The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1436409
BY TIM PEELER e was half of the M Twins, a pair of speedy guards in the glory days of head coach Ev- erett Case's time as NC State basketball coach. But do you know his name? He's the oldest living Most Valuable Player of the Atlan- tic Coast Conference Tournament, winning the award in 1956 when he took over scoring responsibilities after All-America teammate Ronnie Shavlik suffered a broken wrist in the regular-season finale against Wake Forest. He's a native of East Chicago, Ind., the rough-and-tumble Standard Oil town where he played for legendary prep coach John Baratto, becoming the third member of his family to go to school thanks to a postwar athletic scholarship. His family's legacy in East Chicago in- cludes a coaching brother, who gave future NC State baseball and assis- tant basketball coach Sam Esposito his start in the profession, and coached an Indiana state championship team t h a t included Tim Stoddard before the 6-7 forward came south to Raleigh to play basketball and baseball for the Wolfpack. He is part of the old guard, the few remain- ing players from the famed Case era that made ACC basketball reign over every other confer- ence in the country during its heyday. He's Vic Molodet, and he's alive and well in Greensboro, N.C. H Molodet averaged 14.9 points per game during his career and helped the Wolfpack win the first three ACC Tournaments ever played. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS VIC MOLODET W H E R E AR E T H E Y N O W ? ON THE ON THE FAST TRACK FAST TRACK Speedy Guard Vic Molodet Helped Wolfpack Men's Basketball Achieve Great Success In The 1950s JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 ■ 39