A nice find from a couple of weeks ago that we failed to link.
For example, Sumner says, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and former UNC coach Dean Smith aren’t the overall most popular figures in the Hall because some fans don’t like to acknowledge the accomplishments of their chief rival.
But he says N.C. State basketball All-American David Thompson and late Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano rise above fan prejudice.
“Valvano was very popular,” Sumner says. “The way he went out, the way he fought cancer, the great speeches he made restored his reputation.”
He said Thompson, who combined humility and greatness, is fondly remembered: “He also transcended the rivalry.”
