The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/266935
82 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER F ormer NC State assistant coach Art Mus- selman is joining his old coach Norm Sloan yet again. This time, it will be in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Musselman, a lanky basketball forward from Huntington, Ind., was one of Sloan's first recruits at The Citadel when he became the head coach at the Charleston, S.C., mili- tary school in 1955. And Musselman became one of the school's biggest stars, as part of Sloan's famous "Blitz Kids," averaging 15.9 points a game in his four-year career. "Without Coach Sloan, none of what I've done from age 17 to 75 would have been possible," said Musselman, who lives in Knightdale, N.C. "I had no dreams of ever accomplishing something like this, but he not only helped me have dreams, but also fulfill them." A three-time collegiate all-state player and the 1957 South Carolina college player of the year, Musselman scored 1,506 points at The Citadel, a record that stood for a quarter century. In 1981, he was inducted into The Cit- adel Athletics Hall of Fame, and in 2009 he became only the second person and the first player to have a jersey honored by the school. The other was former Citadel bas- ketball coach and athletics director Les Rob- inson, who held those same two positions at NC State. Musselman spent three years in the Ma- rines after his college career ended in 1960, and he then, on Sloan's recommendation, became the head basketball coach at Pres- byterian College in Clinton, S.C., just as his mentor had been a decade earlier. Musselman was the head coach of the Blue Hose from 1963-68 and then moved to Clemson to be the freshman coach. Midway through the 1969-70 season, Sloan called Musselman and asked if he would move to Raleigh to replace the departing Charlie Bryant, who was heading into private busi- ness. Musselman arrived late in February, just in time to help the Wolfpack win its first ACC championship under Sloan, by upset- ting heavily favored South Carolina in the title game. Soon after, recruits Tommy Burleson, David Thompson, Monte Towe and others signed to play with the Pack. In 1972-73, State posted an undefeated 27-0 record. The following year, it went 30-1 and ended UCLA's seven-year reign over college bas- ketball, beating the John Wooden-coached Bruins in the NCAA semifinals in Greens- boro, N.C.. Two days later, the Pack beat Marquette for the school's first NCAA team championship. In his four and a half years on a staff that included Sloan and assistants Eddie Bieden- ■ PACK PAST Former Assistant Coach Art Musselman Elected To The Indiana Basketball Hall Of Fame As an assistant coach, Musselman (right, with former NC State head coach Norm Sloan) helped the Wolfpack win three ACC titles and the 1974 NCAA championship. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS "Everything that has happened to me since 1956 is because of Coach Sloan. I can't thank him enough for teaching me to have dreams." ■ Musselman 82-83.Pack Past.indd 82 2/25/14 2:43 PM