The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1525890
46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Florida. After being stunned by the news, I noticed that Monte Towe was nowhere to be found, which I felt was odd. Towe not being there seemed to confirm that something terrible was go- ing on. At the time, we were only aware that Coach Sloan and the athletic direc- tor disagreed. There I was, playing for the univer- sity and coach I had always dreamed of playing for, in the tournament I had dreamed of playing in and finding my- self perplexed. I remember saying, "I came here for Norm Sloan, and now he's leaving us; what will I do?" The weird part was that Coach Sloan was still there and had to coach us for the game against Iowa, but how seriously would he take the game? He was going around trying to tell us to go out and win the game, but in my mind, I was thinking, "What do you care? You're leaving us." We lost to Iowa, which eliminated us from the tournament. Coach Sloan was out of there as soon as the game was over. We should have beaten Iowa, but our team was just distraught. The next time I got to see Coach Sloan was at his funeral. It was unfortunate how things played out, but at the end of the day, I loved him as my coach. It wasn't until many years later that I found out why Coach Sloan alleg- edly decided to leave NC State to go and coach at the University of Florida. Coach Sloan, who had won the 1974 Na- tional Championship, had a year-to- year handshake agreement with Ath- letic Director Willis Casey. Coach Sloan found out that North Carolina Head Coach Dean Smith, who hadn't won a National Championship then, had a 5-year contract at UNC and a contract with Converse. When Coach Sloan ap- proached Willis Casey about negotiat- ing a contract, Casey refused, and that's when Coach Sloan decided to move on. When the season ended, I couldn't help but wonder who would come in and take over the head coach position. I was still committed to staying at NC State but was confused about what was happening. All we could do was sit around and wait to see who the uni- versity would choose. Soon after, we heard rumors that NC State had offered my former high school coach, Morgan Wootten, the head coach position. I became excited to hear that, but there was no guarantee that he would accept the position. It would have been an excellent move for him to come and coach us at the university. I remem- ber Sidney and I going as far as calling Coach Wootten at home to try to con- vince him to take the position. "You got to come, Coach, please; we need you," I remember saying to him. But that never happened. Coach Wootten turned down the offer. I must admit I was crushed and dis- appointed about the whole incident. The only thing in our minds that sum- mer was, "Who's going to coach us?" And then, straight out of central cast- ing, comes Coach Jimmy Valvano. ■ "The Shot Heard Around The World: How I Went From The Playground To The White House" is available via Amazon and at the Red and White Shop, and there will be local book signings every week, an- nounced via social media. For a personal, signed copy, visit thedwfoundation.org. An associate athletics director at NC State, Whittenburg has had a hand in many of the school's successes over the years, including the men's basketball team's sprint to the 2024 Final Four. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS