N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe was appreciative and impressed by a message delivered by recruit Ryan Harrow to Wolfpack fans on Sunday.
Harrow, a 5-11 point guard from Marietta, Ga., wrote an open letter to Pack Pride, a popular N.C. State message board, defending Lowe and promising a brighter future for the Wolfpack, which is 2-9 in the ACC and in last place.
"That's incredible," Lowe said Monday. "I've never heard of any player going out and doing that."
Harrow, a high school senior who signed with State in November, praised Lowe and asked N.C. State fans to stop being so negative about the current state of the program.
"Coach Lowe works hard and is very passionate about the game," Harrow wrote. "...Every bad game we cannot criticize coach Lowe. It comes down to the players performing on the court. I know [c]oach Lowe is going to help my game and make me the best point guard I can be."
James Henderson, the editor of Pack Pride, said Harrow sent him the letter as a text message on Sunday and asked Henderson to post it on the site's message board.
In less than 24 hours, Henderson said the letter received 342 replies and more than 10,700 page views on the free forum. Henderson locked the thread on the free forum but kept it on the premium forum, where it received 146 replies and more than 4,100 views before noon on Monday.
Henderson said the response from the fan base has been generally positive.
"I think he just wanted to say what he was feeling," Henderson said. "Really, all of these recruits, not just at N.C. State, read the message boards and he didn't like some of the comments he was reading about the program."
Lowe said the letter was an example of Harrow's strong character and a show of loyalty.
"No. 1 it shows incredible loyalty and my relationship with him and the way we've treated Ryan with a lot of respect," Lowe said.
Erasto Hatchett, Harrow's brother-in-law and the basketball coach at Word of God in Raleigh, said he didn't know about the letter until after Harrow had sent it to Pack Pride.
He said Harrow wanted to reach out to the N.C. State fan base.
"He doesn't want the fans to discount how much coach Lowe has meant to him and the affect he has on his life," Hatchett said "To see the fans, in his eyes, bash coach Lowe or his future teammates, it does affect those kids that are coming in."
Harrow promised a brighter future for the program, which hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament under Lowe, who is 65-58 in his fourth season.
"We are going to be a great team and one of the best teams to come through NC State," Harrow wrote. "It just takes time."
-- J.P. Giglio
Monday, February 15, 2010
N.C. State coach appreciates recruit's support
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8 comments:
It's not all about execution when you have no really good players on the team. Lowe has been a horrible recruiter.
State fans wanted sendek out but he looks like a god when comparing what he did to what Lowe has done...
It all starts next year...get your licks in now ACC - the Pack is Back in 2011...
State's best season is always "next year". This goes to show that Harrow will go elsewhere when State fires Lowe after this season's over.
Lowe is coach for life as long as Lee Fowler is the AD.
2nd to last place in the ACC is hardly regarded as "toughest." Especially with 7 All Americans on the same team.
UNC has been blown out at home like they have NC State's squad.
What people fail to realize is that coach Lowe has recruited a foundation so far. Not stars or go to guys, a foundation for the type of play he wants to see. You have to start somewhere, and the players Herb left, minus Atsur, were not going to cut it. This team is young and learning. How many true freshmen are seeing big time minutes? That can only pay off later. Lowe will continue to recruit with the best in the country and then we will see if he really cant coach. Look at Coach K's record the first 4 years at Duke and make a comparison, almost identical. You cant go from a team filled with 6'10" 3 point shooters to one that can run the court over night...unless youre UK and buy your players(jk). and no one from Carolina should be talking at all on this board, sure you guys beat us twice this year, but havent exactly fared much better in league play with a team filled with 5 start Mcdonald all americans and the occasional 4 star bench kid.
Harrow is a talented but selfish player. I don't see him leading the Pack to the top of the ACC. Harrow is good for some highlight plays but makes no one around him better...he's a hot dog with extra mustard! Fire Lowe!!
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