In this fascinating official history of the first 100 years of the North Carolina State University men's basketball program, Tim Peeler and Roger Winstead recount the traditions and innovations that have shaped Wolfpack basketball as well as the history and customs of college basketball itself. In a nation once dominated by football and baseball, visionary coaches from NC State--Gus Tebell, Everett Case, Norm Sloan, and Jim Valvano--helped push basketball to the forefront of the national imagination, igniting a passion and excitement for the game that made the Atlantic Coast Conference the center of the college sports universe. This book, with 230 captivating photographs, showcases the many college basketball traditions made famous at NC State, including cutting down the nets, spotlighting players during introductions, and even the alley oop. All the legendary players and unique personalities that have passed through the doors of Thompson Gymnasium, Reynolds Coliseum, and the RBC Center are here, from Ronnie Shavlik and David Thompson to Sidney Lowe and Julius Hodge. With two national championships, 17 conference championships, and countless memorable moments, NC State Basketball remains one of college basketball's proudest programs. Wolfpack fans and college basketball lovers alike will find much to celebrate in this enthralling history.

Explores the mania for college basketball in North Carolina, tracing the history of the state's top four teams over the past fifty years and profiling the professional giants to come from them.

The NCAA men's basketball tournament is one of the iconic events in American sports. In this fast-paced, in-depth account, J. Samuel Walker and Randy Roberts identify the 1973–74 season as pivotal in the making of this now legendary postseason tournament. In an era when only one team per conference could compete, the dramatic defeat of coach John Wooden's UCLA Bruins by the North Carolina State Wolfpack ended a decade of the Bruins' dominance, fueled unprecedented national attention, and prompted the NCAA to expand the tournament field to a wider range of teams. Walker and Roberts provide a richly detailed chronicle of the games that made the season so memorable and uncover the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that set the stage for the celebrated spectacle that now fixes the nation's attention every March.

"As soon as Lorenzo Charles' dunk ended the 1983 championship game with a 54-52 NC State victory, [Valvano] began a sprint across the floor of The Pit that has become immortalized as the pinnacle of joy in college basketball for the last quarter century. The coach was hoping to jump into the arms of Whittenburg, as he did after nearly all of the Wolfpack's come-from-behind, postseason victories. But on the greatest night of his life, Valvano found his star player already in Lowe's arms. Valvano had no one to hug.

In this fascinating official history of the first 100 years of the North Carolina State University men's basketball program, Tim Peeler and Roger Winstead recount the traditions and innovations that have shaped Wolfpack basketball as well as the history a

Thurl Bailey knows what it takes to have a "Championship Mindset". With Thurl in the driver's seat, this book takes readers on a journey that started with a dreamer, Coach Jim Valvano. Jimmy V's ability to manifest his dream through a willing group of young players, culminated into winning the 1983 NCAA Championship against all odds. Sports Illustrated pinned the championship game as, "The greatest upset in sports in the 20th century." Thurl invites you to learn the secret of how you and your team can choose to have that championship mindset. Success does leave clues, and this book challenges you and the rest of today's dreamers to understand the importance of your own unique set of skills to help put you and your team in a position to win!