I don't much follow sports, but this story is just too sweet to ignore. N.C. State University, my alma mater, upset No. 3 ranked UNC-Chapel Hill tonight 83-79. To make it even sweeter, this was a historic win for new coach, Sidney Lowe.
The win was a major coup for head coach Sidney Lowe. North Carolina was the highest-ranked team a first-year Wolfpack coach has ever beaten. The last time a Wolfpack coach beat UNC in his first attempt was back in 1991, when Les Robinson was coaching.On the street, it sounded like Wolfpack fans were ready to believe in Lowe.
"I'm glad (Lowe) got the win today against our rival," Hicks said.
"He knows how much it means to these players, how this is going to be talked about the whole year round," student Greg Milton said about Lowe, who himself played on N.C. State's national championship team in 1983.
"He's really brought the pride back to the Pack. We're going to do really well from now on."
Lowe was a member of Jim Valvano's 1983 Cinderella team and must have brought some of that magic back home with him to the Wolfpack. A really good friend of mine, who also graduated from NCSU and at whose house I watched some of those great Valvano upsets, told me he almost hated to see Sidney Lowe take the head coaching job at State because he would likely be booted out when the team didn't win enough games. He is a fan of Lowe and didn't want to see him fail. If this is any indication, he might not have anything to worry about after all.
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Comments (6)
Always nice to see the pere... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Langtry | February 4, 2007 12:12 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Always nice to see the perennial underdog kick some a**, isn't it?
Poor (not!) Michael Jordan (his personality is inversely proportionate to his ego & prowess on the basketball court) must be spitting nails this evening!
Good on Sidney Lowe! This is sure to rank as one of his best coaching days ever.
1. Posted by Langtry | February 4, 2007 12:12 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 4, 2007 00:12
2. Posted by meep | February 4, 2007 5:02 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Wooo! Go Pack!
They sucked when I was there (92-96), though that was fine by me as I was not interested in any Hillsborough riots while I was living near campus. The only thing I remember was Todd Fuller, because he was a math major graduating at the same time I did (I was also a math major), so I got to share some kind of "best graduating senior" award with him.
2. Posted by meep | February 4, 2007 5:02 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 4, 2007 05:02
3. Posted by Tom Blogical | February 4, 2007 8:30 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Absolutely no disrespect to NC State, but I wasn't sure how good NC was when OSU minus Greg Oden gave them a scare in Chapel Hill. So then the Clemson game where NC benefited from extra time on the clock, and now this. I'd bet NC doesn't go very far in March.
Congrats to NC State, anytime you beat a rival it's a great win, especially when that rival is ranked #3.
3. Posted by Tom Blogical | February 4, 2007 8:30 AM |
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Posted on February 4, 2007 08:30
4. Posted by Tom Blogical | February 4, 2007 8:32 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Oops. Clemson got beat by Duke with extra time on the clock.
Still, I'm wondering about NC.
4. Posted by Tom Blogical | February 4, 2007 8:32 AM |
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Posted on February 4, 2007 08:32
5. Posted by physics geek | February 5, 2007 11:27 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
My father-in-law is an NCSU grad, so he was pretty happy about the outcome. As a Duke fan, I had mixed emotions because
1) UNC lost, which is always a good thing, but
2) Duke gets to play UNC next, which doesn't bode well for this current mediocre Blue Devil squad.
Eh, who am I kidding? I almost high-fived the TV when I heard.
5. Posted by physics geek | February 5, 2007 11:27 AM |
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Posted on February 5, 2007 11:27
6. Posted by Tim | February 5, 2007 8:25 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The ACC is one of the toughest conferences in the NCAA so anything can happen at anytime. But savor your victory. The Heels weren't ranked #3 for nothing.
PS: '83? Damn that was a LONG time ago. What have they done for you lately? ... hehehe
6. Posted by Tim | February 5, 2007 8:25 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 5, 2007 20:25