now, we need to remain focused on finding a talented collegiate coach who is a fighter, full of confidence and appreciation for the opportunity to lead our basketball program back to national prominence. That will happen in spite of those who believe this cannot occur.

Wolfpack Basketball is destined for a revival. We will accept no less. Please keep the faith while we continue the search. Your emails and text messages of support have meant everything to me.

I am blessed to be your AD.

In the Spirit of the Pack,

Debbie


http://packinsider.com/2011/04/45-update-where-are-we-now/

Stay tuned.

1530 UPDATE: Mark Gottfried, the former coach at Alabama, will get the gig...

An update from the school is scheduled at 5PM eastern time...
Here's early returns from our friends at WRAL-TV
((HT: WRALSportsfan.com))

The 4-Letter's Mike Patrick Has NC State Wolfpack Fans Howling

Wednesday night during a forgettable NIT broadcast on the 4-letter, the subject of job openings in men's college basketball. Mike Patrick and his analyst Dan Dakich discussed. Then Patrick gave an opinion of the ACC openings that NC State fans took offense to.

Judge for yourself. (Thanks Youtube.com)



Those of us at the OSG HQ give Mike Patrick the benefit of the doubt as a tough-n-cheek comment that was meant to include Georgia Tech. Yellow Jacket fans aren't raising hell but Wolfpack fans are showing their fangs. How dare Mike Patrick disrespect NC State like that.

NC State is in a tough situation in men's basketball but not an impossible one. Last I checked their are two NCAA Championship banners hanging from the RBC Center.

Chalk this up as "if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all."

Photo Courtesy: ESPN

The Politics Of Dancing: Dook Is A One Seed

((HT: WRALSportsfan.com))

Fifth-ranked Duke ((depending on your poll)) has now added their 19th ACC tournament title to its mantle. Nolan Smith had 20 points and the Blue Devils ended 6th-ranked North Carolina's run of comebacks all week in Greensboro, beating the Tar Heels 75-58 in the championship game.

Dook led the entire way...

The Blue Devils won their third straight tournament and their 10th in the last 13 years. Smith was named tourney MVP...

Here's your postgame from the Blue Devils win...

Sidney Lowe to be fired at NC State

Sidney Lowe/Courtesy: fannation.com

OSG Sports sources tell us that North Carolina State will part ways with head coach and former star player Sidney Lowe if not today--Friday, sometime within the next week or so. According to our sources, the decision has already been made to fire Lowe, there was still discussion as to the timing of it.

Lowe's team lost their ACC Tournament opener 75-67 to Maryland and have finished their season at a disappointing 15-16.

There have been rumors circulating for weeks that Lowe would get to finish the season, but that will be it as the folks at NC State seem to think a change is needed as the team has gotten progressively worse over the past few seasons. The Wolfpack have struggled to carve out their identity in the Raleigh-Durham area, they are normally overshadowed by the more widely known University of North Carolina and Duke.

Lowe, in his fifth season leading the Wolfpack also had experience in the NBA as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and later with the Vancouver Grizzlies.

Here's some highlights of Thursday nights game from our friends at WRAL:



And Lowe's post-game press conference:

In His Mind Larry Drew II Got The Hell Out Of Carolina.

So how has North Carolina's fortunes changed since Roy Williams replaced Larry Drew II at point with Kendall Marshall? How about an ACC regular season title and now a Final Four threat.

Drew left Chapel Hill to transfer to a school yet to be determined. Well Drew has resurfaced with a rap song reflecting on his North Carolina day.

http://www.twitvid.com/3SRFD

Some of the lyrics are:
"They tried to tell me just to play my role ... but who wants to stick with a script full of typos?" and "I refuse to be another robot..."

Real classy

Kyrie Irving Staying Strong Through Injury

[HT: goduke.com]

Imagine if Duke's Kyrie Irving didn't injure his toe in the Butler game on December 4th, 2010, would he be the odds on favorite for national player of the year?

Heck Duke might be up there with Ohio State as undefeated teams in college basketball.

"I'm not going to sugar coat it," Irving told Michael Tomko of GoDuke.com. "It has been really tough, just seeing my teammates getting ready for games in the layup line and just the ball being tipped. I miss that feeling being out in Cameron and playing away games and big time games on ESPN."

Instead Irving has become a cheerleader on the bench and embracing that role.

"I am the best cheerleader there is," Irving said. "I still get excited like I'm on the court when my teammates do something really exciting."

You can read Tomko's article in GoDuke.com by clicking on the link below.
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=205089945

Plus here's a great feature put together by GoDuke.com. (Thanks GoDuke.com)



Photo Courtesy: AP

Dead Coach Walking? Sidney Lowe Takes His NC State Team To Some Graves

There seems to be some rumblings on Tobacco Road as to the job status of NC State head coach Sidney Lowe. At press time the Wolfpack are 12-7 overall, 2-3 in the ACC.

Pack fans felt this was the team to emerge out of the "red-headed step child" role NC State is mired in with the success of Duke and North Carolina in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill triangle. It just hasn't happened.

This isn't entirely Sidney Lowe's fault. NC State's roster is full of talented freshman and the best thing about freshman is that they become sophomores. (Or NBA millionaires in the one and done era.) Then the Pack's best player Tracy Smith missed several games following knee surgery.

The point is many thought NC State would be further along than they are this season.

Recently NC State celebrated the 100th year of men's basketball and this is where Sidney Lowe got creative. Lowe took his players to the grave sites of former NC State head coaches Everett Case, who established NC State as a national power when the ACC began in 1953, Jim Valvano, who won a national championship in 1983, and took the players to visit with Joan Sloan, whose husband Norm Sloan won a national championship with NC State in 1974.

"They need to know these three men," Lowe told the Raleigh News Observer. "Any time they talk about N.C. State basketball, those three men should be mentioned. These kids really got a taste of who these coaches were."

Great move by Lowe, I'm sure this adventure brought home to the players that at one time NC State was a major player in the ACC and competed for NCAA championships. It's just been almost 30 years.

We here at the OSG HQ can't help but think if things continue to be mediocre Sidney Lowe's NC State tenure might be dead and buried.

Photo Courtesy: Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News Observer

Clemson 0-55 In Chapel Hill, The Win Streak Continues For North Carolina

The Clemson Tigers gave it their best shot but for the 55th time the Tigers lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels 75-65.

The Clemson - North Carolina basketball series dates back to 1926 and the Tigers have yet to defeat the Tar Heels on their home floor. It's the longest such streak in college basketball history.

Clemson head coach Brad Brownell could care less about that streak.

"I think it has no bearing whatsoever," Brownell said after the game. "It's not like we're in the huddle and saying, 'We've got a chance to end the streak.' We could care less. We're just trying to figure out a way to get a basket, get a stop. I can't imagine in their huddle, their coaches are like, 'Fellas, we've really got to win this one because we've got to keep the streak going.'"

WRAL's Ken Medlin has the game story from the Smith Center. (Thanks WRAL-TV)



North Carolina head coach Roy Williams begged his Tar Heel team to come out with intensity after showing nothing of the sort Sunday against Georgia Tech. Williams felt his team wasn't playing with any sense of urgency the last three games.

Here's the post game sound with Roy Williams after the game. (Thanks WRAL-TV)



Photo Courtesy: Robert Willett/Raleigh News Observer

A Shot Worth $25,000

[HT: Sun Sentinel]

Keith Collier of Boynton Beach, Florida sank a half court shot at halftime of the Miami - UCF game and left with a big fat check. (Thanks Sun Sentinel.com/Youtube.com)



That swish-a-roo was worth $25,000. Easy Money.

Krzyzewski Wins Game Number 879, Ties Dean Smith

Monday night the top ranked Duke Blue Devils easily defeated Elon at Cameron Indoor Stadium 98-72 giving Mike Krzyzewski 879 wins, tied with Dean Smith for second all time. Tar Heel fans must love that.

WRAL's Jeff Gravley stands by the large monitor and Jason Jennings has the scoop from Cameron Indoor. (Thanks WRAL-TV, Raleigh, NC)



Coach K says he respects Dean Smith but wants more out of his Duke team. (Thanks WRAL-TV)



Here's highlights of the game. (Thanks goduke.com)



"I grew up in North Carolina. I grew up watching ACC basketball and I have always been a fan of his teams." Elon head coach Matt Matheny said about Krzyzewski after the game. "But the thing that stands out to me about him the most is that he is a great leader. He is a leader of men. To me that is a great role model. That’s what I told him after the game; he is an incredible role model for coaches and he is at the height of the profession, not only a national champion, he’s a national coach and I love the pride he takes in being the national coach.”

Bob Knight is the all-time leader with 902 wins. If Duke keeps winning its possible Kr

Approaching 80 Years Old UNC Legend Dean Smith Showing Signs Of Aging

[HT/ Raleigh News Observer]

Dean Smith is almost 80 years old and the effects of aging are taking their toll on the legendary North Carolina basketball coach.

Rumors have been flying about Smith's medical condition to the point where the University of North Carolina released a statement confirming Dean Smith was still alive.

Saturday the Smith family released a statement clarifying Dean Smith's health.

Here's a portion of that family statement:

"Our dad has a progressive neurocognitive disorder that affects his memory. So now, he may not immediately recall the name of every former player from his many years in coaching, but that does not diminish what those players meant to him or how much he cares about them. He still remembers the words of a hymn or a jazz standard, but may not feel up to going to a concert. He still plays golf, though usually only for nine holes instead of eighteen. He still attends some sporting events -you might see him in the stands at his grandson's baseball game. He has difficulty traveling long distances to see the Heels on the road, but he insists on watching all Carolina basketball games on television and cheers as hard as he can for Coach Williams and the team."

Click below for the Smith family statement in it's entirety.

http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/071710aaa.html

Dean Smith's wife Linnea said in a interview published by the Raleigh News Observer,
"It is a complex medical diagnosis. ... It's in a category of progressive memory disorders, and we're staying away from labels."

Smith is an intensely private person and speculation on his health is a very sensitive subject. The family statement refers to had two hospital procedures in the past three years, one for knee replacement and the other for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Smith's wife Linnea said that after knee replacement surgery in December 2007 there was some "cardiological and neurological complications." She did not elaborate.

Here's the story from our friends at WRAL-TV: http://www.wralsportsfan.com/college_basketball/story/7981459/

And the story from the Raleigh News Observer: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/07/18/586493/his-memory-is-fading-his-legacy.html

Photo Courtesy: Getty Images