Heroes of March The ’80s

It’s a blessing, one would imagine, to have your name directly associated with two of the most well-known and emotional events in the history of American sports, even if one of those events took place shortly before your death. It’s safe to assume Jim Valvano would look at it that way.

Before Valvano wanted to give the poignant life advice that you’d never forget and before he wanted you to join in his fight against cancer, all he wanted was to find someone to hug.

In 1983, Valvano was little more than a third-year coach at NC State with a personality much larger than his list of accomplishments. He had been to the NCAA Tournament three times — twice at Iona and the season before with the Wolfpack — and had advanced to the second round only once. An NCSU team that had finished the regular season with a 17-10 record and which earned a No. 6 seed in the Big Dance only because it had won the ACC Tournament didn’t seem like a group that could help him improve on his limited March reputation.

That common thought almost became a reality right out of the gate, and one of the most celebrated and magical runs in the history of college basketball almost stalled before it ever really got started.

With less than a minute to play in overtime on a late Friday night of the tournament’s opening weekend, NC State trailed 11th-seeded Pepperdine by six. There was no three-point line, and seemingly no hope for the Pack. Aided by a pair of missed one-and-one front ends by Dane Suttle — the Waves’ leading scorer and an 83.5 percent free-throw shooter — State somehow managed to extend the game another five minutes. After several more anxious moments, Valvano and company had advanced with a 69-67 double overtime victory.

After an equally tense 71-70 upset of third-seeded UNLV two days later, the run was officially on. State hammered fellow Cinderella Utah in the Sweet 16 before stunning No. 1 seed Virginia, 63-62, to advance to the Final Four for the third time in program history. Following a 67-60 Wolfpack victory over Georgia, The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M. was all set to play host to what is still one of the most discussed championship games, and one of the most talked about moments, in college basketball history.

“It was the first Final Four I’d ever been to,” said Jim’s brother Bob Valvano, who now works for ESPN and hosts a daily radio show in Louisville. “I told Jim beforehand that I had packed two suitcases because I was expecting him to win two games and bring home the national title.”

The rest of the sports world wasn’t quite as confident.

There was a common thought among casual and diehard college hoops fans alike that the winner of the second semifinal between top seeds Houston and Louisville would easily dispatch whichever team they squared off against two nights later. That thought became even more popular when the two semifinal victors were Valvano’s sixth-seeded Wolfpack and the 31-2 “Phi Slama Jama” Houston Cougars, featuring future Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.

Despite telling media members before the game that he would slow things down to a glacial pace and foul Houston’s poorest free-throw shooters whenever he could, Valvano reportedly gave a rousing pregame speech in which he told his players to beat Houston at its own game. NC State responded immediately, playing at a free and fast pace and opening up an eight-point lead they carried with them into the locker room at halftime.

When Houston narrowed the gap late in the second half, Valvano chose the more expected route and began fouling the Cougars’ poorest free-throw shooters. With the game tied at 52 in the final minute, Valvano made the extremely controversial call to have his players foul Alvin Franklin, a freshman guard with less experience than any other Houston player on the court. Franklin, of course, missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving NC State the opportunity to hold for the last shot.

Even those who aren’t immediately familiar with what happens next have seen it on film at some point. A disjointed NC State possession ends with Dereck Whittenburg hoisting up a wild shot from about 40 feet out. The shot falls woefully short of the basket, but perfectly into the hands of a leaping Lorenzo Charles, who slams it through the basket just before the final buzzer to give the Wolfpack the national championship.

The play also resulted in a scene that has since become as synonymous with the theme of “March Madness” as any other. In the midst of all the players, cheerleaders and fans celebrating on the court, the cameras found Valvano. He wasn’t jumping up and down or getting ready to cut down the nets, he was running around by himself with a look of shock on his face, trying to find somebody, anybody to hug.

As it turns out, this indelible March moment was a co-op effort on the part of the Valvanos.

“What the cameras didn’t pick up on was that I was every bit as bad as (Jim) was,” Bob Valvano said. “I had an aisle seat, and when the play happened, I raced down the aisle, jumped over the press table and knocked all of these papers off that belonged to the writers. I was running around aimlessly trying to find Jim and I couldn’t find him. He was an elusive target. By the time I caught up with him he was in that mass of bodies under the basket. It was a night that I’ll never forget.”

People will always remember that NC State was the archetype for every “Cinderella” team that has come since, they’ll remember the wild path that the Pack took to the national title, and the even wilder final play that brought the title home. What they’ll remember even more than that, however, is Jim Valvano running around like a madman, just to try and get a hug. The moment made him a March hero years before he became a much more important hero.