Doing some freelance work for Pack Pride, I had an opportunity to speak with one of the members of basketball coach Sidney’s Lowe’s new staff at NC State. Pete Strickland was most recently the head coach at Coastal Carolina (1999-2005), leaving as the second-winningest coach in that program’s history. He helped coach Lowe and fellow Wolfpack great Dereck Whittenburg as an assistant under legendary coach Morgan Wootten at DeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland. Here’s an excerpt of the interview with Strickland.
What has it been like so far to be part of a new staff trying to start a new era at an ACC school?
“I’m the only guy [on the staff] who’s not ‘back’ at NC State, really. But I feel like it is going well. We’ve got a young, enthusiastic squad that’s thirsty for direction. I’ve been pleased in the two outings we’ve had; they’ve played well and played within themselves. I was worried with the Red-White Game, that they might want to show what they had individually, so I was pleased with that [unselfishness]. Courtney Fells is a great example; he was 8-10 from the field in that game. And then Friday, against Northern, we showed good togetherness and good receptiveness. Those are the early signs you look for, that chemistry that will allow you to hit on all cylinders as a team.”
Was there any reaction within the program when NC State was picked to finish last in the ACC?
“We really haven’t yet kind of loaded it as ammo for motivation—but the time will come. I don’t think we needed sobering up, so it didn’t serve that purpose. We’re just hard at work right now, and I’m not avoiding the question, but that’s really where we are. We haven’t put it in the gun to use it yet. But the players didn’t seem daunted; they’re hard at work. We’re just busy trying to be the best we can be, because we’re so young that we want to spend all of our energies on helping them grow up as players.”
What do you remember of Lowe as a player when you were at DeMatha?
“He was remarkably poised and was older than his years as a player. He was never, never rattled. Coming back from Pitt, I was coaching him and ‘Whitt’ [Dereck Whittenburg] in the summer leagues. Coaches on the highest level would say, ‘I’m not sure, we like them a little taller, a little more streamlined, a slight bit more quicker …’ But [DeMatha coach] Morgan [Wootten] maintained that no one had come through that was any better [than Sidney]—and that’s a pretty good pedigree. And lo and behold, he won a national championship in 1983.
“And with all due respect to Jimmy V., Sidney was the one out there making sure Houston scored 52 points. Jimmy threw up the ‘Stop’ sign a few times, but … Even if I would have predicted Houston would have lost—and no one in their right mind would have—I never would have predicted the score to be 54-52. And that’s really my memory of him as a player, how he could control the pace of a game.
“And what I’ve found out in working with him is that, technically, there’s nobody better. In terms of understanding and the grasp of offensive and defensive movements and the adjustments players have to make within those, it’s unbelievable. He’s used those 21years in the pros very well, because he has a lot of insight and he’s experienced. So we’ll be fine. He has an acute awareness—and he doesn’t refer to paper much. It’s all in his head, because he lived that for 21 years. He’s on a different level; I thought I knew some things, but he’s just on a different level.”
Some of the current players have commented that it was difficult to endure the job search, in the sense that they started to feel that no one wanted to coach them. Has that made it more difficult for this staff to build and repair relationships?
“We’re still doing that. It’s hard to meet somebody the first day and say, ‘I’m your best friend.’ It takes time to develop trust, because these guys did feel jilted at the altar to a degree. With different guys, it takes longer, so individually, we’re still working to try to do that. Your actions speak louder than words, so they need to see you work and care.
“The fall didn’t help. Like we talked about, in playing catch-up in the recruiting wars, by necessity, we’re not here as much, so it’s been a process. I like where we are, and we’re getting there. There is a commitment to this place, and Sidney and [assistant] Monte [Towe], plus [staff members] Justin [Gainey] and Levi [Watkins] and those guys, they wear that commitment on their sleeve. It’s evident, and players see that. And obviously, [assistant] Larry’s [Harris] loyalty to them is unquestioned.
“But time will heal that [feeling of being slighted]. We are here to make them succeed.”
Lowe has spoken at length about the importance of making sure that the current players and recruiting targets are aware of State’s storied tradition. He’s also spoken very candidly about how the Pack doesn’t need to take a backseat to anybody, much less Duke and UNC. How important do you feel that is?
“It allows them to see the passion that Sid and Monte bring to the table. Larry’s developed that, too. It’s also, practically, a very good kind of strategy. I remember Morgan telling Sidney and [staff member] Quentin [Jackson] and I, and others over the years, to always prepare to beat the best teams in the league. We were always the best team, so he was talking about the second-best, I guess. But if you take care of that, everything else will take care of itself.
“Those guys [Duke and UNC] are successful, and we tip our hat … but now we go about trying to change that. So it’s an obvious emotional piece that Sidney and Monte can’t deny if they tried, so why try? And practically, it’s a good piece, a good barometer and strategy for us being successful.”
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