NC State Basketball: Sidney Lowe Resigns, Who Is the Next Wolfpack Head Coach?

Sidney Lowe has reportedly resigned from his position as head coach at North Carolina State.

Lowe never had much success in his five seasons as head coach in Raleigh, compiling an 86-78 record, with an abysmal 25-55 mark in ACC play.

Lowe was able to muster a bit of excitement for the Wolfpack, pulling off a few major upsets including a run to the ACC Championship game in 2007. In the end, however, he was unable to bring NC State to the NCAA tournament in his tenure.

After his resignation becomes official, the search and speculation for who will replace him will be on. This will be the first men’s basketball hire athletic director Debbie Yow will have to make, and the speculation can go anywhere.

Debbie Yow is the former AD for the University of Maryland, and there was a rumor that current UM head coach Gary Williams could have a shot at the job. But in her tenure with Maryland, Yow and Williams had a rocky relationship, so this reunion seems unlikely.

Another potential candidate includes Texas’ Rick Barnes, who was sought out for the job in 2006. This also seems unlikely, as Barnes has the Texas program in a good place, and Barnes had previously rejected the offer to coach at North Carolina State.

But NC State may at least make the offer.

John Calipari was also sought in 2006. But Calipari has found a home in a much more prestigious basketball program at the University of Kentucky and is not expected to vacate anytime soon.

Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon has also been brought up in early rumors. Turgeon has been successful at A&M, but may be looking to find a bigger spotlight in the ACC and have a run at Duke and North Carolina.

There is some speculation that Bruce Pearl may be on his way out of Tennessee after being surrounded by NCAA violations, and thus could be considered a coaching candidate. This would be a long shot however, as Tennessee has become quite successful as of late, and it could just be empty threats.

The most likely candidate listed is Sean Miller, who has ties in the North Carolina State community. But even he has barely settled in to his job at Arizona and may be content leading that program.

There is no clear front-runner for the job as of yet, and it may be some time before a replacement is found.