NC State Head Coach Mark Gottfried

September 14, 2015

Quick: In 2014-15, who was the only coach in the country to beat four – FOUR – coaches enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame?

If you knew it was NC State coach Mark Gottfried, give yourself a hand.

In the space of 55 days (15 games), Gottfried led the Wolfpack to wins over Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, and Syracuse.

That is just a sample of the success that NC State has experienced since Gottfried took over the program prior to the 2011-12 season.

Since then, the 1987 graduate of Alabama has guided the Wolfpack to 92 victories and four NCAA Tournament berths – including a pair of Sweet 16 runs – in becoming just the third coach in the history of the ACC to take his school to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four seasons. Only Everett Case has won more games in his first four seasons at NC State and the 92 wins are the most for the Wolfpack over a four-year span since 1972-76.

“Mark Gottfried has been a remarkable success in his short time at NC State,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas told Go.Pack.com. “Under Gottfried, the ‘Pack has been an annual NCAA Tournament participant and has competed twice in the second weekend of the Tournament. NC State fans have always believed it should be an annual contender in the ACC and nationally. With Mark Gottfried at the helm, NC State is just that. He has done a great coaching job.”

As the Wolfpack prepare for the 2015-16 season and the FanDuel Legends Classic, Gottfried will look to build upon the foundation he has laid with the return of several key components from last season’s 22-14 team, including junior guard Anthony Barber (12.1 ppg, 130 assists), sophomore forward Abdul-Malik Abu (6.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg), sophomore swingman Caleb Martin (4.8 ppg), and junior forwards Beejay Anya (4.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Lennard Freeman (3.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg). Add one of the nation’s top recruits in Maverick Rowan, athletic freshman Shaun Kirk, Conference USA’s freshman of the year Torin Dorn and a fifth-straight NCAA trip is certainly within reach.

NC State will face Arizona State in the semifinals of the FanDuel Legends Classic on Nov. 23 at Barclays Center. The game will be preceded by LSU-Marquette with the championship and consolation games being played on Nov. 24. Tickets are available at: http://bit.ly/1Uyw6l2