Legends of N.C. State Basketball


Book Description

The fever that is college basketball on Tobacco Road started from a small outbreak in Raleigh, North Carolina, when Indiana basketball legend Everett Case became the coach at N.C. State University. He restarted the dormant construction of Reynolds Coliseum, and for fifty years, it was one of the most important basketball arenas in the country. Through the years, the Wolfpack has won two NCAA championships and ten Atlantic Coast Conference championships while giving the sport of college basketball some of its brightest color, from the plaid jackets worn by Norm Sloan to the unbelievable athletic ability of David Thompson to the mouth of Jim Valvano, who spewed one-liners at the speed of hummingbird wings. There have also been dark days during State’s sixty-year history as a member of the ACC. N.C. State basketball has a long history of producing stars, comebacks, and even a few villains, all of which of are detailed by Tim Peeler in this reissue of Legends of N.C. State Basketball. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.




NC State Basketball


Book Description

In this fascinating official history of the first 100 years of the North Carolina State University men's basketball program, Tim Peeler and Roger Winstead recount the traditions and innovations that have shaped Wolfpack basketball as well as the history and customs of college basketball itself. In a nation once dominated by football and baseball, visionary coaches from NC State--Gus Tebell, Everett Case, Norm Sloan, and Jim Valvano--helped push basketball to the forefront of the national imagination, igniting a passion and excitement for the game that made the Atlantic Coast Conference the center of the college sports universe. This book, with 230 captivating photographs, showcases the many college basketball traditions made famous at NC State, including cutting down the nets, spotlighting players during introductions, and even the alley oop. All the legendary players and unique personalities that have passed through the doors of Thompson Gymnasium, Reynolds Coliseum, and the RBC Center are here, from Ronnie Shavlik and David Thompson to Sidney Lowe and Julius Hodge. With two national championships, 17 conference championships, and countless memorable moments, NC State Basketball remains one of college basketball's proudest programs. Wolfpack fans and college basketball lovers alike will find much to celebrate in this enthralling history.




The Legends Club


Book Description

On March 18, 1980, the Duke basketball program announced the hiring of Mike Krzyzewski, the man who would restore glory to the team. The only problem: no one knew who Krzyzewski was. Nine days later, Jim Valvano was hired by North Carolina State to be their new head coach. The hiring didn't raise as many eyebrows, but the two new coaches had a similar goal: to unseat North Carolina's Dean Smith as the king of college basketball. And just like that, the most sensational competitive decade in history was about to unfold. In the skillful hands of John Feinstein, The Legends Club captures an era in American sport and culture, documenting the inside view of a decade of absolutely incredible competition. Feinstein pulls back the curtain on the recruiting wars, the intensely personal competition that wasn't always friendly, the enormous pressure and national stakes, and the battle for the very soul of college basketball.




NC State Basketball


Book Description

In this fascinating official history of the first 100 years of the North Carolina State University men's basketball program, Tim Peeler and Roger Winstead recount the traditions and innovations that have shaped Wolfpack basketball as well as the history a




The Secret Game


Book Description

Winner of the 2016 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing The true story of the game that never should have happened--and of a nation on the brink of monumental change In the fall of 1943, at the little-known North Carolina College for Negroes, Coach John McLendon was on the verge of changing basketball forever. A protégé of James Naismith, the game's inventor, McLendon taught his team to play the full-court press and run a fast break that no one could catch. His Eagles would become the highest-scoring college team in America--a basketball juggernaut that shattered its opponents by as many as sixty points per game. Yet his players faced danger whenever they traveled backcountry roads. Across town, at Duke University, the best basketball squad on campus wasn't the Blue Devils, but an all-white military team from the Duke medical school. Composed of former college stars from across the country, the team dismantled everyone they faced, including the Duke varsity. They were prepared to take on anyone--until an audacious invitation arrived, one that was years ahead of anything the South had ever seen before. What happened next wasn't on anyone's schedule. Based on years of research, The Secret Game is a story of courage and determination, and of an incredible, long-buried moment in the nation's sporting past. The riveting, true account of a remarkable season, it is the story of how a group of forgotten college basketball players, aided by a pair of refugees from Nazi Germany and a group of daring student activists, not only blazed a trail for a new kind of America, but helped create one of the most meaningful moments in basketball history.




When March Went Mad


Book Description

"As soon as Lorenzo Charles' dunk ended the 1983 championship game with a 54-52 NC State victory, [Valvano] began a sprint across the floor of The Pit that has become immortalized as the pinnacle of joy in college basketball for the last quarter century. The coach was hoping to jump into the arms of Whittenburg, as he did after nearly all of the Wolfpack's come-from-behind, postseason victories. But on the greatest night of his life, Valvano found his star player already in Lowe's arms. Valvano had no one to hug.




Four Corners


Book Description

Explores the mania for college basketball in North Carolina, tracing the history of the state's top four teams over the past fifty years and profiling the professional giants to come from them.




Raleigh's Reynolds Coliseum


Book Description

For more than half a century, William Neal Reynolds Coliseum was at the forefront of college basketball. When filled to capacity, 12,000 fans joined together to create the noise and heat that defined game night. Indeed, Reynolds Coliseum brought big-time basketball to the South. Most area residents know Reynolds as home to the popular Dixie Classic basketball tournament and the North Carolina State University's Wolfpack championship sports teams. Surprisingly, this building was not constructed specifically for basketball. Like the state of North Carolina, the coliseum's origins grew from agriculture, and it was significantly shaped by the impact of World War II. As home to the long-standing Friends of the College series, the coliseum helped extend cultural events to the general public by promoting "seven shows for seven dollars." It has hosted presidents and protesters, circuses and symphonies, tractor demonstrations and rock concerts. And yes, for one ten-year stretch, more people watched college basketball games in Reynolds Coliseum than in any other campus arena in America. This volume captures more than 50 years of North Carolina history from the best seat in the house, highlighting the people and events that shaped the building as much as any architect's pencil.




Jimmy Black's Tales from the Tar Heels


Book Description

Through exclusive interviews with key players and coaches as well as his own personal insights, Black, the senior point guard and undisputed leader of the 1981-82 North Carolina national champion basketball team, celebrates the Tar Heels' most famous team. Photos.




I Remember Jim Valvano


Book Description

College basketball and its annual March Madness extravaganza have emerged over the last three decades as one of the most popular sporting phenomena in America. Perhaps no one personifies the excitement of this tournament better than Jim Valvano, whose heavily underdog North Carolina State Wolfpack achieved the pinnacle of success in college basketball in 1983 with an unlikely run through the NCAA Tournament, culminating in an incredible one-point victory over Houston's heavily favored Phi Slamma Jamma squad in the championship game. While that Cinderella story was Valvano's only national championship, he quickly came to symbolize the exuberance and excellence of the exciting world of college basketball. Valvano transcended his sport, touching millions as he emerged as one of the most charismatic and, ultimately, courageous figures in American life who touched millions. Diagnosed with bone cancer, he joined ESPN to comment on college basketball games. Later he received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at ESPN's first ESPY Awards, where he announced that he was starting the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Shortly after receiving the award, he died at the age of forty-seven. In I Remember Jim Valvano, he is remembered by former players, fellow coaches, a variety of other basketball experts, close associates, and many others as one of college basketball's great movers and shakers, a man with a heart as big as his popularity. Valvano's life is the classic story of courage and determination as borne out in his memorable line: Don't give up. Don't ever give up"". ""