Rick Barnes: NC State and Hickory need you to come home

Will it be Rick Barnes this time around? - State Fan's Nation - March 19, 2011

There are many people that know that I am a North Carolina State sports fan. I didn't go to school at State. I went to UNC-Wilmington. But when I was a kid I pulled for State. David Thompson, Tommy Burleson, Monte Towe, Tim Stoddard, Mo Rivers, and Phil Spence won the National Championship in 1974 and in 1973 they were undefeated. State also had Lou Holtz in football and this was followed by players like Ted Brown, Roland Hooks, Mike Quick, and Jim Ritcher who all were all-stars and played key roles on NFL teams and other players like Bill Cowher who were standouts in college and role players in the NFL.

NC State basketball was a top tiered program with a rich history, winning nine straight Southern Conference/ACC Titles and taking NC State to the Final 4 in 1950 under Everett Case. State then had success under Norm Sloan, a former player under Everett Case, who led the team to a 57-1 mark over two years (72-73 and 73-74). Sloan had some success in the years that followed, but chose to leave and go back to coaching at Florida where he had coached before arriving at NC State. One of the notable items of interest that I don't think most young people recognize is that until 1975 only the ACC Tournament Champion went to the NCAA Tournament and following this only 2 teams went from the ACC until a few years later. Norm Sloan won 3 ACC championships in his 14 years at State.

Next came Jim Valvano. Ten days ago Jimmy V would have celebrated his 65th birthday and there was a pictorial article on SportsIllustrated.com that celebrated his life in pictures entitled Rare photos of Jim Valvano. Jimmy V was the underdog's coach. NC State was always the team supported by working class people and he continued to carry this banner during his tenure at State. His teams weren't the most talented, but Valvano willed them to always be in games until the end and more times than not he figured out a way to win. The months of late February, March, and early April 1983 will always hold a special place in my heart, because the Wolfpack taught me that if you believe that impossible dreams can come true -- as Wally Ausley, the Wolfpack announcer called out after Lorenzo Charles dunk, "The Glass Slipper Fits."

I crossed my toes, held my breath, lived dizzying heights of euphoria, and should have had a heart attack as the Wolfpack pulled off the greatest upset run in the history of college basketball by beating the numbers 1, 2, and 3 teams in the nation, at various times, to win the national Championship. Jimmy V wasn't perfect, who is?, but he sure was someone you could get behind and believe in, because he gave life his all.

Valvano's and NC State's mistakes led to his downfall. Their mistakes included giving Chris Washburn too many chances and letting Charles Shackleford and others not take school seriously, but that was life at a university and the rules of college basketball in the 1980s. I still have vitriolic feelings about the way that the best coach and one of the best people that I have ever admired was treated and dismissed by the people of this State. Yes, he made some mistakes, but there have been many far worse and egregious and he did not deserve to be treated the way that he was treated and one day it will come back on those who alienated him and caused the fissure that resulted from his tawdry dismissal.

Over the several years of my young life, I was able to see NC State play in person on several occasions. I remember watching them play at Lenoir-Rhyne's Shuford Gymnasium, as defending National Champions, in their Red-White scrimmage game in the Fall of 1974. It was like watching the Harlem Globetrotters come to town. At that time, players weren't allowed to dunk in college basketball, but David Thompson and Kenny Carr did a few dunks before the game started. It was so cool to watch them play. I thought this was normal for these guys to be around having watched them at the Big 4 tournament in Greensboro and the North-South doubleheader in Charlotte, but the latter years of my life have given me a thorough understanding about how special all of this was.

After Jimmy V was dismissed, NC State basketball fell apart and later regained a level of mediocrity, but it has never been the same. NC State's supporters have been labeled as delusional miscreants and the lunatic fringe for expecting better than what they have seen. The program is rated amongst the top 15 in terms of revenues and profits even with such little success and they play in one of the finest basketball arenas in America. Is it really so hard to understand why NC State supporters desire a better product than they have seen over the last several years?

There are many basketball coaches in America who would desire to be a part of such a top-tier program. The ingredients are there to be successful, even if there are challenges that lie ahead with two of the top programs staring you in the face just miles away. State used to compete with those programs and others successfully in the past and really there is no reason that they can't get it done in the future. NC State is one of the finest universities in the country. Have you ever been there or to the Centennial Campus? The school lacks for nothing and has laid a solid foundation to incur further success for years to come.

Now I will get to my point. NC State is looking for a new men's basketball coach after an unsuccessful tenure under Sidney Lowe. Everyone who supports NC State loves Sid and hopes that he will always be a part of the university, because he has meant so much to it. But, the results as a coach just did not meet the expectations that were desired. Honestly, it was best to move on.

There are many fantastic coaches out there that are available, but Rick Barnes would be my choice to take NC State's basketball program back to where it belongs. He is a native of Hickory and played basketball at Lenoir-Rhyne from 1974 to 1977. He has roots here and comes back here from time to time for charitable reasons and I am sure to visit family and friends.

Now I don't personally know Rick, but I certainly like what I have heard and seen from him. And I really think it would be uplifting if he would come back home and bring his successful style to North Carolina State. There have been opportunities for this to occur before and it has never worked out because of timing, but this time seems different. It seemed like it could happen five years ago, but it seems like it should happen now.

I will tell you that it would be a boost to our community. Remember that NC State Red-White scrimmage game that I mentioned that I attended in the Fall of 1974. That was a really big deal. NC State was the defending National Champion, why would they come to Hickory? They came to Hickory because we were a textile and industrial giant in those days and many of NC State's alumni associated with industry lived right here in what we now call the Hickory Metro. We were a smaller community then, but we had more power.

I remember when Coach Barnes took Texas to the Final Four in 2003. On CBS, they mentioned Hickory and Lenoir-Rhyne several times during those national broadcasts. That certainly helps to get our name back on the map. At the University of Texas, and in Austin, I doubt they really mention these associations; but if the Coach were to come back home to North Carolina, you know that this would be mentioned and promoted frequently. I think it would be a win-win-win for all involved.

It would be a win for NC State, because Rick is from North Carolina and he has been very successful wherever he has been and I truly believe he would carry that success to Raleigh. It would be a win for our community, because we need the attention and the association of a successful winner who truly has ties and cares about this community. I also think it would be a win for Coach Barnes, because he can come back home to his final destination as a coach and be a hero for taking a downtrodden basketball program with a rich history back up to the top-notch stature where it belongs.

If it is ever going to happen, the time is now. The timing is right. The opportunity is here. It is time for a new shoe to fit. I am sure that your job at the University of Texas is great, but there you will always play second fiddle to Football. No one expects miracles, but together with NC State success at the top of your profession is achievable. A legacy that takes you to basketball immortality is achievable. A legacy that makes you a legend in our state and in your hometown is achievable. I know that such lofty expectations correlate with pressures that someone such as myself might not understand, but I do understand that those types of lofty endeavors, when achieved, are the type that end up in a man's persona becoming the essence of legend. Rick, I hope you are listening and I hope you know that we want you to come home.