Mark Gottfried’s tenure at NC State has come to an end. The school announced the firing of the sixth-year head coach, effective at the end of this season, on Thursday.
According to Andy Katz of ESPN, NCSU owes Gottfried an estimated $2.28 million in buyout money over the next three years.
Coming off a 16-17 finish last season, the Wolfpack entered its 2016-17 campaign picked by the media to finish sixth in the ACC. With the exception of an 84-82 triumph at Duke, however, the season has mostly spiraled out of control for Gottfried’s group.
Senior center BeeJay Anya continued to battle conditioning issues, while wings Terry Henderson, Maverick Rowan and Torin Dorin have struggled to gel. Former 5-star point guard Dennis Smith Jr. has established himself as one of the nation’s top freshmen, but rookie big man Omer Yurtseven failed to meet lofty expectations.
Defensive issues have plagued NC State all season, and the team has gone on a six-game losing skid since the win at Duke. Most recently, the Wolfpack fell to rival North Carolina on Wednesday night in Raleigh, 97-73.
A report from ABC11 earlier in the week indicated that NCSU made the decision to fire Gottfried last weekend. That came after the team’s 30-point loss to Wake Forest on Saturday.