Flashback: In 1974, N.C. State stood atop hoops world

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Nice little write up re: ’73-’74 team on ESPN’s Fandom Blog this morning.  Figured we could use something positive today even if it was nearly 40 years ago…

It was a far different time in college basketball, before the 3-point line and one-and-done teenagers opting for the NBA. Dunking in games was outlawed and only conference champions advanced to the tournament field of 25 teams.

But nearly four decades later, coach Norm Sloan’s team ranks among the best in NCAA tournament history. In all-time ratings, the 1973-74 N.C. State team is usually in the top 10 and sometimes in the top five.

Not only did it have Thompson, aka “Skywalker” — a player longtime NBA and college coach Larry Brown once described as “Michael Jordan before there was a Michael Jordan” — but the Wolfpack was a deep and talented group that featured 7-foot-2 center Tommy Burleson and 5-foot-7 point guard Monte Towe.

Plus, the Wolfpack was motivated. After going 27-0 the season before, but ruled ineligible for the tournament because of an NCAA rules violation, North Carolina State was on a mission.

“I think we felt we deserved to be in the tournament the year before,” says Towe, now an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State. “We felt like the sanctions did not justify whatever we were found guilty of. It wasn’t much. … I think we had a chip on our shoulder about that to some degree.

“But we also felt like we were as good a team as there was in the country, and we wanted to win the national championship.”

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About Wufpacker

A 2nd generation alumnus and raised since birth to be irrationally dedicated to all things NC State. Class of '88 and '92.

College Basketball NCS Basketball NCSU Sports History

17 Responses to Flashback: In 1974, N.C. State stood atop hoops world

  1. ringo 04/02/2013 at 8:28 AM #

    Thanks for that. Great article to start the day.

  2. Master 04/02/2013 at 9:00 AM #

    I attended every home game during the ’73 and ’74 seasons. Those two teams were phenomenal. Its really hard for people who were not around during that era to understand the pressure of the regular season and then the ACC tournament. By the way, if memory serves me correctly, MD was #3 that year and UNC was #5. State went undefeated in the conference two years in a row.

  3. ryebread 04/02/2013 at 9:26 AM #

    I hate to say it, but I’m tired of hearing about our good teams in the 70s and 80s. Since Les arrived, we’ve made exactly 8 NCAA appearances, only advancing to the Sweet 16 twice. We’ve also not sniffed an ACC regular season title and never won the ACC tournament.

    With each passing year, our title memories seem more and more distant. I’ve about decided we will never get back.

  4. TheCOWDOG 04/02/2013 at 9:38 AM #

    My friend, the ol’ Coach, says that there was only one team in the history of college basketball that he’d put above that team. And he’s seen ’em all since Naismith hung the peach basket. 🙂

    Only Alcindor’s ’68 Bruin team rates above. He should know. He was there.

  5. PoppaJohn 04/02/2013 at 9:41 AM #

    Evidently Master and I were at the games at the same time. I too was a student then.
    Strange to think that we thought that State being one of the 2 best teams in the country was the norm. (pun intended)

    Sadly, Ryebread is right. We’ll never consistently reach those heights again. Hopefully we’ll get to taste the big time every now and again.

  6. ringo 04/02/2013 at 11:05 AM #

    UNC and Duke are the anamoly guys. Even Kansas and Kentucky seem to have more ups and downs than those 2 have had since K and Dean arrived. We may never see another David Thompson, but we may. You just don’t know. We can however win more titles. Even Herb freaking Sendek and Sid Lowe got close. Think about that. No pouting over our terrible future for me. I think we’ll be right there as soon as we can get past this current speed bump. One thing is certain, outside of Les, each coach has been able to recruit good enough players to compete for a championship.

  7. NOT A FAN OF BLUE 04/02/2013 at 11:47 AM #

    Great (supporting) article about NC State in the Case Era.
    From the late-40s through the mid-80s, State was a Regional AND National power. Case, Maravich and Sloan kicked fanny. We have a proud heritage.

    http://www.metronc.com/article/?id=424

  8. tjfoose1 04/02/2013 at 2:25 PM #

    We don’t know if Les could recruit. Monteith and his gang tied his hands.

  9. DC_wolf 04/02/2013 at 2:36 PM #

    Wufpacker, thanks for posting, & thanks for the link, Not A Fan of Blue. I, like ryebread, am a little fatigued of the old stories (& getting older) but if you have the time to read the linked story by Not A Fan, you should; it might explain why you’re here in the 1st place 😉

    The article is entitled “The Greatest of All?” which even I would have to disagree with: John Wooden, who won an incredible 10 NCAAs in only 12 years (which will probably never be equaled) is arguably the greatest. But we probably wouldn’t all be rabid fans of the Red & White if not for Case – probably the greatest in the south (by way of Indiana).

  10. Wufpacker 04/02/2013 at 3:49 PM #

    Agree about living on history, but also don’t wish to forget our history. As a fanbase I think we’re fine as far as desiring/demanding new success, but to forget our past is to forget who we are IMHO.

    Besides, opposing fans who want to say we live in the past can basically blow me. So there.

  11. MrPlywood 04/02/2013 at 4:56 PM #

    The other day, during a bout of masochistic behavior, I was listening to Jim Rome and some caller said that State’s program was nothing before Jimmy V. Ugh. I waited patiently for Rome to call him on it but he didn’t.

    Educating the great unwashed WalMart masses is just one reason why I think it’s important that this history is remembered.

  12. bill.onthebeach 04/02/2013 at 6:35 PM #

    … yes sir…. that was a l-o-o-o-o-ng time ago…. and a whole lot of water has passed under the bridge since then…. and then…. in some ways…. it seems like it was just last year….

    …for those of us who camped out to stand in the courtside sections in Reynolds for those home games….. it was a “defining” time in our lives…. and our best hope is that Wolfpackers of all ages could experience the same.

  13. highstick 04/02/2013 at 7:33 PM #

    I’d graduated, but was still in Raleigh buying tickets…Fantastic times including the year before which to a point was even “more special”. “Put me on probation? I show your butts and beat every danged one of you twice and throughout the tourney with Little Joe slamming one at the end as an exclamation point!!!

    But, agreed, it’s time to do it again and I’m getting really frustrated waiting knowing that we keep fiddling around and not getting the excellence that we should be demanding..

    I still think there was more to V’s famous saying about “not giving up”…”not giving up” means more than just not quitting! It means you demand excellence! The rest takes care of itself!

  14. 13OT 04/02/2013 at 7:47 PM #

    In regard to Wolfpack basketball, I’m hoping for the best but expecting the worst next season. Losing so many experienced players couldn’t have come at a worse possible time for our program. With 3 new members in the ACC next season, and a 4th the season after, we may go from wanting to avoid playing on Thursday in the ACCT to wanting to avoid playing on Wednesday.

    As a Wolfpack fan since the 1950s, I always loved the ACC’s basketball tradition and rivalries, but this “new” ACC isn’t remotely related to what once was. How will fans like a home schedule that could feature only one or two games a season vs Big Four teams? Will that sell on Tobacco Road?

    We didn’t win an ACC championship during a 15-year period when we had only 8 or 9 teams in the conference. With twice as many teams to compete against now, I don’t like those odds. I think another ACC title may be on the verge of becoming as elusive as another big banner hanging in the PNC. This league needs 4 new teams like I need my taxes raised.

    I’ve enjoyed reading the comments about the 1974 team, which I think was one of the two best teams ever in the ACC; I still think the 1992 Duke team was as good or better.

    As far as the best college team I ever saw, it would be hard to argue against the 1968 UCLA team. I’d put the 1967, 1969 and 1973 Bruins in the same category, and their 1964 team may have been their best offensive squad with Gale Goodrich and Walt Hazard. The Alcindor and Walton teams played the best defense I ever saw in college; their full court zone press was almost impossible to beat. They beat their opponents like the UConn women do nowadays. When UCLA played during that 12-year run, it was like Sandy Koufax pitching for the Dodgers. There wasn’t any doubt about the outcome, only the final score.

    I still think David Thompson was probably the best college player I ever saw. Lew Alcindor was the most dominant big man I ever saw in college, and Bill Walton was the best center I ever saw in college.

    Best coach is still a no-brainer, though: John Wooden.

  15. saigonwolf 04/02/2013 at 10:51 PM #

    Disclaimer:
    I am not related to nor have any affiliation to Les Robinson.
    With that out of the way, I’m growing tired of all the Les-bashing by some on this forum and elsewhere. To set the record straight, all Les Robinson did was have an East Tennessee State team that kicked our asses on the basketball court prior to coming here (much like Dick Sheridan’s Furman football teams also did) and given the circumstances at the time, I was happy to have him. The real culprit behind our “decade of suck” and the creation of the “Les Robinson Invitational” was none other than Larry K. Monteith, whose name, unfortunately, is also on my diploma. So as tjfoose said, Les’ hands were tied. Get off him please.

  16. Wufpacker 04/03/2013 at 4:40 AM #

    ^ Count me in on the “Les gets a raw deal” crowd.

    Better coach than he gets credit for and definitely took one for the team. Took several, actually.

  17. highstick 04/03/2013 at 10:24 PM #

    Agreed on Les also..Les played, coached, and was loyal all the way!

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