March 20, 2005 | ESPN.com's NCAA Tournament coverage

Every year, the talk shows down in North Carolina criticize NC State coach Herb Sendek. He is quiet, he isn't flamboyant and in recent seasons he has been under pressure.

	Julius Hodge is a major reason the Wolfpack are in the Sweet 16.

For the fourth straight year, he has the Wolfpack in the NCAA Tournament. This time, as a No. 10 seed, he has NC State in the Sweet 16 after upsetting defending national champion Connecticut in New England (Worcester, Mass.) on Sunday.

Sendek utilizes his talent and plays to its strengths, with a lot of backdoor cuts and outside shooting. Senior Julius Hodge did not want to see his career end Sunday, and he came through with the winning shot. Remember, as a freshman, Hodge and his Wolfpack fell just short against the Huskies in the Big Dance.

Sendek has a tough time recruiting against North Carolina and Duke on Tobacco Road. The criticism of him is unfair. With a win like this one, hopefully he will get some of those detractors off his back.

He has done a steady job at NC State. This team has the potential to do more damage as an underdog in this field.

Isn't it amazing that the Syracuse region, considered the toughest on Selection Sunday, has become Upset City, baby! Connecticut and Kansas have been sent to the sidelines early.

How about a salute to Sendek and his Wolfpack!

Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question to Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.