Nantz & Davis Remember 1983

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You didn’t think that we could let April 4th pass without so much of a mention of 1983, did you?

Heck, Seth Davis was so moved by the Wolfpack’s win that he stole the title of his recent book from a book about NC State’s 1983 Championship. (Link)

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15 Responses to Nantz & Davis Remember 1983

  1. PapaJohn 04/04/2010 at 10:59 PM #

    Goosebumps – thanks, SFN

  2. turfpack 04/04/2010 at 11:23 PM #

    I feel sorry for young Wolfpacker that have never known the feeling that I felt that night April 4th 1983-still makes the hair on the back of my neck tingle when I see it.How they won it all is still amazing to this day.
    Also I was in the student section when Derek broke his foot and I felt sick -just knew the season was over-but in the long run it help develop other players to we would need during NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RUN.
    STILL UNFREAKING BELIEVIBLE-GO PACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. tractor57 04/05/2010 at 6:32 AM #

    I was living in Spartanburg, SC in a building of one bedroom apartments. Another State grad was living in the same building and we, along with a few friends, had gathered in his place to watch the game. Another classmate of mine had just moved to town and was working second shift. He called for an update just before the final sequence so I was giving him play by play over the phone. When he heard all the shouting his question of course was “what happened?” – priceless.

  4. Texpack 04/05/2010 at 6:46 AM #

    I remember listening to Wally Ausley on my headphones while watching the game in the Owen Underground. I waited until the clock hit 0:00 before I celebrated. My two lasting images from the post game celebration are desks being carried out of Harrelson Hall to be added to the bonfire on the Brickyard and the view down the hall on the second floor of Owen at about 5 am when I made it back to the dorm. I sat down in the hall outside my room and read the newspaper. I guess I had to make sure it was real.

  5. TOBtime 04/05/2010 at 7:58 AM #

    Watched it on a 13 inch black & white set in my bedroom at home. I was 17 and didn’t really have a feel for the upset this game was though I remember some of the ridiculous blow-out predictions. My 1st cousin was in his senior year in Raleigh as an EE. I’m pretty sure he had a REALLY good time that night.

  6. 4in12 04/05/2010 at 8:05 AM #

    I was at a friend’s house that was torn down to build University Towers. Our group was among the first 20 people to show up at the brickyard. It was amazing to watch the brickyard fill up over the next half hour or so. Even better as the sun set and the party overflowed to Hillsborough Street.

  7. choppack1 04/05/2010 at 11:14 AM #

    I can’t imagine what is was like to be an NC State student back in 1983. I lived in North Carolina when the Wolfpack completed one of the most incredible runs ever in sports so I shared some of the excitement when I saw Lorenzo Charles flush the ball through the net.

    I was 13 years old – and while I appreciated that it was a special moment in sports, I remember thinking that NC State would probably continue to be successful.

    However, this game has become a source of bittersweetness for me. It used to be, when I was down, I could plop this game in the VCR and almost be moved to tears. Now, NC State continuing to has on this almost has a sad ring to it…And it’s not a really a tragic sadness – but more like the former High School All-State QB who won the State championship, whose twice divorced, enstranged from his children and filed for bankruptcy…who keeps on harping on those days when he was leading his team to the title.

    Yea, I mean, it was nice – and those days can’t be taken away from you – but move on already. And I don’t mean to say this to take away from anyone that was there..I can’t imagine how incredible of a moment that was. But it’s more in the spirit of “let’s start making some special moments” so we don’t go down in history as CCNY, Western Texas or San Francisco.

  8. ShootingGuard 04/05/2010 at 11:20 AM #

    Houston’s incredible display versus Louisville set the championship game up so well.

    So many people thought and said that there was no way State could beat Houston after seeing how spectacular they looked in the semi-final.

    As much as it is great that the cinderella aspect is great because it brings it back to the forefront every March/April, no one should call that State team all luck or anything stupid like that…They beat Michael Jordan when it mattered (ACCT) and beat Ralph S twice when it mattered (ACCT and Elite8).

    That was a solid team with a solid coach—and fun to watch!!

  9. ncsuinpa 04/05/2010 at 11:37 AM #

    I still get goosebumps. My roommates and I sat around our apartment watching the game on a color TV we Rented from a Rental Company (Can’t remember the name anymore). But after the game we all looked at each other and yelled at once, “On to Hillsborough”. I had the worse looking dumper of a car, so we took it. I never got out all the dents in the roof as people rode on top down Hillsborough. The bonfires, the yelling, the joy…

    Oh for something similar to that again…..

    Oh and that was the year we beat Carolina at home (I was there with my future wife) and Sidney did a between the legs bounce pass to Thurl for a break away dunk. Priceless. Great Season……

  10. Six Pack 04/05/2010 at 1:55 PM #

    I was merely 7 years old. But, man that whole run was something else. A friend and i stayed up until 2am to watch the 2OT win over Pepperdine, I hyperventilated at the end of the UNLV game as we tipped the ball around the rim for what seemed like an eternity on the last possession to win by one, hurt my ankle jumping off the furniture in my parents house when we beat UVa, went absolutely nuts when Drexler picked up his 4th foul in the first half in the Nat’l Championship game, and set in complete amazement when Lo Charles stuffed back the “pass” from Whit.

    I can still hear Wally, “the Cinderella team has done it, the glass slipper fits, the Wolfpack has won the National Championship!!!” It gives me chills everytime I play it back in my head.

  11. NCSU84 04/05/2010 at 3:15 PM #

    As a student during the 83 run, I now have mixed emotions. Sure, the 1983 championship was great. But it is now 2010, and all we can do is re-live 1983. Somehow, that just makes me sad.

  12. 61Packer 04/05/2010 at 5:07 PM #

    When State beat UVA in the West Regional Finals, I believed at that point we were going to win it all. Georgia had a really good coach in Hugh Durham, but they didn’t have the horses. Houston had the horses, but Guy Lewis was basically a mediocre coach and a poor bench coach.

    In Valvano we had a coach who knew what to do with what he had, plus we were playing well and we were on a roll. Good coaching makes all things possible in today’s college basketball world. Just ask those from Butler, Northern Iowa and St. Mary’s.

    NCSU basketball hasn’t been worth a good GD in 25 years. We haven’t had the best talent out there, but that isn’t the problem.

  13. WolfInVolCountry 04/05/2010 at 5:09 PM #

    @choppack1… I am with you. I was a grad student in ’83 and on the Brickyard immediately after the victory. It was sweet.

    But these days I get in a funk when I watch a replay of that game and compare it to our current state of State.

    To say that our best days are a collective 27(1983) and 36(1974) years behind us saddens me.

    I drive a big red truck with a NCState license plate. I give $. I love my alma mater. I have a son who pulls for Duke and I know why.

    My hope is that a new chancellor makes a difference.

  14. FunPack 04/05/2010 at 8:05 PM #

    One of the most amazing games I remember attending in ’83 was at the end of the regular season, when we absolutely destroyed Wake. Crushed them by 40 points (or 50? I forget the score). Whit had just recently returned from his injury and that was when I understood we could be a pretty damn good team. You had to be a pretty good team to score 130 points and whip an ACC foe by 40 or 50.

    We watched the title game in Owen, on the second floor. One of our friends cleared out his room and 10 or 12 of us brought chairs to the room to watch on his “huge” 19-inch TV. The beer went fast (drinking age was 18, FTW). I seem to remember a big collective intake of air, a little pause like a gasp, and then this tremendous roar that erupted all over campus just after Lo dunked the winner. And then a mad dash to brickyard and H street. And then every store out of beer. Good times. I would love more than anything for today’s students to have a similar experience.

  15. ADVENTUROO 04/05/2010 at 10:18 PM #

    This is from a person who is the SAME age as Jimmy V would be….had he lived. Yes, many of us live and re-live this and some folks are bored…and that is their prerogative. I will add my story and the REASONS WHY it was and still important.

    I had a 13 year old son and an 11 year old daughter. We lived in Sanford and went to a few games. My wife was and is the big BB fan. We had a VCR (really high tech….I paid $800 for it) back then. I started to tape the WP….but my superstitious son would NOT let me tape the ACC tournament since I had NOT started the entire series…

    We watched every game….it was unreal. I took my kids to RDU and Reynolds when the WP came back to town….we saw them get off the bus that Saturday (Sunday AM) night…it was great.

    My BIL and wife came down for the final game….what a GAME…..we stayed up for hours.

    The next day, I let the kids play hookey and we went to Reynolds…EARLY. Got a good seat….it was a mass of students…I looked down and there was my OTHER BIL.

    Jimmy V handled the crowd great. Those of you that NEVER got to see him in person do NOT know what you missed. I can NOT describe it…I also heard Jimmy V at a WPC meeting in Sanford. I missed my daughter’s piano recital for that.

    The BIL on the floor had met a Meredith Student at the brickyard a few days before. They were married in 1985.

    I followed the Jimmy V crucifiction. I wrote every one I could think of…I was MAD….

    Jimmy V touched my life. I have always been an optimist…and his “cardiac pack” was a real inspiration to what you can achieve.

    SURE…some of his stuff was HYPE….but he was a believer in the ability of a human to achieve things that he never thought possible.

    I ordered an Audo Version of Jimmy V’s book, “They gave me a Life Time Contract…then declared me dead”. My wife has read the real book and his audio version is PURE Valvano. It was originally on cassette and I dubbed it to my PC and then made CD’s and now have MPEG’s of it.

    We listen to it about once a year….while driving on motor home trips.

    I had to make speeches to employee groups when the plants won environmental and safety awards. I would also have to make some motivational speeches to management and employees…to get them to work safer. I would often listen to Jimmy V’s audio version for ideas on how to motivate.

    If you ever get a chance…FIND THE TAPES….he describes HOW he was able to achieve some sports goals (in football and baseball) through coaches that believed in him and motivated him and took extra time….and also with a LOT of hard work.

    I grieved a lot when he became ill and his passing impacted me as much as losing my parents and a dear friend of 20 years. When we hear him on tape or see some of the footage from 83, my wife and I get a tearin our eye and a lump in our throats.

    I can NOT listen to the Reynolds speech without crying….

    This is NOT bragging, but I achieved a lot in my personal career…I kept a LOT of people from getting hurt. I have had older workers tell me that they changed their work habits based on my persistence and insistance that they do NOT take short cuts. I also could quote you some amazing waste reductions while I was the Director of Environmental…so I think I have left a positive mark on this world…and I did it in over 14 states, 7 countries and 3 continents.

    I also was nicely rewarded for my work and was fortunate in my investments….

    Again, this is NOT brag…but I want to make the point that Jimmy V.’s life and his beliefs in the human spirit had, and still do, a MAJOR impact on my success in business and as a person.

    Therefore, for those of you that did NOT live through it….I can understand. BUT, please understand that sometimes, a person, a team or some events will have an impact on your life that can not be explained…If you take those events (which may be negative…) and use them to improve yourself and others…then you have nostalgic feelings about the person, event, whatever.

    SO….I still remember it…I don’t know what God’s plan was for Jimmy V. Jimmy V., as most learned BB experts have said, was a tremendous TOURNAMENT Coach. His defense is now revered….his “Survive and Advance” mentality is quoted by every coach…

    In his death, he has left us a legacy….I give to the Jimmy V. foundation….I lost my father and MIL to Cancer and am a Prostate Cancer Survivor myself. I honestly feel that his death has immortified his existance MORE than he could have….had he lived.

    SO…I, too, thought about Jimmy V and the 83 team. I took my GS to the NC Museum of History today. We went through the Sports Section. The final clip in the intro video is Jimmy V and the team….Button #7 in the basketball section plays the WP 83 finish…

    RIP, Jimmy V. Sidney Lowe is a great coach….he has taken a little longer than anyone wanted to learn how to coach “kids” versus the pro’s….I have faith in him…how can you NOT have faith in a person that Jimmy V. called the Smartest Point guard that he had ever seen or coached?

    GO BUTLER….

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