When news broke that N.C. State Wolfpack basketball great Lorenzo Charles, had died at 47 in a tour bus accident Monday, the memorials starting appearing almost as suddenly.
Thurl Bailey Remembers N.C. State Teammate Lorenzo Charles
Thurl Bailey was on the N.C. State national championship team in 1983, the one that watched Lorenzo Charles’ memorable game-winning dunk to knock off Houston. He was deeply saddened by the news of Charles’ passing.
``It’s devastating,” Bailey said from his home in Salt Lake City, hours after hearing the news from another ex-teammate, Cozell McQueen. ``It’s really like losing a member of my family, a brother. It’s just way too soon.”
``Everyone talks about (Jim) Valvano running around, but Lorenzo was really the face of the culmination of what we did,” Bailey said.
``He was always a guy who would break the ice when we were tight as a team,” he said. ``He’d always have something funny to say.”
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