Pack Pride has to be hurting

John Calipari? "No thanks."

Rick Barnes? "Nahh."

0 for 2. That's what NC State is batting so far in this contest of a coaching search. Well...perhaps we should make that 0 for 3, because afterall, they had a good coach that they let get away and move out west.

But my question is this. Why is NC State having such a hard time filling this vacancy? Could what we, who are close to the situation have suspected for some time, actually be true? Could NC State be as irrelevant in college basketball as most Duke and UNC fans would have you believe?

I've always been one who has thought of the NCSU basketball program as somewhat of a sleeping giant just waiting to be awoken by the right person. Was Herb Sendek the right person? Apparently not, according to what State fans will tell you. But compare Herb to who the Pack may have to eventually bring in, and is the grass always greener?

The best chance that NC State has to save face, right now, appears to be John Brady down at LSU. But why would he want to leave that place? Look at his official bio. His roots are down in the deep south. Those are where his contacts are. That is where he knows people. Why would he want to step into the fire that is the ACC, especially when he's not known as much of a nation wide recruiter? Look at his roster. It's made up mostly of kids from Louisiana.

So what's the answer? Who do they bring in? I don't know the answer to these questions. But I do know one thing. Whoever they get, it won't be as big a name as most State fans thought they were going to get.