ACC Roundup - Gott Gone?

ACC news was dominated Monday by a report from WTVD suggesting that NC State had already decided to fire Mark Gottfried - and had also reached out to Archie Miller.

Moreover, the station reports that State Debbie Yow nearly fired him after the Wake Forest game but decided to wait.

Multiple sources were cited.

It didn’t take State long to react.

State spokesman Fred Demarest tweeted out that “Mark Gottfried remains our head coach and we are all focused on our next opponent. To suggest we have reached out to any other coach is both incorrect and blatantly irresponsible.

We’re sure that’s true. State did not reach out to Archie Miller.

If it happened, it happened in the usual manner: State hired someone, possibly a coaching firm, possibly a third party of some other type, who reached out to Miller’s agent to gauge Miller’s interest. That’s how you do it. Then you can honestly say NC State hasn’t reached out to Miller.

NC State’s representative reached out to Miller’s representative.

Being State, we all now know.

Needless to say, this perked up ears in Dayton.

As for the folks in Raleigh? Well, bad timing.

UNC comes to town Wednesday for a rematch. You’d think that a 51 point beat down would focus this team. If not, well, Yow is not noted for her patience.

Miller has never commented on coaching rumors and he’s heard plenty of them, so of course he’s not saying anything now. You have to wonder though if the news leaking this early (assuming that it’s true) has screwed up State’s master plan. And if so, what’s Plan B?

Remember, Gottfried was way down the list when he was hired. As a matter of fact, he was sort of out of left field. He had been out of coaching for a while after departing Alabama in mid-season some years before.

So who else is worth pursuing?

They’d never do it, but a great candidate would be King Rice. He was a UNC guy though and State fans couldn’t tolerate that. And with Roy getting older, Rice may have his eye on the UNC job.

They’re too late for Mike White, who is doing a great job at Florida. On the other hand, he could live close to his parents (his father is Duke AD Kevin White).

Tim Jankovich is doing a great job at SMU. Mick Cronin’s name always comes up. So does Chris Mack’s. The Queen City always seems to have good coaches lying around.

State would be a nice step up for Will Wade.

The Pack could make a run at Gregg Marshall and probably will if Miller turns it down. They’d have to load up a Brinks truck to get him, but it’s not inconceivable.

On the other hand, it’s entirely possible that State will be in the same situation they've been in since they hired Herb Sendek.

Sendek fled State and it’s hard to remember now, but he was a pretty exciting hire for State. Didn’t work out that way, but at the time, he brought a sense of optimism and potential.

Since then? He was replaced by Sidney Lowe, and while everyone was happy to see him back in Raleigh, he was no one’s first choice. State pursued John Calipari, and Calipari in the Triangle would have been epic.

And when Yow hired Gottfried, that search didn’t go well at all, partly because Gary Williams, who worked for Yow at Maryland, sort of sabotaged it.

So even if State does make a change, there’s no telling where this search will lead.

In on-the-court action, Louisville got by Syracuse In overtime Monday night, 76-72.

It was a tough loss for Syracuse. A win would have really improved their argument to the committee.

Syracuse made a tremendous comeback in overtime but ran into a big surprise: Ryan McMahon.

You may remember that he sort of came out of nowhere after Dick Vitale saw him play and raved about him on Twitter. Pitino took a look, was impressed, and signed him.

Well it paid off Monday night as the redshirt freshman saved Syracuse’s bacon in OT. He hit a three, followed his own miss for another basket and hit a pair of free throws.

Pitino called him Superman after the game.

On Tuesday, Notre Dame visits BC, Wake goes to Clemson for a chance for a big road win and Virginia Tech, fresh off the big win over UVA, visits Pitt.

• NC State refutes report about Mark Gottfried’s status
• Here’s a look back at the last NC State - North Carolina game
• Coach K: ‘This is the most balanced the league has ever been’
• High school basketball star Zion Williamson grows into stardom
• Syracuse basketball misses 26 3-pointers in OT loss to Louisville
• Syracuse basketball loses heartbreaker in OT to Louisville
• NC State: Gottfried remains coach
• NC State refutes report about Mark Gottfried's status
• Breaking down the ACC title contenders in the stretch run
• Will Virginia Tech Basketball Make the NCAA Tournament?