He was the guy that shut (H)akeem and the Houston Cougars out of an NCAA championship on that last second dunk back in 1983. I remember when I was a kid, how I was bawling myself to sleep when I saw it happen since I was a big Hakeem/Phi Slama Jama fan. <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/puQvU4PBzhI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebas...les-dies-in-bus-crash-at-47-062711/?gt1=39002 ----------------------------------------------- RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Former North Carolina State basketball star Lorenzo Charles, the muscular forward whose last-second dunk gave the underdog Wolfpack the 1983 national collegiate championship, was killed Monday when a bus he was driving crashed, a company official said Monday. Elite Coach general manager Brad Jackson said Charles, 47, worked for the company and was driving one of its buses on Interstate 40. Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue said no passengers were aboard. Charles secured his spot in N.C. State lore 28 years ago in the final moments of the Wolfpack's matchup with Houston in the national championship game. He grabbed Dereck Whittenburg's 30-foot shot and dunked it at the buzzer to give N.C. State a 54-52 win and its second national title, sending coach Jim Valvano spilling onto the court, scrambling for someone to hug in what has become one of the lasting images of the NCAA tournament. ''It's still kind of amazing to me that ... people are still talking about it,'' Charles said in an excerpt from his comments about the championship game on his N.C. State Web page. ''I remember when (it) first happened, I figured I would have my 15 minutes of fame and that would be it. Here we are and it is still a conversational piece. I don't really think that was the only great Final Four finish that has been played since then, but for some reason people just single out that game and talk about it. Maybe because it was such a David and Goliath thing.'' N.C. State entered the NCAA tournament with a 17-10 record, having beaten Virginia to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and an automatic berth into the national field. Charles would hit two free throws with 23 seconds left in the West Regional finals against the Cavaliers to give the Wolfpack a 63-62 victory and the spot in the Final Four. The famous win against Houston is also memorable because of personable coach Jim Valvano's emotional burst onto the court afterward, running around almost in disbelief at his team's improbable run to the championship. Charles finished his college career two years later with 1,535 total points - 15th on the school's scoring list - and his .575 shooting percentage in 1985 remains a school record for seniors. He played one season in the NBA, averaging 3.4 points in 36 games with the Atlanta Hawks in 1985-86, and played internationally and in the Continental Basketball Association until 1999.
RIP. One of my darkest sports-related memories ever. I remember going up to my room after that game and just sitting there in shock. Never forget seeing the look on Akeem's face right after that shot. Remembering that made 1995 that much sweeter, though. The thing is, UH probably would have lost in OT if not for that shot. NC State had all the momentum in the 2nd half. They had totally taken UH out of their game and there was no reason to think it wouldn't have continued in OT. There was a bus driver killed on 288 last week. No one was on the bus because he was taking it back to Metro. Those guys have to be more careful.
Did (H)Akeem take a lot of heat over that losing play for not having a body anywhere near him? Or, was it just chalked up to right place...right time on the dearly departed's part? RIP
RIP. He put a dagger in my heart back then but my sympathies to his friends, families and NC State fans.
Not that I remember (I was only 12). The ally-oop play was so rare at the time that it wasn't even something you worried about defending. I'm sure everyone naturally thought that shot was the last shot of regulation and the game would be over before you could even get the rebound, so not much point in even boxing out. Guy Lewis took the heat for not adjusting to NC State's slow-down game. And UH missed a lot of free throws in the 2nd half as well. To the point where NC State starting intentionally fouling just to put them at the line.
That was no alley-oop; that was an airball. This story has been all over morning, local talk radio. They talk about Charles as being a founder/owner of that bus touring company-- but the article says nothing of the sort.
I didn't say they drew it up that way. It was an airball that turned into arguably the most famous alley-oop in the history of basketball.
One play made Jim Valvano a legend and keeps Guy Lewis out of the Hall of Fame. The man coached in 5 final fours in 2 different decades and 3 NBA all-time top 50.
Everybody took heat in that game. Guy V. took heat for slowing the ball down when Hakeem did take a breather. He went into a spread offense instead of continuing with what got them there - running and gunning with the aerial attack they were known for. Hakeem took heat for not blocking Charles out. Everybody took heat for that team being absolutely horrible from the line all season and even worse that game. Olajuwon had shut down both Charles and Cozell McQueen (Co-rilla and Lo-rilla). That Cougars team was just about the most athletic, most ridiculously gifted team I've ever seen. And they're probably the best team to not win it all. Sad that Valvano got in because of the win and Guy V. probably hasn't because of the loss.
It was the most devastating play I had ever witnessed because Phi Slamma Jamma was undisputed heavyweight in this match. I literally fell to the floor. I remember I was watching the game with some Navy buds (I was stationed in Connecticut at the time) and they said the color actually left my face. They did the decent thing and took me out to get s**tfaced that night. If only the Cougs could have made a few more freethrows. With that said, RIP LC. I'm saddened for his family.
LOL. I was just reading an interview from back then where Benny Anders called Akeem, "the big Swahili".
