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I don’t know how many of the SFN were there at the afternoon ceremony of the unveiling of the Coaches Corner or were at the Re-Dedication ceremony last night.
BOTH WERE AWESOME. WRAL and the N&O have some links to them and some sidebar links. GoPack may also have some. I urge you to go out and look at them.
The Coaches Corner statue unveiling was really a microcosm of State’s BB history. Each statue was introduced by someone with “attachment” to them. The Jimmy V statue was introduced by a 4th year PhD candidate that is doing cancer research at NCSU. His brief remarks touched on V’s On Court success, which in some ways, pales in comparison to his “after death” impact. Pam Valvano almost lost it when she saw it. Thompson and Burleson and Joan Sloan did about the same thing. Funny, I am 6’1″ (used to be 2″) and I was a bit taller than the crowd, in general, but if you looked out, at least 1/3 of the crowd was TALLER than me and that included a bunch of females.
The Dedication last night was truly a memorable WP event. The ACC Network ran it live so I ASSUME that you can find it. What you can NOT find is the atmosphere. We were getting out of our car in the deck and a “Wolf Cart” showed up. We got on as did a much younger couple. The girl (OK, a young woman) asked about who or why we were attending. She is a grand daughter of Norm Sloan. We talked about how we remembered the 1974 team and what they meant to us. She had great memories from her GD.
Once inside, it is hard to describe the feeling….which will be totally different to every individual. Michael Lipitz (if you ever see Debbie Yow, he is the young, follically challenged guy with glasses that is constantly be her side, is to be commended and congratulated for his job. He was the “Project Manager” for the renovation. As someone that has done many multimillion $$ project that were new construction or renovations (the WORST) or demolitions, I can speak with a little bit of experience and say that he DONE GOOD.
He was also responsible for the “research” and guidance of the overall tone and setting (architecture as well as the exhibits). WOW is way understated. The lobby with the Mr. and Mrs. WUF statues and the lower exhibits are really cool and well done. However, if you go up the staircase, you need to look at the SS Wolf structure. That is breath taking.
BUT, then you are in shock and awe when you get to the court. Last night it was PURE Wolf Pack. The Red LED screens and the overall RED lighting and the RED Carpet was truly a work of art (and marketing genius….as well it should have been).
I stood about mid court and looked to my right (to the west side) second row. THAT spot has a memory. That is where I took my 11 and 13 YO kids on Tuesday to see (or be in Reynolds) when Jimmy V and the team came home. BUT, I was also standing where my younger BIL was. We spotted him from the second level in the sea of students cheering and having the time of their life. THAT will be a memory that I share, as well as carry, to the great beyond.
The ceremony was a great production. WHO knew we ever had men’s LAX at NCSU? Now I do and talked to a star that has NCAA records still standing…
I have a completely autographed program with ALL the inductees…and that includes the 1974 BB team. Talked to my old ROTC Platoon Sergeant, Sgt. Biedenbach. He was the spokesperson of the entire class of 2016. VERY eloquent and emotional closing.
Got my 1983 SI magazine signed by DT, TB, MT and PS. Had them make a reference to my wife stating that our new color TV did not jinx DT and that PS was the real culprit. Burleson told a tale that was similar…the guy had bought a NEW TV (presumably Color) just for the game. When UCLA was up by 7 in the second overtime, he lost it. He threw a large ash tray (yes, we had those in the house even if we did not smoke) through the TV and stormed out of the house and started walking. When he turned around, finally, and came home, his kids (or wife) came running outside and said….WE WON….I have WITNESSES that can verify TB’s recount of this last night.
THAT was the type of magical night it was….Hope others were there and will also share their memories. My wife and I attend a lot of WPC and NCSU functions, other than the games. The one last night ranks right up there in the top.
Lots of coaches there with their wives or GF or YOUNG GF……as well as one of the most memorable collection of WP athletes you would ever want to meet…and ALL of them, of course, were the most personable and down-to-earth individuals that you would ever want to meet…
Sidenote. Chris Combs was there and looking great and appreciates all the thoughts and prayers….keep them up…
Wow! Great write up. Thanks for sharing. It sounds like a memorable evening. I wish I could have been there.
Thanks for sharing your account of the evening and am sorry I didn’t carve out time to make the event. I hope to make it to Reynolds and see in person the work they’ve done. By all accounts, it seems like they did an excellent job!
It does remind me that we have some very talented and special folks who have come through this school over the years (some are still here) in both athletics, academics, and even administration.
Fortunately, I married up and to another State graduate at that. Through her I’ve taken advantage of the opportunities to remain connected to NC State community outside of athletics.
It’s easy to get caught up in wins and losses, but this University and its graduates do some great things.
Follow-up to my original post. Thanks for the nice comments. Since I wrote it, I have emailed and commented to several friends and family about what a magnificent job the Michael Lipitz did. I probably should have also commented on Debbie Yow’s vision for “salvaging” Reynolds and her tireless efforts to get it funded as well as to keep the overall tone and ambiance of Reynolds in the design. Bobby Purcell (who seemingly can sell icecubes to native Americans in the Tundra region of Alaska) also gets a special thanks for how he and his WPC staff partnered with the AD and pulled this off….while also doing some much needed upgrades to other facilities and building the “Snoopy Blimp” Hangar that we call the IPS.
The OTHER thing that struck me when I would comment to folks was the cost. $35 Million is not small change (OK, to a politician it is…). I managed multi-million dollar projects (new, renovation and demolition) and was often my own “architect and designer”. Obviously we had a great architectural firm (as well as our OWN fine resources) to assist.
BUT, I have visited several national and state and local parks, shrines, monuments, etc. over the years and more so since I retired. Some are repeats and I often find myself shaking my head in disbelief at the amount of money that was spent and the “Value” of the final product.
The Reynolds Restoration/Renovation should be the benchmark for any such project. The overall results (function as well as visual impact) FAR exceed the typical cost ratios for such. I believe that most WP’ers will share my opinion after seeing it and spending some time there.
I expressed my thoughts to Dr. Woodson and Debbie and they were most appreciative and pleased that the project was brought in on time and in budget and also was considered a “value added” success.
GO PACK….
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