Tudor’s Value circa 1983 Tidbit

General Media NCS Basketball Tradition9

This link from the N&O’s ACC Now Blog underscores my beliefs that Tudor is one of the #1 ACC Historian’s living today. Very neat stuff, IMHO:

DAYTON, Ohio — George Mason coach Jim Larranaga was hit with perhaps the most famous technical foul in ACC history. It happened during the 1983 conference championship between N.C. State and Virginia in the Omni at Atlanta.

Larranaga then worked as an assistant to Virginia coach Terry Holland. Late in the ’83 game, Virginia guard Othell Wilson was called for an offensive foul almost directly in front of the Virginia bench. There was an explosion of objections among the players and coaches. Almost immediately, official Joe Forte wheeled and slapped the big “T” on Larranaga.

The Wolfpack’s Dereck Whittenburg sank both ensuing free throws and State went on to take an 81-78 win. A loss and the eventual national championship Pack may not have landed a bid to the NCAA.

Two weeks after Atlanta, State and Virginia met again in the West Regional championship. The Pack won that one, 63-62, in Ogden, Utah.

General Media NCS Basketball Tradition

9 Responses to Tudor’s Value circa 1983 Tidbit

  1. Packlitig8r 03/19/2006 at 11:56 AM #

    The new book,Tobacco Road, details the technical in the chapter on the 1983 run. Featherston’s book is really good. Maybe that jogged Tudor’s memory on the subject.

  2. Jeff 03/19/2006 at 12:41 PM #

    Good point. I have bought the book but not read it yet. I have a feeling that it will be added to my list of favorites that include “Four Corners” by Joe Menzer and “March to Madness” by John Feinstein.

  3. Packlitig8r 03/19/2006 at 1:12 PM #

    How’s Four Corners? I haven’t read that one.

  4. Wxwolf 03/19/2006 at 1:14 PM #

    “March to Madness is a great read”, even now almost 10 years after the season over which it was written. I’ve read parts of “Four Corners” too, and its obviously more focused on the Big 4 than the ACC in general, but its a good read too.

  5. Packlitig8r 03/19/2006 at 1:57 PM #

    I read March to Madness when it came out. Although a lot of folks don’t like Feinstein, I do. His book The Majors is one of the best golf books ever. I’m about half way through Tobacco Road right now. I’m really enjoying it.

  6. Texpack 03/19/2006 at 2:03 PM #

    Just to bust one of the myths that has endured about the ’83 team, they werein the dance after the semi-final win over UNC-CH. A member of the selection committee who was interviewed on the selection show was asked directly and answered that State was already in after Saturday.

  7. Packlitig8r 03/19/2006 at 3:03 PM #

    I agree with that. And in fact, that year they might have even been in with the first round win over Wake.

  8. Jeff 03/19/2006 at 3:22 PM #

    Thanks for sharing that, Texpack. Even in 1983 I thought that those that were saying that State had to win the Tournament to get a bid were off base. When you look at what they had done (and whom they had played), it would seem like a good bet.

  9. BJD95 03/19/2006 at 4:39 PM #

    We also ended up with a 6 seed. That was before the expanion to 64, but hardly “last team in” territory.

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