The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER WHERE ARE THEY NOW? BY TIM PEELER hen college and pro- fessional basketball ended after nearly two decades for for- mer NC State for- ward Brian Howard in 2005, he did what comes most naturally to him — he went to work. Howard, a regular contributor and honorable mention All-ACC player from 1986-90, took a job for a plastic bottle manufacturing company in his adopted state of Texas, raised his fam- ily and found enjoyment in a place far from his roots but soon engrained in his heart. The former North Forsyth High School star from Winston-Salem wasn't a standout for the Wolfpack, but that was never his intention. At 6-foot-6, he was a complementary wing player for head coach Jim Valvano and NC State teams that won the ACC Tournament in 1987 and claimed the league's regular- season title two years later. Howard played sparingly as a fresh- man for Valvano's second ACC champi- onship team, contributing just 73 min- utes and 13 total points on a squad that beat North Carolina for the '87 ACC title in Landover, Md. He found his niche as a sophomore, though. A workman operating in the shadows of heralded freshmen Rodney Monroe and Chris Corchiani, Howard became an all-around contributor who used his athletic skills as the team's de- fensive stopper. As "Fire and Ice" continued to gain fame, Howard developed into a reliable rebounder and a double-digit scorer with a decent outside shot. Valvano called him the most athletic player on the team. As a junior, when Valvano's team ad- vanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, Howard was part of a loaded roster that included five future NBA players: Monroe, Cor- chiani, Chucky Brown, Tom Gugliotta and himself. That season, the Wolfpack won 10 of its 14 ACC games to finish atop the standings and went 22-9 over- all with a No. 19 ranking in the final AP poll. That team lost to Maryland in the first round of the ACC Tournament, but it won two games in the NCAA tourney and was on the verge of beating George- town for the honor of facing ACC foe Duke until an unfortunate officiating call turned the momentum of the game. "I knew after high school that I wasn't going to be the best player on the team," Howard said. "I just wanted to come in and help us accomplish something as a team. When the team won, we all got the awards. "For me, it was all about the work: what you put in is what you got out." Under The Radar Howard, who scored a career-high 29 points on 12 of 18 field goals against 1990 ACC regular-season champion Clemson, isn't just defined by his ca- reer averages of 12.5 points and 5.4 re- bounds per game. He was a unifying player whose hard work kept everyone together on rosters that included some of Valvano's more celebrated characters: Brown, Bennie Bolton, Charles Shackl- eford, Kelsey Weems and Kenny Drum- mond, just to name a few. "Those were some crazy times," Howard said. "I would not trade those for anything." His final season — a turbulent year that ended with Valvano stepping down as basketball coach and athletics di- rector because of several prolonged investigations into the program — left him with a bitter taste in the wake of his coach's departure. "Coach Valvano was always a father figure to me," said Howard, who grew up in a single-parent home as the youngest of seven children. "I didn't have some- one like him to look up to when I was growing up. "That last year was tough on us all." Howard finished with 389 points in both his junior and senior seasons and cemented his legacy as a capable and reliable contributor. "In my mind, he is the most under- rated NC State basketball player I can think of," said Corchiani, his teammate for three seasons. "He was the glue that held our team together. He did whatever it took to win. "He did it so well that it often flew under the radar." BRIAN HOWARD MEN'S BASKETBALL (1986-90) Age: 57 Living: Garland, Texas Previous occupation: Pro basketball player in United States and Europe Current occupation: Technical trainer for Plas- tipak Packaging Did you know? Howard is one of the last five players in NC State men's basketball history to win both an ACC Tournament championship (1987) and an ACC regular-season title (1989). He, Chucky Brown, Kelsey Weems, Avie Lester and Kenny Poston were on both rosters for head coach Jim Valvano. PUTTING IN THE WORK A Determined Mindset Propelled Brian Howard To Basketball's Highest Level W