Sidney Lowe's son sentenced to 15 months

Coach's son will go to prison farm

GREENSBORO -- After an emotional plea by N.C. State basketball coach Sidney Lowe that his son be granted mercy from a judge, Sidney Lowe II was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months at a Guilford County prison farm.

Lowe II had faced as much as 23 years in prison for his part in two 2007 crimes in Greensboro. Guilford County Superior Court Judge Henry E. Frye Jr. ruled there was "extraordinary mitigation" that justified a lesser sentence rather than one that followed the state's sentencing guidelines.

Frye ordered the jail time be followed by five years of supervised probation, the first six months of which will be "intensely" supervised. If Lowe II violates any of the terms of his probation, he would serve 11 years in prison.

Lowe II, 23, also must perform 250 hours of community service within 18 months after being released from the prison farm, a minimum-security facility in Gibsonville. He can serve out the five years of probation in Wake County, the judge ordered.

Lowe's father -- a star on N.C. State's 1983 NCAA championship team and later an NBA player and coach -- took the stand Tuesday for 25 minutes, often dabbing at tears as he spoke. He had not previously commented publicly on his son's legal trouble.

"Obviously I love my son," the coach said. "I feel sorry for the victims ... but that wasn't my son. If given an opportunity, if given a second chance, I know he can be a very productive person in society.

"I ask the court to have mercy on him and give him a second chance."

In his testimony before the sentencing, the elder Lowe told the court his frequent absences from his son's life as an NBA player and coach -- and his acclaim as a former Wolfpack standout -- had an adverse effect on Lowe II. Earlier, a doctor testified that Lowe II's problems can be partly blamed on the elder Lowe.

In court, the elder Lowe said the NBA kept him away from his son, who played basketball at Leesville Road High, for long stretches. Lowe and his wife, Melonie, have had a home in Raleigh for more than 20 years.

"Someone once asked Sid what I do for a living," Lowe said. "He said, 'My dad works at the airport,' because I was always flying off somewhere."

The father said that while he felt he had a "good relationship" with his son, young Sidney didn't want people to know he was the son of a former N.C. State basketball star and an NBA coach.

"It was too much pressure on him so he tried to stay away from it," the elder Lowe said. "He played basketball, but he didn't want me to teach him basketball."

Lowe II admitted it had been a struggle following in his father's footsteps, trying to "measure up."

"I was trying to separate from my father," he said. "I think it took this long to realize who I was, who I am -- that I matter to so many people."

Lowe II later tearfully apologized in court to the victims and to his parents.

"I do not not want to be remembered as Sidney Lowe, armed robber," he said.

Both parents gave their son a long hug before he was led away by Guilford County sheriff deputies.

Frye Jr., before announcing his decision, said he knew he might he criticized but said, "I need to do what I think is right and just."

Sidney and Melonie Lowe swiftly left the courtroom without comment. Joe Cheshire, one of Lowe II's lawyers, said the family "had their hopes up for the best" -- that Lowe II not have to serve any time -- but accepted the verdict.

"It was an enormously fair verdict," Cheshire said. "I think the family is pleased and satisfied."

Lowe II pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and the drug Ecstasy, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, and six counts each of robbery with a dangerous weapon and second-degree kidnapping. Nearly all of the charges stemmed from a home invasion on March 16, 2007.