Post by aggiejazz on Apr 1, 2007 10:37:44 GMT -5
From News & Observer Published: Apr 01, 2007 12:30 AM
Modified: Apr 01, 2007 04:43 AM
www.newsobserver.com/102/v-print/story/559832.html
Son's arrest burdens Lowe
Dad gets sympathy as son is charged
Sidney Lowe Jr.
Chip Alexander and Thomasi McDonald, Staff Writers
They have the same name. The son, though taller, has his father's eyes. In high school, he followed his father's path on the basketball court.
But last week, Sidney Lowe and Sidney Lowe Jr. saw their lives take different turns.
The father enjoyed the afterglow of a promising first season as N.C. State University's men's basketball coach that had Wolfpack fans excited about the future. The son was arrested in Greensboro and charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and a connection to a shooting caused by a drug-related dispute.
The news shocked and saddened those close to Lowe, to his son.
"Sidney Lowe has always been a fantastic guy, great father and great family man," said Morgan Wootten, the Wolfpack coach's former basketball coach at DeMatha High in Hyattsville, Md. "He has always been a giver, doing the best things he can for everybody, and I know he has done that for his son.
"This has to be killing him."
Shawan Robinson, a former classmate of the younger Lowe who plays professional basketball in England, was online Wednesday when he spotted the headline: "Lowe's son charged in connection with robbery."
"I couldn't believe it," Robinson said. "Things happen, but ... it was just hard to believe."
Five years ago, Robinson and the younger Lowe were basketball teammates and inseparable friends at Raleigh's Leesville Road High School.
"If you saw me, you saw Sid," Robinson said. "We clicked from the start. At first, Sid seemed kind of shy and standoffish, but we had that common bond."
Robinson's father, Darryl Robinson, is Leesville's basketball coach. Lowe's father was then an assistant coach in the NBA.
Darryl Robinson was around his son every day and saw all his games. Sidney Lowe was away and could rarely attend Leesville games.
"Sid talked to his father a lot," Shawan Robinson said. "His father was in the NBA and had to be gone. I'm sure Sid missed his father, but he never made a big deal about it. I really don't think he struggled with it or anything."
But the two soon went in different directions: Robinson to Clemson, where he played ACC basketball; Lowe to Oak Ridge Military Academy, then to college in Greensboro.
"Sid was a real solid player, and I think he could have played college basketball if he wanted to," Shawan Robinson said. "But maybe he got tired of basketball. He was really into his music. He was a rapper.
"I haven't talked to him since last summer. I feel for him. It's a tough situation."
Home invasion robbery
On March 16, the elder Lowe was in N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum, the site of his past glory as a Wolfpack player. He was guiding his team to an National Invitation Tournament victory over Marist, the Pack's 20th win of the season.
Police think his oldest son did not watch the game. They have accused him and Brian Patrick Martin, 19, of Greensboro, of a home invasion robbery that day on West Friendly Avenue in Greensboro. Six UNC-Greensboro students live in the white, two-story home in the shadow of downtown.
Before his arrest last week, the younger Lowe, 21, lived in Keswick Place in North Greensboro, a quiet subdivision of mostly single, professional homeowners. He lived in a townhouse at 4437 Carlys Way and came and went in a 2000 black Mercedes sport utility vehicle.
On March 24, the day police said Lowe was involved in the UNCG shooting, police spoke with his girlfriend, Jessica Smith, an N.C. A&T State University student. They told her about the shooting -- which left freshman Stephen D. Cobb, 19, of Raleigh in critical condition.
Smith allowed police to search her 1993 Nissan Altima, the car in which police accuse the younger Lowe of speeding away after the shooting. Police seized an SKS rifle, a handgun and rifle ammunition, a ski mask, about 33 grams of marijuana and several laptop computers that were reported stolen during a robbery March 16.
When police asked Smith whether she had ever seen her boyfriend with any guns or bullets, she told them she had seen him at his townhouse with a small handgun with a camouflage-colored exterior, according to search warrants.
Police had recovered a small .25-caliber Lorcin pistol with a camouflage-exterior from the dorm room at Weil Residence Hall where Cobb had been shot.
On Monday night, the day before the younger Lowe turned himself in to police, about two dozen unmarked police cars and vans arrived at Carlys Way. Police were searching for Lowe and evidence in his home in connection with the shooting of Cobb.
Police seized minimal amounts of marijuana, mostly seeds, from Lowe's townhouse, along with more ammunition, rap lyrics and about a half-dozen video games, including "Grand Theft Auto," "Mortal Combat," and "NBA Live 2005," according to search warrants.
Lowe is a sophomore management information systems major at A&T. He was a UNCG student in the fall of 2003 before transferring to A&T in 2004, school officials said.
Martin is a former A&T student who attended the fall 2006 semester and did not return, the school reported.
The younger Lowe has been in trouble with the law twice before. In 2002, when he was a student at Leesville Road High, he was convicted of simple assault in Wake County, court records show. In December 2005, he was convicted of misdemeanor possession of up to 1 1/2 ounces of marijuana.
Lowe was accompanied by his father and his attorney, Locke Clifford of Greensboro, when he turned himself in to Greensboro police. He was released Tuesday night after his father posted $450,000 bond.
Sullivan A. Welborne, A&T's vice chancellor for student affairs, said he felt for Lowe's parents, that as a parent he knows the hurt they must feel.
"The true character of a family comes out, though, when they are confronted with struggle," Welborne said.
Effect on NCSU
The elder Lowe was to be in Atlanta this weekend for the Final Four basketball games but canceled his plans. He has been unavailable for comment and released a short statement Wednesday that said, "This is a difficult time for my son, myself and my family."
Lee Fowler, the NCSU athletics director, said there has been no discussion about Lowe's taking a leave of absence. No one can say how the events of the week might affect the perception of the Wolfpack program or its recruiting.
"Things like this are best attacked head-on in recruiting," said Dave Telep, national basketball recruiting director for Scout.com. "I think generally people understand that mistakes and unfortunate things happen. Sidney Lowe is an honorable man trying to protect his family right now, and eventually he'll have a story to share with recruits and maybe a life lesson to be learned."
Lowe isn't the only high-profile coach to endure serious family issues publicly. Recently, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid took a leave of absence after one of his sons admitted using heroin and another was arrested on drug and weapons charges. Both of Reid's sons are in their early 20s.
"It's too simplistic to say because this is a coach with a demanding job that it increases the chance of their children acting a certain way," said sports psychologist Joel Fish, director of the Center for Sport Psychology in Philadelphia. "You can't just say, 'Oh, he was a coach's son.' That's not fair to Sidney Lowe. Some kids embrace their family legacy, and it helps their esteem and their identity.
"There are so many factors. Their environment can be a huge influence. Anybody who is a parent will say we're all just one phone call away."
Wootten, Lowe's former coach at DeMatha High, recalled that the elder Lowe was raised in a crime-infested area of Washington, D.C., with his four brothers and a sister. Because of the efforts of his mother, Carrie Lowe, he attended DeMatha, a private Catholic high school.
Carrie Lowe, who was divorced from Lowe's father, cleaned apartment buildings to earn the money to send her son to DeMatha. In turn, he became the only child to attend college.
"It was a very tough background," Wootten said, "but she poured her heart and soul into giving Sidney an opportunity, and he took advantage of it. He has done the same for his son. That's why this hurts so bad."
Staff writer Chip Alexander can be reached at 829-8945 or chipa@newsobserver.com.
Modified: Apr 01, 2007 04:43 AM
www.newsobserver.com/102/v-print/story/559832.html
Son's arrest burdens Lowe
Dad gets sympathy as son is charged
Sidney Lowe Jr.
Chip Alexander and Thomasi McDonald, Staff Writers
They have the same name. The son, though taller, has his father's eyes. In high school, he followed his father's path on the basketball court.
But last week, Sidney Lowe and Sidney Lowe Jr. saw their lives take different turns.
The father enjoyed the afterglow of a promising first season as N.C. State University's men's basketball coach that had Wolfpack fans excited about the future. The son was arrested in Greensboro and charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and a connection to a shooting caused by a drug-related dispute.
The news shocked and saddened those close to Lowe, to his son.
"Sidney Lowe has always been a fantastic guy, great father and great family man," said Morgan Wootten, the Wolfpack coach's former basketball coach at DeMatha High in Hyattsville, Md. "He has always been a giver, doing the best things he can for everybody, and I know he has done that for his son.
"This has to be killing him."
Shawan Robinson, a former classmate of the younger Lowe who plays professional basketball in England, was online Wednesday when he spotted the headline: "Lowe's son charged in connection with robbery."
"I couldn't believe it," Robinson said. "Things happen, but ... it was just hard to believe."
Five years ago, Robinson and the younger Lowe were basketball teammates and inseparable friends at Raleigh's Leesville Road High School.
"If you saw me, you saw Sid," Robinson said. "We clicked from the start. At first, Sid seemed kind of shy and standoffish, but we had that common bond."
Robinson's father, Darryl Robinson, is Leesville's basketball coach. Lowe's father was then an assistant coach in the NBA.
Darryl Robinson was around his son every day and saw all his games. Sidney Lowe was away and could rarely attend Leesville games.
"Sid talked to his father a lot," Shawan Robinson said. "His father was in the NBA and had to be gone. I'm sure Sid missed his father, but he never made a big deal about it. I really don't think he struggled with it or anything."
But the two soon went in different directions: Robinson to Clemson, where he played ACC basketball; Lowe to Oak Ridge Military Academy, then to college in Greensboro.
"Sid was a real solid player, and I think he could have played college basketball if he wanted to," Shawan Robinson said. "But maybe he got tired of basketball. He was really into his music. He was a rapper.
"I haven't talked to him since last summer. I feel for him. It's a tough situation."
Home invasion robbery
On March 16, the elder Lowe was in N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum, the site of his past glory as a Wolfpack player. He was guiding his team to an National Invitation Tournament victory over Marist, the Pack's 20th win of the season.
Police think his oldest son did not watch the game. They have accused him and Brian Patrick Martin, 19, of Greensboro, of a home invasion robbery that day on West Friendly Avenue in Greensboro. Six UNC-Greensboro students live in the white, two-story home in the shadow of downtown.
Before his arrest last week, the younger Lowe, 21, lived in Keswick Place in North Greensboro, a quiet subdivision of mostly single, professional homeowners. He lived in a townhouse at 4437 Carlys Way and came and went in a 2000 black Mercedes sport utility vehicle.
On March 24, the day police said Lowe was involved in the UNCG shooting, police spoke with his girlfriend, Jessica Smith, an N.C. A&T State University student. They told her about the shooting -- which left freshman Stephen D. Cobb, 19, of Raleigh in critical condition.
Smith allowed police to search her 1993 Nissan Altima, the car in which police accuse the younger Lowe of speeding away after the shooting. Police seized an SKS rifle, a handgun and rifle ammunition, a ski mask, about 33 grams of marijuana and several laptop computers that were reported stolen during a robbery March 16.
When police asked Smith whether she had ever seen her boyfriend with any guns or bullets, she told them she had seen him at his townhouse with a small handgun with a camouflage-colored exterior, according to search warrants.
Police had recovered a small .25-caliber Lorcin pistol with a camouflage-exterior from the dorm room at Weil Residence Hall where Cobb had been shot.
On Monday night, the day before the younger Lowe turned himself in to police, about two dozen unmarked police cars and vans arrived at Carlys Way. Police were searching for Lowe and evidence in his home in connection with the shooting of Cobb.
Police seized minimal amounts of marijuana, mostly seeds, from Lowe's townhouse, along with more ammunition, rap lyrics and about a half-dozen video games, including "Grand Theft Auto," "Mortal Combat," and "NBA Live 2005," according to search warrants.
Lowe is a sophomore management information systems major at A&T. He was a UNCG student in the fall of 2003 before transferring to A&T in 2004, school officials said.
Martin is a former A&T student who attended the fall 2006 semester and did not return, the school reported.
The younger Lowe has been in trouble with the law twice before. In 2002, when he was a student at Leesville Road High, he was convicted of simple assault in Wake County, court records show. In December 2005, he was convicted of misdemeanor possession of up to 1 1/2 ounces of marijuana.
Lowe was accompanied by his father and his attorney, Locke Clifford of Greensboro, when he turned himself in to Greensboro police. He was released Tuesday night after his father posted $450,000 bond.
Sullivan A. Welborne, A&T's vice chancellor for student affairs, said he felt for Lowe's parents, that as a parent he knows the hurt they must feel.
"The true character of a family comes out, though, when they are confronted with struggle," Welborne said.
Effect on NCSU
The elder Lowe was to be in Atlanta this weekend for the Final Four basketball games but canceled his plans. He has been unavailable for comment and released a short statement Wednesday that said, "This is a difficult time for my son, myself and my family."
Lee Fowler, the NCSU athletics director, said there has been no discussion about Lowe's taking a leave of absence. No one can say how the events of the week might affect the perception of the Wolfpack program or its recruiting.
"Things like this are best attacked head-on in recruiting," said Dave Telep, national basketball recruiting director for Scout.com. "I think generally people understand that mistakes and unfortunate things happen. Sidney Lowe is an honorable man trying to protect his family right now, and eventually he'll have a story to share with recruits and maybe a life lesson to be learned."
Lowe isn't the only high-profile coach to endure serious family issues publicly. Recently, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid took a leave of absence after one of his sons admitted using heroin and another was arrested on drug and weapons charges. Both of Reid's sons are in their early 20s.
"It's too simplistic to say because this is a coach with a demanding job that it increases the chance of their children acting a certain way," said sports psychologist Joel Fish, director of the Center for Sport Psychology in Philadelphia. "You can't just say, 'Oh, he was a coach's son.' That's not fair to Sidney Lowe. Some kids embrace their family legacy, and it helps their esteem and their identity.
"There are so many factors. Their environment can be a huge influence. Anybody who is a parent will say we're all just one phone call away."
Wootten, Lowe's former coach at DeMatha High, recalled that the elder Lowe was raised in a crime-infested area of Washington, D.C., with his four brothers and a sister. Because of the efforts of his mother, Carrie Lowe, he attended DeMatha, a private Catholic high school.
Carrie Lowe, who was divorced from Lowe's father, cleaned apartment buildings to earn the money to send her son to DeMatha. In turn, he became the only child to attend college.
"It was a very tough background," Wootten said, "but she poured her heart and soul into giving Sidney an opportunity, and he took advantage of it. He has done the same for his son. That's why this hurts so bad."
Staff writer Chip Alexander can be reached at 829-8945 or chipa@newsobserver.com.
