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NC State Basketball: Five potential replacements for Mark Gottfried

By Carmine Carcieri

Feb 11, 2017; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried reacts to a call in the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2017; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried reacts to a call in the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 15, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner (left) talks to North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried prior to a game at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 15, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner (left) talks to North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried prior to a game at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

NC State basketball head coach Mark Gottfried will finish the season with the Wolfpack but will be let go at the season’s end.

In the least shocking news of the week so far, NC State officially announced that Mark Gottfried will be fired at the end of the 2016-17 season. The head coach, who is in his sixth year, asked to remain on board until the season ends as a commitment to his players and staff.

“Mark and I met today to discuss the future direction of our program,” NC State Athletic Director Debbie Yow said in a statement released by the school on Thursday. “While it has long been my practice to evaluate the body of work at season’s end, in reviewing the overall direction of our program, we believe a change in leadership is necessary moving forward. Our focus now remains on supporting our student-athletes and staff over the final weeks of our season.”

Gottfried has made four NCAA Tournaments in six years, including a Sweet 16 appearance two years ago. But the Wolfpack didn’t make the Big Dance last season and won’t be dancing in 2017 despite having a loaded roster. The ACC school has lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr. at point guard, a potential future lottery pick in Omer Yurtseven and they have multiple other players who can make money playing basketball somewhere in the world.

The Wolfpack are currently 14-13 overall and are just 3-11 in the ACC, standing above only Boston College in the league standings. They haven’t been bad offensively (even though they don’t move without the ball, Smith is a monster), but their defense has been horrendous. Most importantly, their lack of effort is the most concerning aspect of the Wolfpack this season.

Since beating Duke at the Cameron Indoor Center, NC State has lost six straight games by an average margin of 19.2 points. They lost to Louisville by 25 and gave up 85 points to a team that is not known for their offense. They gave up 100 points to Syracuse. They lost to Florida State by 24. They lost to Wake Forest by 30 (!). And they were throttled by UNC by 24 (oh, and don’t forget when they played UNC at Chapel Hill earlier in the season, they lost by 51).

And then there were the comments and the boos.

Yes, Gottfried has been successful in the big picture, but all of the stuff above is embarrassing for a program that has second weekend NCAA Tournament potential.

A move was necessary and now the Wolfpack have to move forward rather quickly. Who is going to be the new head coach of the team? Busting Brackets will give you the top five potential candidates.

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