Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
Clearly, winning the ACC championship means more to N.C. State.
When the Wolfpack completed its historic “Five to Stay Alive” sweep in Washington, D.C., it gave State a long-needed basketball bullet that goes far beyond winning its first ACC championship in 37 years.
Carolina fans talk about beating Duke in Coach K’s Cameron swan song and again to end his career in the Final Four as “two games neither fan base will ever forget.” That is so true about that magic/tragic month of 2022.
The Wolfpack beating the heavily favored Tar Heels will remain part of the story forever after having been dominated on the hardwood by its arch rival for so long. A championship with a red cherry on top.
Tar Heels everywhere feel the sting of losing another ACC tournament but will have a far easier time getting over it with a good NCAA run, a prospect not lessened when the bracket was released the following day. Their team still got a No. 1 seed.
State’s epic accomplishment will finally put the ballyhooed Jim Valvano era where it belongs, in the past. Jimmy V beat Dean Smith in two wins that are part of the glorious State hoops legacy of the 1970s and ’80s, upsetting the Tar Heels in the 1983 and ’87 ACC tournaments.
In 1974, the Wolfpack of David Thompson and Tommy Burleson (two high school stars heavily recruited by Smith) won the ACC championship over Maryland in the riveting overtime thriller. State shocked nine-time national champion UCLA and then beat Marquette to win the school’s first NCAA basketball title.
Nine years later, after Valvano’s arrival, the Wolfpack made the NCAA tournament for which it had not qualified by upsetting UNC with Michael Jordan in the semifinals and then the next day stunned Virginia and Ralph Sampson to win the ACC championship in Atlanta. The Cardiac Pack beat Virginia again in the Southeast Regional final to reach the Final Four, where it blew out Georgia and survived Houston to win State’s second Natty.
Unless the 2024 State team can work the same magic, the legacy of this season will be winning five games in five days in Washington, capped by soundly defeating the regular-season winning Tar Heels in the championship game.
Carolina’s first two national championships were earned in dramatic fashion. The undefeated 1957 team upset Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain in Kansas City in three overtimes to bring home the NCAA trophy. The 1982 Tar Heels of Jordan and James Worthy vanquished Virginia and Sampson in the ACC final, got the East Region in Charlotte and Raleigh and were on their way to Smith’s first national championship in New Orleans.
Something for Tar Heel fans to ponder: Smith won a second title and Roy Williams won three – all as No. 1 seeds after falling short in the ACC tournament.
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
