Unexpected Final Four Harks Back To North Carolina State’s Cinderella Story
The semifinals of the NCAA men’s college basketball national championship, to be held in Houston on Saturday evening, will have an unconventional atmosphere. Only one of the teams, the University of Connecticut, has previously won the national championship, and the other three, Florida Atlantic University, San Diego State University, and the University of Miami, are all in their first Final Four appearance.
This unexpected turn of events comes on the 40th anniversary of North Carolina State University’s Cinderella victory, the 1982-83 team’s second national championship. Along with revolutionizing college basketball, the team rules fans’ hearts and taught them significant lessons about life.
Last-Second Heroics
The N.C. State Wolfpack broke records to win a spot in the championship game, where they faced the University of Houston, home of the future Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. It was predicted that Houston’s high-flying offense would overtake N.C. State, but a series of errors left the teams tied with little more than a minute left on the clock. In the final seconds, N.C. State guard Dereck Whittenburg attempted a long shot that fell short. But his teammate, Lorenzo Charles, caught the ball and scored as the clock struck zero. His shot, and the resulting frenzy, ranked as the top college basketball event of the 20th century according to Sports Illustrated.
‘Don’t Give Up — Don’t Ever Give Up’
The Cardiac Pack broke records to get to the championship game. N.C. State won three straight games in its conference tournament, including an overtime win over the University of North Carolina, featuring Michael Jordan, to earn a trip to March Madness. But to get there, they faced nine games in which any loss would have ended their season. Behind unorthodox coaching strategies from Jim Valvano and incredible determination from his players, they repeatedly “survived and advanced”.
Valvano encouraged players to intentionally foul their opponents and put them on the free-throw line, risking points in exchange for the chance to regain possession of the ball. Their series of miracle finishes inspired Valvano’s mantra, “Don’t give up hope,” which he kept as he battled cancer, and which he famously shared in his 1993 ESPY Awards speech.
The Birth of March Madness
The 1983 Final Four, along with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson’s championship game four years earlier, helped to shape college basketball and turned the NCAA tournament into the sports and cultural event that it has now become. The hashtags #OneShiningMoment and #MarchMadness remain relevant every year, with broadcasters playing a tribute to Charles, Whittenburg, and Valvano. Forty years since the Cardiac Pack’s incredible national championship, three underdogs and a college basketball blueblood will hit the stage looking to make their own shining moment.
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