Research Triangle Energy Consortium

The last time the NC State men’s basketball team slipped into the NCAA tournament, they made the selectors look like clairvoyants. The selection was roundly criticized. Until the Pack cut down the nets on April 4, 1983. Are we set for a Wolfpack déjà vu?

This time there was no argument about being included. Winning the ACC tournament gave them the slot by rule.  A strong belief was that but for this, the team would not have been selected. This belief was bolstered by the paltry 11^th seeding given to the team. Even that other time, they received a 6^th seeding. Lowly, but not bottom of the drawer.

The ACC certainly was under underappreciated this time around. A perennial powerhouse, they only got 4 selections and the mandatory one for NC State. Yet, 4 reached the Sweet 16. So, the ACC Tournament victor could have been presumed to have some chops. Indeed, that has been proven to be the case, reaching the Final 4 even from a lowly 11 seed position. They beat Duke to get there. A different pairing, and who knows, the ACC might have had two in the Final Four, as was the case two years ago.

In that 1983 tournament, Houston and Louisville were considered to the class of the affair. The luck of the draw had them meet in the semifinal, which was widely considered to be the “true final”. The matchup exceeded all expectation on entertainment. Both teams had high-flying forwards and much of the match seemingly was played above the rim. Houston won that game, led by Clyde Drexler and Akeem (later named Hakeem) Olajuwon. Clyde had been a lightly recruited local Houstonian and Akeem was relatively new to the sport from Nigeria. The title was seen as a mere formality against the surprising NC State Wolfpack.

Jim Valvano, the coach of the Wolfpack, had one key thing going for him. He could slow down the high flying by holding onto the ball. These were the days before the shot clock. Almost as boring as baseball. Or cricket before they wised up and invented the limited overs format, resulting in the sport catapulting into the number two spot in revenue behind the NFL. Baseball is still fiddling with little tweaks.

Back to the championship game. These are my personal memories from watching the game and may be wanting in some respect. Houston had scored 94 points in the semifinal game. The moribund pace of this one had thrown them off their game. The score was tied at 52 with a few seconds left in the game. The Pack had the ball, guarded by Reid Gettys of Houston. A tall guard, he was making it difficult on the shot. But, even with a foul to give, he did not foul intentionally prior to the shot. The player got off a desperation shot. Under the basket, in perfect rebounding position in front of the basket was Olajuwon. The Pack’s Lorenzo Charles was forced to occupy a less choice spot. The shot missed everything and fell into the hands of Lorenzo Charles. He gratefully dunked the ball and that was all she wrote. This was also the last time in the NCAA tournament that the winner did not produce the MVP. That award went to Olajuwon.

I was rooting for my hometown team Houston. So, dredging up these memories are not bereft of angst. But today, as a resident of the Triangle, I am rooting for the Pack. And that earlier game serves to remind that conventional wisdom does not always prevail. And who knows, maybe lightning will strike again*.

Vikram Rao

*Lightning is striking again, in Lightnin’ Strikes by Lou Christy (1966), written by Lou Christy and Twyla Herbert.