CBS SportsLine.com staff and wire reports
Detroit Pistons assistant coach Sidney Lowe will return to North Carolina State to coach the school he led to a national championship under Jim Valvano, according to media reports.
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N.C. State has searched for a successor to Herb Sendek for the past month and announced Thursday that it would introduce the Wolfpack's new coach at a news conference Saturday.
Lowe, 46, told The News & Observer of Raleigh earlier this week he would be interested, but wasn't focusing on it as Detroit chases a second NBA title in three years. The Pistons concluded their first-round series against Milwaukee on Wednesday and will play the winner of the Cleveland-Washington series.
ESPN.com, citing sources it did not identify, reported that Lowe informed Pistons GM Joe Dumars and coach Flip Saunders of his decision Thursday morning and has agreed to remain with Detroit through the playoffs. The News & Observer also reported that Lowe had agreed to take the job, citing sources close to the search.
Athletics director Lee Fowler did not immediately return phone calls Thursday afternoon.
Lowe was the point guard on the Wolfpack's 1983 national championship team under Valvano and ranks second among the school's all-time assist leaders and third in steals.
The Wolfpack's top two targets - Texas ' Rick Barnes and Memphis' John Calipari - reportedly turned down offers of about $2 million a year to replace Sendek, who went 191-132 in 10 seasons before leaving for Arizona State last month.
Last week, two more names linked to the job - former UCLA coach and TV analyst Steve Lavin, and West Virginia coach John Beilein - issued statements saying they would remain in their current positions.
Sendek led N.C. State to five straight NCAA tournament appearances, tying the late Valvano for the best run in school history. But Sendek was criticized in recent seasons despite that success, often for the program's Princeton-style motion offense and its struggles against Atlantic Coast Conference neighbors Duke and North Carolina.
Sendek went 8-38 against those rivals, and went 9-16 against Wake Forest, the state's other ACC school.
Lowe, who has never coached in college, played four seasons in the NBA before moving on to coaching, rising to become the head coach at Minnesota and Memphis. He has a career record of 79-228 and resigned at Memphis after the team's 0-8 start in to the 2002-2003 season.
Lowe does not hold a undergraduate degree, which N.C. State has said it will require of its next coach. He is completing degree work at St. Pauls College in Lawrenceville, Va., the school provost confirmed Wednesday.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Detroit Pistons assistant coach Sidney Lowe will return to North Carolina State to coach the school he led to a national championship under Jim Valvano, according to media reports.
Advertisement
N.C. State has searched for a successor to Herb Sendek for the past month and announced Thursday that it would introduce the Wolfpack's new coach at a news conference Saturday.
Lowe, 46, told The News & Observer of Raleigh earlier this week he would be interested, but wasn't focusing on it as Detroit chases a second NBA title in three years. The Pistons concluded their first-round series against Milwaukee on Wednesday and will play the winner of the Cleveland-Washington series.
ESPN.com, citing sources it did not identify, reported that Lowe informed Pistons GM Joe Dumars and coach Flip Saunders of his decision Thursday morning and has agreed to remain with Detroit through the playoffs. The News & Observer also reported that Lowe had agreed to take the job, citing sources close to the search.
Athletics director Lee Fowler did not immediately return phone calls Thursday afternoon.
Lowe was the point guard on the Wolfpack's 1983 national championship team under Valvano and ranks second among the school's all-time assist leaders and third in steals.
The Wolfpack's top two targets - Texas ' Rick Barnes and Memphis' John Calipari - reportedly turned down offers of about $2 million a year to replace Sendek, who went 191-132 in 10 seasons before leaving for Arizona State last month.
Last week, two more names linked to the job - former UCLA coach and TV analyst Steve Lavin, and West Virginia coach John Beilein - issued statements saying they would remain in their current positions.
Sendek led N.C. State to five straight NCAA tournament appearances, tying the late Valvano for the best run in school history. But Sendek was criticized in recent seasons despite that success, often for the program's Princeton-style motion offense and its struggles against Atlantic Coast Conference neighbors Duke and North Carolina.
Sendek went 8-38 against those rivals, and went 9-16 against Wake Forest, the state's other ACC school.
Lowe, who has never coached in college, played four seasons in the NBA before moving on to coaching, rising to become the head coach at Minnesota and Memphis. He has a career record of 79-228 and resigned at Memphis after the team's 0-8 start in to the 2002-2003 season.
Lowe does not hold a undergraduate degree, which N.C. State has said it will require of its next coach. He is completing degree work at St. Pauls College in Lawrenceville, Va., the school provost confirmed Wednesday.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
