USD Men's Basketball 1996-1997

R.ogaine presents #AIRRA BASKETBALL FINISHES

NOBODY EXPECTED NORTH CAROLINA STATE to be in the 1983 NCAA Championship game in Albuquerque, but once the Wolfpack arrived, a fantastic finish was almost assured. When underdog State upset mighty Houston, winners of 26 straight games and featuring Akeem "The Dream" Olajuwon and Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, 54-52, it simply was a replay of a strategy that the Wolfpack had been using ever since the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. State had finished the regular season 17-10 and needed to win the ACC event just to get into the

finals, State won 63-62 as the Cavaliers couldn't get the ball to Ralph Sampson for the last shot. State's only routine win in the NCAAs came in the Semifi nals against Georgia, but Houston and "Phi Slamma Jamma" stole the headlines with an impressive rout of a strong Louisville squad. "A cow will jump over the moon before N.C. State beats Houston," wrote a national columnist. But he hadn't counted on Valvano's magic and the fouling strategy that never failed to work. State, which got almost all of its offense from guards Dereck Whittenburg, Sidney Lowe and Terry Gannon, planned to slow the ball down and work the cloc k. Va lvano had no interest in running with the Couga rs. For a half it worked perfectly. The 'Pack took plenty of time to shoot, and 6-11 Thur! Bailey came up with a good game inside to help Whittenburg's bombs. It was 33-25, State, at halftime against highly favored but puzzled Houston. But the Cougars were too good to stay behind. Led by All-American Olajuwon, who scored 20 points, Houston grabbed the lead by as much as six points. It was time to foul again. State picked on Michael Young, who obliged by going O-for-4. The last miss came with the score tied at 52. Cozell McQueen captured the rebound and Valvano shouted from the bench, "One shot." The plan was to have Whittenburg shoot from the top of the key. But Houston played great defense, and the seconds ticked away. With five seconds left, an overtime appeared inevitable. The ball was in Whittenburg's hands, but he was 30 feet from the basket. Unaccountably, Olajuwon was at the foul line, and in no position to claim his 19th rebound. Only State's 6-7 Lorenzo Charles, who had scored only two points, was under the basket. Whittenburg's desperation shot was an air ball. But Charles reached up, grabbed it and dropped it softly in the basket for the game winner, 54-52. During the tumult that followed, Valvano ran circles on the floor at "The Pit," looking for anybody to hug. It was a memorable scene after a remarkable "hair-raising" finish .

NCAAs. During that tournament in Atlanta, Jim Valvano used a strategy that he carried with him the rest of the season. Virtually every game was the same. State would be behind near the end, but Valvano would call for a foul and the opposing free-throw shooter would miss. State used the tactic in every game in the tournament and upset Wake Forest, defending NCAA Champion North Carolina and Virginia. The Wolfpack, playing in the West Region in Corvallis, Ore., trailed Pepperdine by six points with 59 seconds left. State fouled, and Pepperdine's best free-throw shooter missed-twice. The 'Pack came back, tied the game and advanced in two overtimes. In the second round, Nevada-Las Vegas led by 12 with 11 minutes left. But by fouling-and with UNLV missing-the 'Pack pulled it out, 71-70. Against favored Virginia in the West Regional

North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano·s belief in his players and a "foul was fair" strategy paid off as the Wolfpack stunned Houston to win the 1983 National Championship.

PHOTO COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA STATE SPORTS INFORMATION

PRODUCED BY THE EDITORIAL PROJECTS DEPARTMENT Of COLLEGE HOOPS ILLUSTRATEO