Jim Valvano-Esque: For North Carolina State, It's Starting To Feel A Lot Like 1983

DALLAS - There is Cinderella history in the NCAA Tournament.

But there is only one Italian Cinderella - North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, who guided the No. 6 seed Wolfpack to the 1983 national championship and made famous the term, "Survive And Advance."

While suffering with glandular cancer, Valvano also made famous his credo for the NCAA Tournament and life in general - "Don't give up. Don't ever give up" - during an emotional speech on Feb. 21, 1993, at a 10-year anniversary celebration of the national title at the Reynolds Coliseum at North Carolina State. He repeated that phrase again March 4 that year at the first ESPY Awards gala in Madison Square Garden. Less than two months later, he died April 28 at age 47.

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North Carolina State has not been to the Final Four since it upset No. 1 seed Houston, aka Phi Slama Jama, 54-52, in the national championship game at "The Pit" in Albuquerque, N.M., on April 4, 1983. The Wolfpack (25-14) can get to the Final Four next week in Glendale, Arizona, with a win over No. 4 seed Duke (27-8) Sunday night (5:05 p.m., CBS). Duke beat Houston here Friday, spoiling a rematch of the '83 title game.

North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano cuts down the net after his 6 seed Wolfpack upset No. 1 seed Houston, 54-52, on April 4, 1983, to win the national title in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Getty Images).

Valvano's N.C. State team finished the 1982-83 regular season a very average 17-10 and a middle-of-the-road 8-6 for fourth in the eight-team ACC. To secure an NCAA Tournament bid, it probably had to win the ACC Tournament for the automatic invite. And it did with wins over Wake Forest, 71-70, No. 5 North Carolina, 91-84 in overtime, and No. 2 Virginia, 81-78. In the NCAA Tournament, it beat better seeds in No. 3 UNLV, 71-70, No. 1 Virginia again, 63-62, No. 4 Georgia, 67-60, and finally the Cougars.

Its wildest March win, though, was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament when it survived No. 11 seed Pepperdine for a 69-67 win in double overtime.

North Carolina State's Current Team Similar To 1983 Champions

Kevin Keatts' N.C. State team finished the 2023-24 regular season a very average 17-14 and middle-of-the-road  9-11 for eighth in the 15-team ACC. It had to win the ACC Tournament to get the automatic NCAA invite. And it did with five wins in five days over Louisville, 94-85, Syracuse, 83-65, No. 11 Duke, 74-69, Virginia, 73-65, in overtime, and No. 4 North Carolina, 84-76. In the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed, the Wolfpack dispatched No. 6 seed Texas Tech, 80-67, Cinderella No. 14 seed Oakland, 79-73 in overtime, and No. 2 seed Marquette, 67-58, here Friday night.

That's two overtimes for each team.

"I'm fully aware," North Carolina State guard Casey Morsell said Friday after the Marquette win when a reporter said, "It is starting to look a lot like 1983."

North Carolina State associate athletic director for community relations Derek Whittenburg, 63, was a star guard for the 1983 national champions. He took a 30-foot desperation jump shot in the final seconds in the title game after a near steal by Houston's Benny Anders. It was an air ball, but forward Lorenzo Charles caught it and put it in with two seconds left. And the clock ran out before Houston could inbound. Houston center Hakeem Olajuwon had a chance to get the ball before Charles, but he feared a goaltending call, and Charles took advantage of his hesitation.

"We pay homage to that team and that group all throughout the year," Morsell said. "Those guys have been valuable to us by coming back, giving us feedback. We definitely appreciate them, and we honor them just by going out and trying to win."

Whittenburg, who has worked in television, was executive producer of a recent ESPN "30 for 30" documentary called "Survive And Advance" on N.C. State's 1982-83 season.

Some Current N.C. State Players Didn't Know Much About '83 Team 

"I had known a little bit about that team, just being a basketball fan," North Carolina State junior forward DJ Burns of Rock Hill, South Carolina, said Saturday. "But most of my knowledge prior to coming here and learning and meeting some of the guys from that team myself would be the ‘30 for 30.' That was probably the extent of my knowledge prior to."

N.C. State forward Mohamed Diarra is from a suburb of Paris in Montreuil, France, and did not know about the 1983 team at all. He also did not grow up hearing more conventional fairy tales either.

North Carolina State coach Kevin Keatts knows all about his program's national title in the 1982-83 season. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

"I come from nothing, and he inspires me a lot. He never quit," Diarra said Saturday, but he was talking about his coach, Kevin Keatts, not Jim Valvano. Interestingly, though, he inadvertently just quoted Valvano.

"It's been talked about since I've been here," said Keatts, who was 10 when N.C. State won the ‘83 title and has been coaching the Wolfpack since the 2017-18 season. "And it’s going to be talked about as long as we ever are going to remember."

Diarra continues to learn about the '83 team.

"Before coming here, I didn't even know about the team, so it was fun to learn," he said. "We met them several times this year, and that was really cool. They shared their experience - everything. And we love it."

One N.C. State Player Also Didn't Know Who Cinderella Is

Diarra looked confused at a Cinderella question Saturday.

"Honestly, I don't know what that means," he said laughing. "So, I don't think about it."

He then whispered in Burns' ear on the podium, and Burns whispered back.

Burns said he explained who Cinderella is.

"But we're not Cinderella," Burns said. "If that's what you want to call it, that's cool, but that's not how we feel. I'll just leave it at that."

The clock never struck midnight on North Carolina State's 1983 version of Cinderella. And so far, it has not for the Wolfpack in 2024.

"We do have great history," Keatts said. "But it's been so long ago. I do hope history repeats itself, because we got great history. It's just been a long time."