Essay On 1983 Nc State Wolfpack

The clock was ticking down, the game tied 52 to 52 as NC State’s Thurl Bailey threw a risky pass to team captain Dereck Whittenburg. Whittenburg barely got the ball and put up a last second prayer shot. In the 1983 season, the NC State Wolfpack faced many challenges to get to where they went. Very few people believed in them. Only the players and coaches believed they could do the impossible. From barely making it to the NCAA tournament and losing their star player through the majority of the regular season, to defeating the greatest teams and players of that era, the 1983 NC State Wolfpack was the greatest Cinderella story in college basketball history.

It was a night to remember during the 1983 regular season, as the Wolfpack were taking

The Wolfpack had one hope remaining at the NCAA Tournament, this was to win the ACC Tournament that would allow them to proceed to the NCAA. With Whittenburg just getting back a couple games before the ACC Tournament, the team started to gain a little confidence back. The team started off against Wake Forest. Down in the final minute, Coach Jim Valvano decided to do something that was unthinkable at the time, he wanted to foul and send the other team to the free-throw line. This was very strange at the time because nobody did it, but it payed off in the end as the team won 71-70. Next the Wolfpack faced North Carolina, the top ranked team in the tournament. North Carolina had the greatest player of all-time on their team in Michael Jordan but somehow the Wolfpack came through in an overtime win. They stuck by the saying of Coach V ,”Survive and Advance”. Now facing elimination for the third straight game the NC State Wolfpack were in the ACC Championship Game. They were playing Ralph Sampson and Virginia again! This time it was the Pack’s turn to take over. The NC State Wolfpack beat the Virginia Cavaliers 81-78 after trailing in the final minutes and fouling bad free-throw shooters to win the game. As Dereck Whittenburg said in the 30 for 30 documentary “Survive and Advance” ,” We got where we were comfortable, when were down.” With the win over Virginia, the Wolfpack and Coach V were ACC

They believed that this would be a easy win, in the documentary,Terry Gannon, a guard on the team even said,” We were more focused on the hotel than the game the next day.” They should've been more concentrated on Pepperdine as Pepperdine gave them all they wanted. The Wolfpack barely edged off Pepperdine in a 69-67 victory. Dereck Whittenburg had given his 4th victory hug in a row to Coach V after the game and was hoping for many more. Next they faced an outstanding UNLV team led by Sidney Green. The Wolfpack slid by with another victory in a 71-70 win, as Thurl Bailey stepped up and had 25 points after Sidney Green’s comments on Thurl,” Who is Thurl Bailey?” After the game Whittenburg said back,”He knows who Thurl Bailey is now.” They next excellent team the Wolfpack would face would be Houston in the National Championship Game. Houston given the nickname “Phi Slamma Jamma” were led by Hakeem Olajuwon. This game came down to the wire but the Wolfpack pulled through for a National Title! Jim Valvano later said,” I saw for the first time in nine games, Whittenburg hugging someone else.” In the end, the Wolfpack faced some of the best teams of the era such as Virginia with Ralph Sampson, Houston with Hakeem Olajuwon, UNLV with Sidney Green, and finally UNC with Michael Jordan. This is another reason that makes this underdog story the