Lowe may be too relaxed about record

Sidney Lowe doesn’t get it. He mentioned Friday that N.C. State (4-3) is only one game behind its pace from last season, when the Wolfpack started with five wins in his first seven games as coach.

“So it’s interesting that there’s a panic button being pushed by people this early in the season,” Lowe said.

That’s not an urgent enough tone from Lowe. Fact is, despite winning three games to get to the ACC tournament final, last season’s team fell far short of N.C. State standards. The Wolfpack won 20 games but lost 16, and was just 5-11 in conference play.

This season’s team was supposed to be better – but has a worse record after seven games. It lost at home to New Orleans, appeared lackadaisical in a blowout loss at Michigan State and suffered the first loss ever by an ACC team against East Carolina.

Lowe excused the lack of effort at Michigan State by saying the players were tired because they were playing their fourth game in seven days. He said N.C. State (which returned four starters from last season) is a “young team” whose inexperience was thwarted by the experience of East Carolina, which started three senios.

He said Friday that because it’s early in the season, there’s still plenty of time for N.C. State to do something good. Problem is, Lowe’s players are adopting his relaxed tone and getting outhustled.

A minus-2.5 rebounds per game margin for a team with a deep, talented front line attests to that. Lowe is an easygoing, likeable guy. But it’s time for him to stop making excuses for his players and demand more from this team, even if it’s not in his nature.

He may be more personable than predecessor Herb Sendek, but N.C. State fans won’t accept losing more than two-thirds of their ACC games for long, even from a coach they revere as a player. -- Ken Tysiac